3 posts tagged “hawaii”

Friday night “babysitting” Terri turned out to be rather uneventful. I have to confess I was anxious about it all day. I worried about her getting bored, or what if we just didn’t get along for some reason. Suppose she went Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde on me and turned out to the spoiled brat teenage girl from hell. What if she insisted on not listening to me or ignoring her mom’s instructions and slipped out after dark while I was in the bathroom.

 

My overactive imagination was in hyper-drive most of the day.

 

Carol dropped Terri off on time. Terri had her laptop and some other stuff in a dark blue Friends of KHPR canvas bag. I later found out the bag contained her iPod and a couple of books, along with hand lotion and a small bag of “girl things’, like cosmetics and small grooming implements.

 

Although this was suggested by Carol as a “get acquainted” visit, Terri and I talked very little. She kept herself entertained doing homework, or whatever on her laptop, which had no problem picking up an internet signal from my DSL modem.

 

She seemed content being quiet and staying busy, and I was glad to play along. If she was happy, I was happy.

 

She had brought rice crackers, or arare to snack on. She offered to share, but I opted for my own wheat crackers and cheddar cheese instead. Typical local kid and typical haole (Caucasian) man. I like arare, but prefer flavored rice cracker covered peanuts, called iso peanuts better than the more plain crackers she had brought. Carol had fed Terri dinner prior to dropping her off.

 

At some point during the day, my gut had told me all my worrying was for naught, and everything would be just fine. Like most people, I don’t usually listen to my gut even though it’s always right. Go figure.

 

Carol picked Terri up around 10:30, right in the middle of the agreed upon window. So far, Carol has been very prompt, very polite and Terri has been very nice. Why do I still feel like the other shoe is going to drop at some point?

 

Carol came in for a couple of minutes when she picked Terri up, but our conversation was pretty much just Carol and Terri thanking me, and me assuring both of them it was no trouble, and I’d be glad to have Terri over anytime. Everyone showing off their best manners and social skills.

 

We didn’t discuss when, or if Terri would return. However, I’m pretty sure we all assumed it would indeed happen again…soon.

 

On Saturday morning my cell phone chirped and vibrated to life around 11:00 AM.

 

Nobody ever calls me on the weekend, especially in the morning, so my immediate thought was, “who the…?” Before I could unleash the expletive on the tip of my tongue, I saw it was Carol.

 

“Hello?”, I answered pleasantly, instantly changing gears.

 

“Good morning Rick. Carol. How are you?”, she answered in her now familiar business-like manner.

 

“I’m good, thanks”, I replied, purposely speaking slower than normal. My way of having some one-sided fun with someone in too much of a hurry to have fun otherwise.

 

“Just wanted to say thanks again for watching out for Terri last night. She had a really nice time.”, was mom’s report after apparently debriefing Terri about her initial visit.

 

“No worries. It was nice for me too, although I have to admit she was very low maintenance and seemed perfectly content to self-entertain pretty much the whole evening.”, I replied truthfully.

 

“She’s really good that way.”, said the proud mom.

 

Before I could reply, Carol continued, “so it’s so far, so good?”

 

“Absolutely”, I said trying to make sure I genuinely sounded positive and sincere.

 

“I think she’s planning on Monday after school again if that’s okay. I told her to call you tomorrow to confirm.”, came the ever efficient business woman.

 

“Works for me”, I confirmed.

 

“I’ll send some money with her for you guys to eat on”, Carol let me know.

 

“Great. Thanks, Carol”, I told her.

 

“Okay. Thanks again. Talk to you next week.”, Carol said ending the conversation.

 

“Bye”, I said as the phone went dead.

 

The rest of the day consisted mostly of a little shopping. I needed a few household things for some extra cleaning up around The Crib. If I’m gonna be having Terri over some more, I should probably upgrade the environment in the apartment.

