EMBA Survival: Gin Tummy & the 3 Martini Lunch

I spent the first 3 weekends in a row for the Rice EMBA. There's a big difference between traveling every other weekend and traveling every weekend. Let me do the math for you: yesterday marked the 25th consecutive 12+ hour day in a row for me of combined work/study. I needed a break. So, I took a half-day from work and indulged in lunch with a former colleague and fashion consultant, Bonnie, at the Emily Morgan Hotel's Restaurant. She soars above most of the buildings in down-town San Antonio, near the Alamo. In the top picture to the left, you can see my view of her from my loft. The 2nd shot to the right is zoomed in. Emily is the towering building with the flag pole up top. The hotel is only a few blocks from home, so I parked in my usual spot and walked over. It was a beautiful day today, and you can see how attractive the Emily Morgan is from the distance as I walked towards her on Houston St in the 3rd photo. In the 4th photo on the right, you can really start to see the details on Emily. It's really too bad no one builds buildings like her anymore. The style is Gothic Revival, and she opened in 1926. Even though you may not know it, I'm sure you have heard of this hotel, because there is a famous song about the woman the hotel was named after, The yellow rose of Texas. I feel so fortunate to live in an area with such rich history. The Emily wasn't always a Hotel - the building used to be a Hospital, and it is considered to be very haunted for a couple of reasons: the basement used to be the morgue and it is located immediately across the street from the Alamo, where 2000 people died in a bloody siege. People have reported cold spots, apparitions, strange noises, and odd electrical phenomena. Nothing really creepy happened to me (unfortunately) while I was there, but I thought I saw a glimpse of something strange in one of the mirrors over the bar. The power of suggestion? Supposedly the most "active" rooms were the former operating rooms, the basement, and room 811. I suggest clicking on the image to the left and taking a look at the faces carved in the side of the hotel, as well as the gargoyles - they must contribute to the building's haunted legendary. They are beautiful in an eerie almost macabre way. Now how do you convince people to come to a haunted hotel? Cheap liquor. Which brings me to the point of this post. Alcohol, and lots of it, is precisely what I wanted after 25 straight long days of labor. And every Friday, the Oro Restaurant and Bar at the Emily has 50 cent martinis. Yes, real full-sized martinis, not made with substitute, but with real Grey Goose Vodka or real Bombay Saphire Gin. As an MBA student, what could be a more appropriate break from school than a 3 martini lunch? Check out the wikipedia writeup of the 3 martini lunch. I really dig the quote by Gerald Ford; it's a shame he lost the election to Jimmy Carter. Anyway, I knew my guest wouldn't be able to stomach 3 whole martinis, so I arrived early so I could get a head start. I began with the classic gin version. Shaken not stirred? Please. Of course. By the time my guest arrived I was feeling fine, and relayed the appropriate quote, "One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough." - James Thurber. For my 2nd martini, I was feeling adventuresome. I generally don't order a non-classic martini, but I figured since I was planning to drink so many of them why not. Options include, Yellow Rose, Cosmopolitan, Platinum, Saphire, Dirty, and the Brinitini. I honestly don't recall which ones we ordered for my second round, but I got some nice pictures of it. Bonnie was telling me that one of her girlfriends asked her to lunch today. She had to decline because she already had plans with me. She said the conversation went something like this (it helps to know that Bonnie is married): Girlfriend: "What? where are you going for lunch?" Bonnie: "Out with Philip." Girlfriend, "Oh, just reschedule with him and go with me instead." Bonnie: "No, I can't, we are having 50 cent martinis." Girlfriend: "What?? OMG, where are you going with him? A strip club??" Bonnie: "No, no, gosh! No, we are meeting downtown at a hotel." Girlfriend, after a long pause, "...oookay then..." Bonnie: "oh! that didn't come out right, let me explain..." Girlfriend, "no, no, I really don't want to know..." I got a good laugh out of that. For the 3rd round of martinis, I returned to the classic. As you can see from the pic, the staff cuts you off from stemware after 2 drinks. Fortunately, they don't cut you off from gin. While I've never had a 3 martini lunch before today, I have experienced the sensation before, so to speak, while scuba diving. You may have heard about the martini effect that divers encounter. Fun, but not as fun as the real thing. But now I must return to studying. I have loads to read and a paper to write before next Friday. I'm so glad I took a half a day off and had a decadent lunch today. It's important to celebrate milestones and wins. If you decide to embark on an EMBA, you won't get many days off. But if you are creative, you can make a couple of hours feel like an entire weekend of relaxation.