Meet D'Souza

I have a friend who I'd like to call D'Souza. D'Souza is, well, cool. Cool enough to quit his job so he could travel the world and do nothing for a bit. He's now back from his travels, after way too much vodka and what seems like a steady resolution to not share anything that happened on the trip. He is considering taking up a job soon. In the meantime, he plays tennis and golf, both with unbelievable style, and also dabbles in some music every now and then.

Among all my friends, he is probably the one who has changed the most since I first met him, and all for the better. DS is also a bartender, BTW, so every time we have a party, he is around the bar, mixing drinks for all (and a fair few for himself as well). He is the quintessential king of all good times. The good 3G sagely notes as to how only DS can liven up a party by just hanging (lurking?) around. No yabber, no oozing charm, he just takes life so easy, it really gets kinda contagious. I am a D'Souza fangirl.

But this post is not an Ode To Everything We Like About DS -- it focuses on the one weakness the man has (coz no one is perfect, not even tennis-playing, bartending, travel-smitten friends). Which is that he loves his gambling. Poker, random bets on Ladbrokes or focused trips to Macau, gambling gets him going. So every now and then, I ask for odds on grand slams, IPL and other sporting events that we both follow.

So it was that I messaged him last week from India:

Me: Yo, what odds on the Indo-Pak match? I'll go long Pak
DS (super-quick reply): How much?
Me: 20?
DS (Vodafone 3G-fast reply): On. 2:1. So I pay you 40 if Pak wins
Me: Ok
DS: Who is this, btw?
Me: !!

Yes our boy likes his gambling a LOT.