 

The apartment is always fairly clean and neat, but it’s old-man-bachelor-who-lives-alone clean and neat, not necessarily young-teenage girl-and-her-mom clean and neat. I’m not really sure exactly what that means, but I wanted both of the women to be comfortable when they come over.

 

My mom was a meticulous housekeeper and I’m pretty sure I’ll never be that good, but I do have some reasonable room for improvement. Who knows, I might even dust the tops of the tall bookcases.

 

I was somewhat proud of myself that despite not having lived with a woman for over 14 years, I managed to keep the toilet seat down while Terri was over. When I’m alone, I hardly think about it. Mostly I need the seat to be up when I use the bathroom and on the off occasion when I do need to sit, I never, ever, ever, ever sit my naked butt down anywhere without looking first, so accidentally sitting on the cold slippery rim of the toilet has never been an issue for me.

 

Girls…

 

After a good day shopping and getting my one hour of exercise walking in, I decided to take in a DVD to pass the evening.

 

The feature for the evening was a compilation of Johnny Winter concert performances from the 70’s that I discovered on Netflix pretty much by accident. I typed in Johnny Wi looking for old Tarzan movies and up popped Johnny Winter. Although I’ve become quite fond of and even create, modern electronic music, particularly soulful House music, I still love the kick-ass stuff from the 70’s. Once a rocker…

 

The high energy level is one of the things I like most about some of the electronic music, especially Trance music. The incessant, hard throbbing bass drum beat and the myriad of synthesizers and faux explosions gets me pumped. It ain’t Johnny Winter, or Blackfoot, or The Allman Brothers, but then again, it ain’t 1975 anymore either.

 

Just as I crack open an ice cold Tsing Dao beer imported from China, my cell phone goes off again. A cuckoo clock announcing no particular time. It’s the tone I assigned to Terri’s cell phone. Don’t want to miss her calls.

 

“Terri”, I answered as friendly sounding as possible considering she’s interrupting cold beer and a concert on Saturday night. A nearly unforgivable transgression for almost anyone else.

 

“Hey Rick”, she said in a soft but cheery voice. I like that she chooses not to use the “uncle” honorific when she addresses me. Despite our rather wide difference in age, it’s a little more comfortable to try to think of her as just another friend, although she’s anything but.

 

“Everything okay?”, I wanted to know, always close to paranoia.

 

“Everything’s fine. Are you busy?”, she replied, wondering if she had interrupted.

 

“Not busy at all. Just getting ready to watch a DVD. But no rush on that.”, I told her truthfully.

 

“You talked to mom this morning?”, she wanted to confirm.

 

“Yeah. She was just checking in and thanking me for last night.”, I told Terri.

 

“Well, thanks from me too. It was nice.”, she said and after a short pause, added, “and comfortable”.

 

“Comfortable matters. I’m happy to hear you say that”,  I told her honestly.

 

“Mom’s out for a while tonight, so I thought I’d check in and thank you, too ”, she confessed, sounding a little lonely…or something.

 

I took a sip of the cold beer as I listened to her, then replied, “that’s very sweet of you. Keep in mind though, you really don’t need an excuse to call. I’m usually here by myself, and it’s always nice to have someone to talk to.”

 

“I will keep that in mind. Thanks. Is Monday after school okay for me to hang out again?”, she wanted to know.

 

“It’s just fine. Your mom said you’d call to confirm. Is this that call?”, I wanted to know.

 

“Yeah, this is that call.”, she giggled.

 

“So what’d you do today?”, I asked sensing she might want some company for a bit.

 

We talked about her day, my DVD choice for the evening and some other non-topic kinds of stuff for about half of my beer, which was almost 30 minutes.

 

She didn’t sound sad, or anything, but I couldn’t shake the feeling she might be a little bored, or lonely, or something. I didn’t mention it since I don’t really know her well enough yet to judge such things. I didn’t want to embarrass her, if I was right.

 

She had already spent time on the phone with her friend, Karen, so I guess she was working her way down her phone list to pass the time. I felt good she called. It’s always nice when people think enough to call and chat without any particular reason. This call could certainly have waited had Terri not been in the mood for some casual chatting.

