Hong Kong: Day 2

Actually it's day 3, just survived night 2.

Today we will touch upon a rather sensitive subject. Not sure if I should give too many details, ahh sounds enticing doesn't it? Well, for the past couple of months I've had a rather difficult relationship with my boss.

Ah, right. I work, I teach English on weekends, doesn't sound like a real serious job huh? Well it pays really well that's for sure. Like, a lot. And anyways, my boss hates me. Can't really give many details about why he hates me, but it's just quite obvious he does. He ordered to delay may month's salary, I even got paid less than I was supposed to. He's been taking classes from me as well, oh hell, he sent me a bunch of horrible messages to my phone that last time I had an emergency and cancelled a class one hour before it started. I mean I deserved some kind of punishment for that, but hell, hate mail? Really? That sick, sick man. He actually kneels and bows in front of a gold statue in the school office, when I asked about it O brothers did I whimper, O brothers did I whimper. He prays to the god MONEY. The money god. He bends over in front of the yellow statue of a fat frog and goes 'Oh money-money-money-money-money-money-money', I mean!

Bleh, so I wanna leave, but I can't since I'm moving to another country in June and I need the money for that. It's just 3 months from now, I can't afford to just quit. Not even change companies, since it would take several weeks before they assign me some classes. Besides, I'm terrified of money-god, I fear retribution I do. Force to be reckoned with.

All I can do is avoid him, my boss- not the money-god, like he avoids me (though money-god does seem to avoid me as well), be super nice to my co-workers, which I am, and hope for the best. The kids like me, the parents love me, so just... low profile huh?

Okay, I guess it's time for some high points ofthe past months.

Went to see The Haunted in December, it was quite unexpected, honestly I wasn't and still am not a big fan of the band, I went there cause it was cheap and I had nothing else to do that night. It was a good thing I went because I ran into an unexpected acquaintance, Mr. Mort Productions himself, who I met at a show about 5 years ago, still remembered me and all! Nicest guy, I wonder why he was there, you know, accompanying the band all the way to Shanghai for a concert that was under-promoted if anything. Had a nice talk with him at the bar during the show and afterwards he let Milk and I take a picture with the band, I say 'let us' because the professional pictures were only for people who bought VIP tickets, well he did us that favor, though I still haven't got the picture because I'm a tool who hasn't called him. I did write him a couple of times but his inbox was full, busy man as he is and all.

Anyways after the show we played roadies for a while and went out for a midnight snack with the band, not all of them, one of the twins, thedrummer (who is AWESOME) and the manager, along trotted Mr. Mort, the tour manager and N, who turned out to be a lot more fun and outgoing than she lets people know. Cool thing was Mr. Mort asked me for help, translating for the band and all, I felt so important hah.

Well that was that, a few weeks ago we went to see Lamb of God and Milk and I burned about a thousand RMB each that night. Understandable, since tickets were 450 per person, unheard of! Pff, our own damn fault for not buying the pre-sale tickets. After that we went to INFERNO with my friend K. who I hadn't seen in years.

Then the REAL drinking began, I just remember going 'another pitcher? another pitcher!' over and over until Milk was bent over the bar and K. was probably drunk-texting, they were playing Evil Dead on the TV and I was dumbly staring with my mouth wide open when D. starts moving even faster than usual in small circles discretely going LAMBOFGOD LAMBOFGOD LAMBOFGOD, baby turns around and there, walking into the bar, Lamb of God.

I elbow Milk in the stomach and almost knock over K's glass and I not so vividly remember yelling 'ACT NORMALLY', and probably started whistling. This night shall be henceforth known as 'dumb faces night'. The title is self-explanatory. At some point I was so drunk I can't even remember when I completely forgot the band was there, mind you the bar wasn't all that full. I have vague memories of talking to the band members, staring dumbly (again) at Willie (who I didn't know was Willie until I went through N's pictures and googled the band members' names), then the bass player (whose name turned out to be John Campbell, SO glad I didn't ask him) came over to our side of the bar and started speaking Spanish, about a half hour into the conversation I realized he was a band member, oh my scrambled brains!

A footnote: My sister is a special little girl. She can make people uncomfortable REALLY fast. It all started as a private joke when we were kids, whenever one of us did something dumb like mispronouncing a word or rolling down the car windows when we are an arm's length away from a real wolf, she doe

s this face and goes: DEUUUUH!

Used to freak my father out. Everybody, reall

y. As she developed into a charming young lady she also became fond of the habit of holding entire conversations in what she now calls 'the little Mongolian' dialect. I happen to be fluent and very fond of the little Mongolian dialect, it has the ability to make people laugh INSTANTLY. The little Mongolian dialect has the tendency to resurface when drunk.

Now this little piece of information can possibly explain the following pictures.

That last one is my pride and joy. The picture my offspring and the offspring of my offspring shall know me for. My legacy. And I am clearly going DEUUUUH!

I'd like to take this opportunity to virtually apologize to everyone at INFERNO Bar for those HORRIBLE pictures I took of the staff and friends with the band members. I was trusted with the task and I failed miserably, in my defense, working a strange camera when stupendously drunk is all frolic for the photographer, and all regret for the photographed. A lesson never to be forgotten.

I take my leave from this cavernous bar I'm at. Mostly because I'm afraid of returning to the hostel after dark, even though I'm one block away. It's that damned cursed cockroach-infested curry-smelling hellhole. I'm never eating curry again.

In Hong Kong.

Chinese word of the day: money-god 财神 cai2 shen2

IMPORTANT EDIT: On the 15 minutes it took me to walk back to the hostel someone stole my bank card. Good thing it was completely empty as I had withdrawn it all in the morning, probably had like 39 HKD left and nothing you could do with that really. But still, FUCK.