Drums, sticks and Mahjong

In my quest to become ever more hippy/alternative/barefoot, I decided to pitch up at a meeting of the Rhodes University African Drum Society. Well, okay, it's difficult to describe as a meeting per se: it's more like a bunch of people stumbling upon the same place at the same time and, well, staying there for a bit. But it's meet-ish enough anyway.

Oh bother, they forgot the chairs.

I swung by because I was promised a shot with some fire sticks that one of my brother's good friends owns. As some may be aware, I have a thing for devil sticks and know a thing or two about whacking stuff in mid-air. I'm not that good, but learning is fun.

Another session of Chucking Stuff Around™ commences.

The Drum Soc meeting was pretty awesome. It was very laid-back, had a flexible agenda and – most importantly – was populated with chilled-out, friendly individuals. I even got to meet some people that I hadn't seen in a while.

Also, fire sticks. These buggers are super heavy. The stuff that I juggle with weighs about as much as, say, a can of soda. The proper, kill-yo-momma-with-an-axe sticks that the pros set fire to weigh approximately as much as six baby elephants. They're not so much a toy as they are a lethal weapon. Another reason to hate clowns.

Following the Drum Soc meeting, I wandered on over to various establishments for a night out, eventually settling in at Cow Moon Theory where I was introduced to the game of Mahjong.

Yep, those are leather punk gloves. Because Mahjong players are badasses.

I've seen it being played several times before, but this is the first time I've actually been involved in a game myself (beyond the ever-so-lame solitaire version, which is pretty good for killing time and probably your braincells too). The game bears a resemblance to Rummy, except that everything is in confusing Chinese characters and you make funny sound effects whenever you lay down a set.

I burned a good few hours playing Mahjong that evening. It's actually really fun, even if you're only playing with a very basic ruleset (whoever hit Mahjong won, and we left it at that). After my gaming session was over, I headed back home with a friend and we spent the rest of the evening watching movies and talking rubbish. Then I crashed at his place for the night.

Crash place of awesomeness.

This is hands-down the best couch in the universe. I've not slept on it as often as most others, and it's not an easy one to reach (my friend lives at the top of a really steep hill), but it is by far the most comfortable sleep experience I have ever encountered. I honestly find nothing wrong with this thing – it's broad, it's comfortable, the arm rests are literally shaped like cute little pillows and – if you're extra lucky – you'll wake up the next morning to a host of gorgeous women who will be more than happy to serve you coffee and toast.

10/10 for this marvel of the modern age. I literally can't find anything wrong with it, and my naps on it are always a pleasant experience. I would give you the identity of the friend concerned, but there's only a limited amount of couch to go around and I want to maintain a certain amount of exclusivity. Go find your own sleepy place.