 

After we hung up, I finished the beer, got a fresh one and some kim chee tako poke to munch on during the concert. Had someone told me in 1975, I’d be in Hawaii today drinking Chinese beer and eating a hot, spicy mixture of Korean kim chee flavored nearly raw octopus, I would have been sure their destiny was a quick to trip to a padded room guarded by men in little white jackets, but here I am.

 

Johnny rocked as only he can (can/could?…whatever) and the refreshments were a perfect companion. I finished the beer and poke just as Johnny finished the last song on the DVD. A legendary song about aging rockers penned by one of Johnny’s partners in crime, Rick Derringer, entitled, “Still Alive and Well”. True dat!

Girls Night Out

 

I don't get a chance to see my former co-workers much these days. Primarily because we're no long co-workers, but some of us have stayed in close touch, and I still get along well with everyone I used to work with. Considering I've been gone four years, I believe this speaks well of our friendships.

 

Every now and then "the girls", as they are affectionately known, (even though there's a guy in the crowd as well), get together after work for what I call grazing and gabbing. None of them are big drinkers, or party people, but they always pick a nice bar/restaurant to get together. Everyone has a couple of drinks, some non-alcoholic, and lots of pupu's.

 

Since they all work together, and not everyone attends these ad hoc functions, there's the requisite talking about those who aren't there. Also, there's some talking about kids, husbands and the like, but the family stuff usually makes its way into daily conversations.

 

I have to admit, when I used to work with them, I avoided these outings, even at the risk of being talked about. When I go out drinking, I go out drinking. Minimal food, plenty of beer and lots of bulls@#t conversation, or not. Sometimes it's just beer and TV, or beer and karaoke.

 

I love the girls dearly, and always will. They, especially a couple of them, have been absolute angels in checking on me and helping me during the ugly times I've been forced to suffer through since leaving my job with them. (I'll save those gory details for another treatise.)

 

However, while they are top choice for friends, they are not top choice for party partners. Different mind sets, attitudes and priorities. The way of the world.

 

Nowadays, I go whenever I'm able if invited, because it's the only chance I get to see most of them, and the only chance I get to see all of them in a relaxed environment.

 

That said, I love getting to see them, but I still don't really like partying with them. Tonight, I'm trying to put that out of my mind, and I'm trying to concentrate on the fact I get to do something different, with people I really like.

 

"It'll be okay", I keep telling me.

 

Every once in a while other friends gather with us. Friends of friends, potential girlfriends in the case of the one dude in the bunch. Tonight, I have been promised, (or threatened) that there will be a nice, available lady for me to meet.

 

It seems I've been talked about and this lady, for God only knows what possible reason, said I sound interesting. Careful what you wish for.

 

I've never liked being setup. I'm especially skeptical tonight because I'm not sure the "sister" who has set me up and I have the same idea of what would make a nice girlfriend candidate for me. She's my favorite sister, and she knows full well what kind of women I like, but she tends to go against the grain sometimes, so if you tell her you like red, she's liable to insist on green.

 

Despite all of this, I have agreed to hook-up with the gang and try to be on my best behavior. I never behave badly in public, especially with them, so I'm not sure why I had to promise to behave, but it's okay. I'm trying to be grateful for CA's thoughtfulness.

 

In addition, I haven't had so much as a movie buddy for so long, I'm not much in a position to be picky at this point. The problem is, she knows this all too well.

 

Anyway, I said I'd behave and I'm a man of my word, or at least will be tonight.

 

As usual, I meet the girls at the office in downtown Honolulu. We hug and kiss on the cheek and make nice when I come in and see everyone. Thankfully, the people I don't want to see have left for the day, so even with my untimely departure from the company, I'm among friends.

