Birthday - Part 1

e-Golf with Mr. Quiet
I don't announce my birthday to colleagues, I prefer to have it pass by silently.  So when my friend Gilbert offered to take me e-golfing, it was a complete coincidence.  Gilbert works for SAP and was on the project for the first year before wisely moving on.  We got to know each other through golf, in the summer we play together almost every week.  In the winter, the next best thing is e-golf.

You play with your own clubs and a real ball and hit into a soft screen upon which a video of a golf course is projected.  Sensors pick up the speed, trajectory and spin of your ball and turn it into an e-ball on the screen.  It is very lifelike - the shot shape and distances are accurate.

Gilbert is probably the quietest friend I've ever made.  He speaks in halted, measured sentences that would lead you to believe he's shy.  However, at work, he speaks confidently.  I haven't quite figured it out.  He was born in Vietnam and came to Paris with his family as a youngster.  He has relatives all over the world, many in Northern California.  One of the brilliant things about golf is it's a subject you can bond over, discuss and meet up for.  Over time, I've gotten to know him a bit better and we now discuss a variety of topics.  Without golf, that never would have happened.

Gilbert has become my point man for Vietnamese food in Paris.  We always go for lunch in the 13th after e-golf, this time to a place called Piment D'Or, which translates to Golden Chili.  The owners are from Hue, a city in Central Vietnam where the food is a tad on the spicy side.  I got a bowl of spicy noodle soup that had slices of pork and beef and a couple of pork knuckles.

Gilbert got a serving of Bo Bun, which is rice vermicelli with vegetables and small egg rolls.  We clinked our beer bottles in celebration of a perfect day, dissected our bad golf shots and prayed for better weather on my return to Paris.  I then got my clubs from his car and jumped on the metro for Birthday Part 2.