A long-awaited meetup

My love for coffee and the irresistible taste of Tabaq's desserts always get the best of me, even though I have brought down my coffee intake and coffee shop visits by a lot. However, once in a few months I do "treat myself", with a good cup of coffee at a nearby café.

Nowadays I mostly find myself sipping on some coffee or tea in the comfort of my home, it has become a more preferable option, bit more budget friendly too. With the rising costs all around, it's not possible to be a regular "Tabaq enjoyer" anymore. So, that means I'm no longer a Tabaq connoisseur, but for now I'll gladly let go of that title.

Yet, this time I couldn't say no, because this little meetup has been in the works for a couple of months now.

Even though I have about 3 branches of Tabaq within 2 kilometers from my home, I had to make the trip to the farthest branch. Tabaq Dhanmondi was the spot, which is 15 kilometers away. And I wasn't complaining, after all, it's the Hive/Turni fam we're talking about, no way I was missing this.

But, for those who know me well, you'd know that I just hate visiting that side of the city. The time it takes to go up and down from here to there, and there to here, with that much time you'd easily cover half the distance to Cox's Bazar on the highway, which is roughly 250 kilometers. Quite absurd isn't it?

Fortunately, the meetup of ours was held on a Saturday. So, I was free and I was ready, I had all the time and energy all saved up for that single day.

I called an Uber at around 3:40PM and by 4PM we were on our way, half of the distance we covered with ease. But then came the ungodly traffic around Dhanmondi, and the rest was history. From one red signal to another, somehow it took us an hour and 30 minutes just to cover 8 kilometers. 💀

Fortunately, thanks to the kind man you see above, we managed to killed some time. As I was stuck behind a huge line of cars, he randomly popped up with a bag full of pens, and then we went on chatting about the current state of the country, about relationships, family and all. Not only is he a kind man, he's also a good salesman. He actually ended up selling me a bunch of pens, which I surely didn't need haha.

Later on I thought that I'd give the pens to my wife, she likes collecting pens, so why not?

By the time I reached my destination, the sun had already gone down, whereas I thought I'd be here at least an hour earlier, while the sun was still up.

As I entered Tabaq and grabbed my seat, I saw @sarashew already sipping on some coffee, while everyone else politely waited haha. Some different types of desserts were being shared by everyone. Next in line was @annabeth and then @drivingindevon, all three lined up together, as always, you could just see the The Power of The Puff Gang, a trio you don't wanna mess with.

Also, their coffee of choice being the typical "Karen" drinks, a complex combination of different flavors and types of coffee. ABSOLUTELY FAB!

@rafa-noor sitting just beside the trio, all hungry and on the prowl for some good food, so I suggested one of the sandwiches, which later turned out to be a bad decision. Because just then and there we had planned to get some food later on at Robindro Sorobor. Loss hoye gelo ree. 😂

But hey, at least the sandwich was good right? You're welcome, Rafa.

Met @rehan12 bhai for the first time, quite a health conscious man, he surely wasn't ready to sin by overeating all the sugary desserts we had laying in front of us. He also had a fight to catch in just a few hours, and with all this traffic in Dhaka, I guess he was just stressed about missing the flight.

I however didn't mind, that day I was ready to be a sinner, that's why I almost ate up that fat piece of cake all by myself. And I don't even know how I did it.

Also, we had the Doc @simplifylife and Mrs Doc @docineffable, couple of the hour, couple of the moment? Surely.

I've spoken to Doc a lot of times before, but I didn't think he'd be this quiet and innocent, but I think I'm missing something here. 🤔 Bhabi seemed like the "chulbuli" type, while Doc is all quiet and observant. Reminded me of the movie Jab We Met for some reason, just like the Shahid and Kareena duo from that movie haha.

Our @notacinephile bhai still as dedicated towards his French course, recently passing his social communication tests. So, congrats to him.

He and I both went for a Cappuccino, classic. Later on he and Doc both got busy with Hive and its recent trends, they both even predicated the recent pump. I really should be hanging around both these fellas more, I'm in need of some more trading tips, and quick pump predictions too.

Then comes my partner in crime, @r-nyn bhai. I couldn't even recognize him at first, a total gentleman, clean shaved, short hair to the side, a new man. It surely was not the baabez hunter I last saw, the rugged and hawt beach boy.

But no matter how much he tried to subdue the baabez hunter that lives within, throughout that evening I saw that hunter coming out, enjoying and getting a glimpse of the night life around Dhanmondi.

Last, but surely not the least, our mascot @zayedsakib was there too, not afraid to indulge in some sugary desserts while sipping on some Hazelnut Latte. He was even kind enough to let me taste that latte, and it wasn't bad, it's surely worth a shot next time.

Later that night we both stayed till the end, as everyone else went their separates ways. Our mascot set off on his bike, while I called in a Pathao ride for myself. TOP G move.

We got so busy catching up with one another, up to no good with our shenanigans, planning for our future plans and meetups, time just somehow zoomed by.

Of course, we can't forget about @minhajulmredol, @surrealfia and @chrysanthemum, they couldn't attend because of the distance and timing. But they have promised to join us on our next journey, hopefully in Sylhet. You three better show up next time, or else...