 

The mystery lady is meeting us across the street at Aloha Tower Marketplace. Yes, it's the famous Hawaii landmark, right on the waterfront. Several years ago, this area was renovated and built out with new shops and restaurants. A nice trendy kind of place to hang out. Not my normal stomping grounds, but I do like it there, especially the places right on the water. Perfect Hawaiian atmosphere. Despite the dark, dank places I usually haunt, I like being reminded of where I live and just how beautiful it is here.

 

At 4:30, the girls are free to leave the phones on voice mail and we're off to see the Wizard. Conversations revolve around what we've all been up to since we last got together. Nice to catch up.

 

The walk across the street takes about 15 minutes. I mean, it's across the street, but it's really across a couple of streets. From the 25th floor office where the girls work, the place looks like you could just throw a rock at it, but once you're on the ground, there's a different perspective.

 

We work our way past restaurants and shops until we get to a nice bar/restaurant that is popular here because it's a micro-brewery and brews what I think is pretty good local beer. The food is also very good and the outdoor tables and chairs are right on the waterfront. When I do come to Aloha Tower, I like to come here.

 

Our mystery guest is due around 5:30, so I have some time to anticipate her arrival. I've tried to pump sister CA for details, but she's been pretty tight-lipped about the whole thing.

 

"Never mind. You're gonna like her. Trust me.", she responds every time I ask her to tell me more about this woman. I never trust people who say, "trust me". If I could trust them, they wouldn't have to tell me.

 

I was able to find out the woman I'm about to be thrown into the sandbox with is a local lady of Japanese ethnicity. This is a good thing. I love local Japanese women. I love real Japanese women too, but while abundant here, they're a little harder to meet in my circles.

 

I also found out she has a 16 year old daughter. Just the one youngun. I'm pretty okay with teenage girls, so this, too, is okay with me.

 

Mom's ex, the daughter's dad, now lives in Cali with his new family, which I understand features a younger wife figure. Nobody is sure about his ethnicity, but based on my time here in Hawaii, I'd guess Asian of one kind or another. I need to hasten to add white boys will also leave a wife, or significant other for a younger woman too, but it's very common here among Asian men. Of course, Asian men are very common in Hawaii. Caucasians are a minority here. I'm cool with that.

 

Drinks are ordered and the pupu menu is circulating while I'm just enjoying good company and the beautiful view from our table. We have a perfect view of the entrance to Honolulu Harbor and the deep blue Pacific waters are very calm. There's a gentle, cool breeze blowing. You can hear the palm fronds rustling near by. I love this place.

 

At precisely 5:25, there's a dull buzz of excitement around our table. It seems her highness has arrived. I pretend not to notice until she's right up to the table.

 

CA gets up to greet her friend. They exchange girl-hugs and friendly kisses on the cheek. Girl hugs, mean their bodies don't actually touch. Kinda like when you hug your auntie, or grandma. I'm a full body hugger anytime I think I can get away with it. Why not. If we're gonna hug, then by God, let's hug. I've always been a fairly affectionate sort.

 

CA introduces her friend as Carol and everybody says hi and waves. Local style. Good manners here.

 

Coincidentally, there's an empty seat next to me, and CA ushers Carol over to it and says, "you can sit by Rick. He doesn't bite."

 

I look at CA like now might be a good time to start, but I smile at Carol, help pull out the chair and in my best, genuinely friendly tone say, "hi, nice to meet you".

 

She sits, pulls up her chair, returns my smile and offers her hand as she says, "nice to meet you too. I've heard a lot about you".

 

"And you came anyway. I'm even more glad to meet you", I joke in response.

 

Everyone, especially Carol giggles. Every now and then I get off a good one.

 

Our server magically appears and takes Carol's drink order. The girls and B², the other dude I used to work with, have already ordered concoctions I've never heard of. Some are sans alcohol. They look pretty and everyone has to sample everyone else’s drink. I'll show you mine, if you'll show me yours, run amuck.

 

Carol orders one of the micro-brewery beers. We're off to a good start. Not only is she a local Japanese woman, she's a beer drinking local Japanese woman.

