Back in the Garden

Yesterday I sprained my ankle; it's swollen to the size of a grapefruit. I'd like to say I did it doing something heroic like racing at the motocross track or battling angry water buffaloes at a wedding, but no...I twisted it on some uneven sidewalk. A walking accident. Smooth. At least i had an audience of motodops and coconut ladies to see it happen.

SK must have burned a ton or incense at the Wat. The day she loses her free room & board at jBat's (he's headed back to DC for some R&R) life presents her with a bed-ridden Bong. She gets to showcase her domestic skills and a place to crash. Back in the garden...for now. Oh well, my ankle is fucked, getting to the bathroom is a hassle, and I was out of diet coke and toilet paper.

Shit happens. I'm not going to whine about it (too much) because worse things happen to better people:

Some major shit:
A few days ago I wrote about Ken the barang manager at Walkabout. (I've been calling him Kevin all this time...he never said anything...) It wasn't a moto accident that laid him out - it was worse. The kind of thing that happens everyday.

He got a minor scratch on a rusty stairwell. He noticed the cut, went on anti-bios, and while the infection seemed ok, the cut wouldn't heal - even after 4 months. He went to an MD to get it checked and got the bad news. Gangrene. The leg needs to be taken off - above the knee.

Health:
The whole episode's got me more conscious of health matters. After I heard, I spent some time checking myself for cuts, scratches, and bites. Then went over to Martini and got someone to check me out - just to make sure I didn't miss anything. To err on the side of caution, I went for a second opinion. So far, so good....but you can't be lax on shit like this. I'll do some more checking-up this weekend.

Holiday Week:
I had a 10 day break so the holidays are a bit of a blur. California 2 patrons were treated to a time honored holiday treat - a riverfront taxigirl brawl complete with fists, nails, hair pulling, belt lashings, and a crowd of Khmers to watch, hoot and holler. YEEE-HAW mother fucker.

It came to end when a gun-toting pimp arrived on the scene (a bit late) to keep his girl from getting a more serious ass-kicking.

Noted: It took a gun-wielding pimp to bring this ugly affair to an end. I guess if you can't get a cop....

Sharky Bar:
Everyone seemed to be in the right mood for New Year's Eve at Sharky Bar. A blast. Despite some questionable DJ-ing, the party kicked. Hats, horns, spray foam, tubes that spewed colored tissue paper. The new year hit and the bar erupted. They broke out mucho bottles of champale and we started slamming it. Many thanks to the crew behind the bar for the champale bath (fuckers...) The idea of a human shield is....you don't hit the shield.

Whatever,... it's not a party if you don't walk out covered in spray foam and stale champale. Not as crowded as last year, but that's a good thing. Besides, plenty of women and I dig free booze - even if it's not vodka. Also on the scene:

• Wasted Kazakhs vs. wasted Australians. I think it started over a pool game. Pool is a menace. Burn the tables.
• Plunger commandeering the wireless mic. Giving a drunk and angry commentary LIVE from different parts of the bar. No one seemed to mind. That's why I like the place.
• BigChef's pizza dough garlic bread ($3)
  

It was closing in on 2, and I was thinking company.

Martini Bar and Disco:
Pretty hopping. Great vibe. Where were the Africans? I felt obligated to kick the new year off with a partner. Too many choices. Too bombed to make one. The champale/vodka/ect....had me in a fog not even kamagra could fix, so....

Howie's Bar:
Full house. Everyone pie-eyed and stumbling. EMTed, Plunger, tattooMark, BongRob, and even the guys from Martini came by...some tourists from France. Everyone getting down til past 5. WIandy set up a round of flaming sambuca shots and no one was badly injured. Plunger broke out the casket-shaped flask of Wild Turkey / sherry and I was....10 sheets to the wind. Lights came on and....

Walkabout:
A tattooed bowling ball was at the bar freaking out some Ind0-Arab-Euro looking dudes. I watched Plunger and his ex re-kindle their relationship ..in front of her date for the night. Oh well,....we were at the Walkabout and he didn't seem to mind. Cool dude. We talked food. I was thinking splurge - breakfast buffet at the Cambodiana Hotel ($13.20) I ended up with some nuggets ($3) a small order of fries ($1.50) and started eyeing the tattooed pierced dark chick I've been wanting to chill with for a while.

"To do ($20) or not to do (save$20)...." That was the question.

Did the right thing. Went home. Inhaled the food and slept til 8pm.

Dig New Year.