 

Carol presents at about five and half feet tall. She has slightly highlighted black, shoulder length hair. She's dressed in a denim skirt cut nicely above the knees, topped off with a comfortable looking light blue button up almost man-style shirt. One of my favorite girl outfits. CA doesn't know this, so I'm pretty sure it's  just good luck on my part.

 

The only jewelry I see is a nice watch on her left wrist. She has nicely manicured medium length nails with a neutral beige based polish. Classy, but not ostentatious.

 

She seems pleasant, and seems very comfortable around the girls, B² and me. Nice.

 

"So, we've been set up", she says rather abruptly as she turns to me after taking a sip of her beer.

 

"Quite", I answer with a chuckle.

 

"I usually hate being set up, but CA did a nice selling job on you", she said with a subtle grin and cocked head.

 

"Being setup by CA scared me to death, plus she told me virtually nothing about you. She kept saying 'never mind. Just meet her and find out for yourself'", I returned.

 

With a look of sincere concern, she said, "I guess you've been through some rough times".

 

I raise my eyebrows and gently nod my head, while addressing CA, "Yo, CA, haven’t you every heard of HIPPA? Have you been disclosing my confidential medical information?"

 

The girls work in an business that sees and handles lots of medical information. The privacy of which is treated with the utmost care.

 

Carol isn't sure if I'm upset, or just causing trouble, as CA responds stuttering, "I-I-I didn't really tell her anything confidential, plus, I've never seen any of your medical records, so I'm just telling her what you've told all of us".

 

Quick thinking. She does this kind of stuff for a living.

 

I feign outrage as I begin to nod my head while staring at CA, then turn to Carol and say, "and again, you came anyway?"

 

She smiles and nods as I look back to CA and say, "A'ight...This time."

 

Everyone giggles. HIPPA violations are no joke, but since I don't work there anymore, I can joke about whatever I like.

 

Carol looks somewhat relieved as she says, "so, how are you doing now?"

 

"In the big scheme of things, pretty okay, I guess", I answer truthfully.

 

"My uncle had diabetes", she said in a consoling, but genuine tone.

 

"We all tried to help as much as we could, but he hated to eat right, he hated to exercise and he didn't like taking his meds", she followed.

 

"That's a dangerous combination", I say.

 

"Unfortunately, it probably killed him sooner than it should have. His doctors said if he had taken better care of himself, he would have lived longer and would have had fewer complications", she offered.

 

"Well, ignoring it for a while didn't work for me either. Now, I can't see well enough to work and I'm lame. I could have probably avoided, or at least postponed all of that. Thankfully, I wised up before it actually killed me, although I may well have knocked a few days off my perpetual calendar.", I confessed.

 

Before she could continue this morbid, yet insightful conversation, I continued, "So, you have a daughter? She’s 16. Just about the only thing CA told me."

 

"Yes" she said proudly.

 

"Cool. Where does she go to school?", I asked, actually interested.

 

"Roosevelt", she replied almost embarrassed.

 

"My ex went there", I said, trying to make it sound okay. Public schools in Hawaii are unfortunately not among the top in the country and most people who can, send their kids to private school. I'm sure it's hard for a single mom.

 

"It's okay. I like to think you get out of school what you put into it, regardless of where you go", she said optimistically.

 

"Does she do well?", I asked giving her a good opportunity to brag about her daughter. I've have this backfire on me before, but I have a good feeling tonight.

 

"She does. Mostly As', a couple of B's", she answered, still proud.

 

"Excellent.", I said.

 

"Do you guys get along okay?", I asked, my curiosity expanding a little.

 

"Actually, we do", she said with surprise in her voice.

 

"Good for you. I'm sure you've heard some of CA's horror stories, although I happen to like both her girls.”, I tell Carol.

 

Carol nodded and chuckled, deciding not to answer out loud, letting her good manners prevail.

 

I excuse myself, as I need to make room for another diet soda. I’m alcohol free tonight. I don't often drink when I go out with the girls.

 

When I return, Carol stops talking to one of the other girls and looks at me with that curious, cocked head look I saw before. It's kinda cute. She's kinda cute.

 

"You live near Ala Moana?", she asks.

 

I nod.

 

"How are you getting home?, she inquires

 

"CA offered to take me, or I can catch a cab. I always find my way home, somehow.", I laugh softly.

 

"I live in Makiki. I'd be glad to give you a lift. CA lives totally the other way". Carol offers.

 

"Are you sure?", I ask.

 

"Sure. It doesn't make sense for CA to go out of her way, when it's right on my way", Carol says convincingly. I don't need much convincing at this point. This lady is very cool.

 

"Shoots. That'd be nice of you. Plus, we could get to talk a little more", I said, hoping I didn't say too much.

 

"Yeah, we could talk where it's not so hectic and noisy", she agreed.

 

This is almost too easy. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop here. There has to be a catch. I'm never this lucky, although, I must say, I'm way overdue.

 

Carol lets CA know she's going to give me a ride home. CA is surprisingly agreeable. Surprisingly, because CA likes to make all the plans herself, but obviously recognized a good deal for all concerned here and goes along without argument. I need to write this one down.

 

Carol and I continue to play 20 questions when I decide to ask her, "what time does your kitchen pass expire tonight?".

 

"I'm the mommy. I get to come home when I want to, but I did tell my daughter I wouldn't be very late.", she laughed in response.

 

By now, it was almost 8:00 and I was getting close to my capacity for "girl stuff" for one night. Like I said, I love them dearly, but I have my limits.

 

"I've had a full dose of the girls for one night. We can leave whenever you're ready. We can also stay if you want, but whenever you're ready to go, I'm ready.", I whisper to her after leaning close to her ear. She smells good, too. Something a little spicy, not too sweet. More classy stuff.

 

She nods thoughtfully, then says, "Ben-jo, then go?"

 

Ben-jo is a Chinese word for toilet, or bathroom. Although Chinese, lots of local people use it. That and lua, an Hawaiian transliteration of the British word lew, which means the same thing.

 

I nod and answer, "works for me".

 

Carol excuses herself and I tell CA that we're going to be leaving when Carol gets back. I give her $30 to cover my beer, Carol's beer and some of the food which we ate almost none of. She confirms it's enough money.

 

Another reason these outings aren't so much fun for me. $30 is a lot of money for me, and while seeing my old friends is well worth it, it still stings the wallet. The girls know my situation and are always very understanding. Sometimes to the point of helping me pay. More very good friend stuff.

 

The girls audit medical bills for a living and when they go out, they audit the check as meticulously as they do their work. It can often take up to an hour, or more. I always try to leave more than my share and dig out early.

 

Carol returns and sits down, but not all the way back in her chair. She's ready to go. I tell her I've paid for us and we're free to leave.

 

She starts to argue with me for paying for her, and I tell her it's the same I'd pay for a cab ride and maybe next time, if there is one, she can pay. She's appeased and we faux hug everyone and head off to the valet pick-up area to retrieve her car.

 

To Be continued (:

After a good day of shopping, blogging, DVD watching and a couple of other insignificant things, I decided to treat me to a beer, or two. I hadn’t been out in about a week, so I was overdue for some human interaction. Since I shop alone, and there’s way too many people working at Wal-mart for me to remember, I don’t consider shopping human interaction.

 

After a light dinner of hotdogs on a muffin, I dashed out of my studio apartment just before midnight. Yes, I’m very nocturnal.

 

Since I only had $2.00 in my pocket, I need to stop at, where else, Wal-mart and grab some cash.

 

I live near the largest shopping center/mall on the island. This neighborhood is not only known for shopping and eating, but it’s also one of a couple of major Korean bar hubs. Back in the day, there were probably close to 100 bars in a several block radius. Now, due to a declining economy, there are only a handful. Of these I usually only go to a very few.

 

Back in the day, and not that long ago, I used to frequent most of them. And I mean frequent both ways.

 

Last night I started at a quaint little place known as Club Aria. It isn’t really a club, per se, but most of the bars are called Club something-or-other. I guess this is to imply a gentlemen’s club. These Korean bars are Asian style hostess bars. This means your waitress can sit and talk, or whatever instead of just being a server on skates.

 

You may buy your “hostess” drinks, unlike at a Dave & Busters, or the like. Yes, there’s a catch. The “ladies drinks” are $20. This is how the ladies make money. They work on 100% commission. The bartenders usually get a little something for minding the bar, taking care of the money, etc., but the women who hustle drinks only make the commissions on the drinks they sell. How much, you might ask? Generally, of the $20 you part with, your “hostess” gets $15 and the house gets $5.

 

Ask you favorite car salesman, or real estate agent, 75% is a pretty darned good commission.

 

Anyway, women who are good at their job can make pretty good money. Cash money. (:

 

At Club Aria, the girls are a little older and usually aren’t very pushy about trying to sell drinks, especially to the regulars. No sense beat a dead horse.

 

When I entered the bar, it was fairly empty. This is good for me since I like a nice, quiet place to relax, watch TV, grind some peanuts and enjoy my beer. It is of course, not so good for the bar, and even worse for the girls.

 

There was another guy at the bar when I went in a took a stool. John is another white boy from the mainland. Detroit, to be specific. He’s recently retired from the Navy and has long hair approaching the bottom of his shoulder blades.

 

I had guessed since he had been in the Navy since he was 17, and now was finally out, he was taking advantage of being able to have long hair for the first time.

 

He told me he’s doing it for a young cancer patient. Apparently, there’s some kind of program where people grow their hair long for kids with cancer. Very sweet thing to do.

 

John and I had a nice, enjoyable conversation, as usual. Nothing exciting, just bar talk. Actually, last night was Obama talk. I usually avoid talking to people in bars about politics, or religion. These are volatile enough topics under the best of circumstances, but add alcohol and things can get ugly very quickly.

 

I’m okay with John, so I listen politely and offer a few polite, yet decidedly neutral comments to keep the conversation alive.

 

Our bartender is a Korean woman named Sugi. She doesn’t care about Obama, Osama, or anybody else who’s not buying drinks for her and tries a couple of times to turn the conversation into something that might generate some income for her.

 

It was not be this night. Sugi is very nice and fun to talk to, but neither John, nor myself were feeling charitable enough to cough up $20.

 

Since I didn’t leave home until almost midnight and since “bar time” is about 20 minutes ahead of “real time”, it ended up being almost closing time fairly quickly. This bar, like most in Hawaii, closes at 2:00 AM.

 

The aggressive bar time is not so the employees can go home early, it’s to make sure all glasses are off the tables by the bewitching hour of 2:00. Stiff penalties from the liquor commission could ensue if they are not.

 

A few of the bars here have what are called cabaret licenses. No they don’t feature dancing girls doing the Can-Can. I have no idea where the designation originated.

 

When I first moved her in 1984, a couple of these late night bars did have live bands, but no dancing girls. We do have strip bars here and a couple of them are open until 4:00. Here’s where the so-called dancing girls can be found.

 

One of the two Korean bars in the ‘hood that is open until 4:00 AM is conveniently located in the same block as my apartment building. I moved into this building on purpose.

 

This particular cabaret is called Club Napa Vally. Not a type-o, they spell valley without the e. Language barrier?, Avoiding copyright infringement?, Who knows. I don’t think anybody cares. People who go there, or don’t, usually just call it Napa.

 

I often end my evenings here. I know most of the bartenders. Some, I’ve known for several year. The buy-me-drinky game is played a bit more aggressively here than at Club Aria. There are also lots more girls, and most of them are younger and more attractive. This bar is popular and does a pretty good business, especially after 2:00 AM.

 

One nice thing this bar has always done is they let customers buy themselves drinks. This is not a obvious as it sounds. The Korean cabaret bars all raise their drink prices at 2:00. Domestic beer goes from $3 a bottle, to $5 a bottle.

 

The Mama in this bar will let some customers buy “markers”, small shot glasses, for themselves at $3.00 and enjoy the beer after 2:00 AM. Good deal for guys like me who are on a budget, or for anybody who doesn’t want the price of their beer to increase 66% when Mickey’s little hand hits the 2.

 

There was a new bartender last night that I’ve only met a few times. She remembers me and brings me one beer, and two markers. My standard 1:30 AM order. She also remembers which brew I drink. Good service.

 

There are a couple of other women there who also bartend. One is helping tonight and the other is just hustling drinks on the floor. It’s her normal night off.

 

Generally, both of these women are pretty nice, and ordinarily both don’t bother me about spending money on them. They know better. It’s the beating the dead horse thing again.

 

Last night was different. The woman who was helping out behind the bar asked me if I wanted to by my other friend a drink. My other friend had come over and sat down next to me at the bar. Highly irregular, but since I like her, I don’t mind.

 

I tell the woman behind the bar, (we’ll call her JH) that I don’t want to buy C, my old friend a drink tonight. I’ve known C for over 5 years, and I’ve bought her a drink exactly two times, so she’s not expecting anything.

 

JH nods and walks away. Momentarily, she comes back with a beer for C. I reminded JH, as nicely as possible considering I’m being set up, that I had said no to a drink for C.

 

JH tried to look confused while she asked me again if I wanted to go ahead and buy one for C since she had brought it anyway.

 

I’ve been doing the Korean bar thing here in Hawaii for 24 years. I’ve been played, set up, knocked down and just about everything else, so I recognize most of the games the girls play. Tonight, I’m not in the mood.

 

I give JH a look that would finish melting the polar ice caps. C understands and says it’s okay. Damned right it’s okay. It’s my money and only I decide how and when I spend it.

 

JH takes the drink away. Then uncharacteristically, C asks if she can have one of my markers so she can at least have something to drink while we talk.

 

Normally, I’d jump at the chance to buy a hostess or bartender a drink for $3.00, but tonight I smell a rat. I let C have the marker anyway. It’s late, I probably don’t really need the extra beer, so it’s okay.

 

C and I talk about JH’s little stunt and somehow the conversation got turned around and now C was giving me a hard time. This after I had just given her a free beer to drink.

 

As the conversation continues to heat up, C buys me another marker to replace the one I bought her. I told her it wasn’t necessary, but she insisted. She also pushed away the free beer she had been drinking.

 

I decided very quickly that since I had come here to have fun and definitely wasn’t having any, I would just get up and leave. So, I did. I left C sitting at the bar with her mouth open as if trying to catch flies.

 

I believe the root of the problem was both women had been drinking all night and had gone from happy drunks to bad attitude drunks. JH is especially prone to this transformation. She can be a major handful if she overfills her tank. C is usually better and most of the time handles her drinks well, but something got into her last night.

 

Thankfully, there’s another cabaret bar only a block away, where the girls are prettier and the bartending staff much nicer. Plus, they have much better food. I’ll be staying out of the “vally” for a while…maybe a long while since either JH, or C bartends every night of the week. At this point, I’m still calling both of them names I almost never call any woman. Neither will be on this week’s Top 10 list.

 

So, I came home, tried to watch a movie, but fell asleep on my couch. I’ll try the movie again shortly. It was okay, but I was too tired and too pissed off to really enjoy it last night.

 

Tonight, I’m staying in happy little home by myself. Maybe I’ll write another blog. I hope I can write about Soon Ji and not get mad at her because of what happened last night.

 

I’ll be fine. I still like Soon Ji. Soon Ji, by the way is not in any way based on a real person. I rarely make up characters from scratch, but had the idea for Soon Ji and had to go with it.

 

Enough for now…(: