Bartending…Cambodian Style!

I have been out of from behind the bar since New Years 2010…when I was pregnant with the twins!!!…but just like riding a bicycle, it all comes back to you!!  I have lamented for the past two years that this place…CAMBODIA, in general, NEEDS some good bartenders…I have only found ONE bartender who seems to have it all…he can make a drink, carry on a conversation and take care of multiple tasks at once…

Our good friends opened a new bar…they have great food, great drinks and GREAT entertainment…the entertainment brings hundreds of people in…however, the customer service has people scratching their heads…don’t get me wrong…on a regular night, the service is impeccable…but you add the language barrier, ramshackle bar set ups and 500 people…well, it’s scary!!!  After one such LARGE turn out a few months back…I said to the owner, “Next event…YOU call me…I will work the upstairs bar and we’ll get these customers turned over fast!!”…of course, I had sat there with my husband, listening to music and enjoying a few mojitos and by the end of the night, had no recollection that the last time I was behind the bar was 2 years ago…

So right before our trip to Australia, I had just dropped Zachary off at school and Diego pulls up next to us on his moto while we’re sitting in the tuktuk…and he asks me to help out that weekend…”SURE!” I respond…HELLO…I haven’t seen 1 am in 2 years (unless it was to change a poopy diaper or stick a boob in a baby’s mouth)…NEVERMIND the fact that I wasn’t as confident I could pull this off as I was the night I had had 4 or 5 or maybe 7 mojitos and told him to “COUNT ON ME!”…OK…so, if you know me, you know I have this thing…like before a basketball game or a big night of a party…I can’t be cocky…right?…because I always think that pride comes before a fall…so if you think you’ve got it and aren’t just a little bit nervous…you are going to fail…and fail big…it’s stupid, I know, but I really am quirky and it’s just me…so here I am, getting ready to fly to Australia and I get food poisoning and just for fun, I throw in a Saturday night bartending shift, pro bono!  YEAH! 

I admit it, I was nervous…dreaming for two nights of “being in the weeds” (for you non-restaurant people, it means running everywhere, forgetting who ordered what and just never being caught up…)…but I pull out my money making dress, throw some make up on and head to the bar at 6 PM…

NO NEED TO WORRY!!!…I mean, who am I kidding?  My husband kept telling me it would be fine…like, even if I hadn’t been behind the bar in 5 years, I would still rock it (how’s THAT for a hubby?)…

Jimmy came and listened to music, chatted with friends and sweated his ass off!

MONA!  My partner in crime!

Barback/Bartender…he was AMAZED that I could pour the drinks…AND that I threw almost $20 in the tip jar…it was a BIG amount…maybe 5 people tipped me all night long!  They just don’t do tips here!

Mojitos ready to rock and roll!

The owner insisted I have one to start the night off…how can I refuse!?  (was never a drink behind the bar kid of girl!)

…and here are our patrons…drinking our drinks and having some fun!

The “chefs”…

The band…

THE CROWD!!!

Roasted piggy…all gone!

This band ROCKS…think a salsa version of ColdPlay…Justin Bieber…and Jim’s fav…Rage…

I remembered what I love about bartending…the people, the action, staying busy, moving around, the music, the fun…I FORGOT what it feels like to be the bartender…in the fact that you are “hired” help…not all people, but a lot of them just had the, “Give me my drink and shut up…” attitude…I forgot what it feels to be like that…I mean, not that I really wanted to be friends with them anyhow…I was just trying to make everyone’s night fun…I was doing it for fun…not to make money (at least not for myself!!!)…

Cheers!!!!

Smart little monkey…

I just love love love watching this boy grow!!!  He is a smart little guy and soaks EVERYTHING up like a sponge!!!  Notice the muscles on the arms…the special power in Iron Man’s hand…LOVE my little superhero loving boy!

When I get big…

This little guy has a GILLION questions…and answers…and everything in between…recently, he’s been asking me if he can exercise with me when he gets big…and get big muscles…and tells me which weights to pick up and how to do it and what to do and counts to 20 (he’s allowed in the gym sometimes…now I see that 24 Hour Fitness has it right…seriously…there’s no trainer that’s got ANYTHING on that kid!)…

He had no school a few weeks back and I was heading out for my morning run and, as usual, the twins were set to go and Zachary decided that he needed to get his running shoes and clothes and head out with me…He spent more time in his “special spot” at the front  of the stroller…but he was a trooper whenever we raced and he beat me!!!

Notice the right hand there “pushing super power fast button” on the back of his shoe!!!

No matter how many questions this boy asks…he’s STILL my little buddy!!!

24 Hours in Singapore…

Seven years ago, we were on our honeymoon in Italy and wanted the late seating on our cruise!!!  We saw this couple scurry by us a few times and then finally sat down…we enjoyed our dinner, went dancing with them and a friendship was formed…We learned the next day that were giving us “one chance” and if they didn’t like us, they were moving to a different table…good thing Jimmy & I are likeable!!!  …because in May, Robbi emailed me and said, “Meet me in Singapore!”…HELL YEAH!!!  I booked my ticket that day!  It’s WHAT you do…

It was supposed to be a weekend trip, but due to many unforeseen circumstances…i.e…a blown out engine because a baggage cart blew across the runway and the plane was grounded, it turned into 24 hours in Singapore…and it was PERFECT! 

I landed at noon and was at the hotel by 12:45, bathing suit on, and drink in hand…we were sharing stories like Sex and the City girls…seriously, they’ve got nothing on us!  It didn’t even feel like it had been 3 years since we had last seen each other…

We were on the club floor of the Mandarin…ONLY Robbi can hook us up like this!

…and I would like to say we PAINTED that town…ate our tummies out and danced our asses off…but, we ordered room service, a movie and were asleep by 9:30 pm…and I LOVED every minute of it!!!  Seriously, wouldn’t change it…MY kind of night!!!

She had a hard time with her jet lag, so I ventured out for a favorite…any guesses?!?!  Worth every $7.10 of that venti mocha!

Walking back to the hotel…found these two taking a snooze…

…this load of groceries without a SOUL in site on a busy street…and nobody took a thing…I REALLY REALLY like that!!!

Enjoyed looking at the place I stayed last time…

…and hit the gym with the trainer Robbi told me she booked for us right when I walked into the pool the day before!!!

…back to the pool…

…and me hiding out while Robbi yelled at someone for doing something wrong…she’s good at that too!!!

Robbi and Fred will be our friends for life…no matter how many days or years pass…we ALWAYS look forward to seeing them, talking to them and catching up…In fact, Robbi, Jimmy & I are already planning on how we are going to coerce Fred into a trip to Cambodia for their next vacation!!!

THANK YOU so much friend…it was wonderful to get a great bit New York style hug, share a drink (or 5), lay out the by pool and just catch up…I heart you…now where are the beach towels?????

Another “wow” moment…

I live in Cambodia…I have so many visas and entries and exits in my passport that I had to get 48 pages added to my passport today!!!  Which, of itself, is not necessarily a “wow” moment…I mean, quite honestly, I never thought I would be a person who had THAT many stamps in my passport…maybe one to Italy and one to France…but that was all I ever really figured I’d ever have (and go figure, those are the 2 that I DON’T have…)  However, my “wow” moment coincides with all of this…

I took Brandon with me to the US Embassy…I haven’t been in this portion of the Embassy yet, so it was a little bit new…it was organized…much like a government office in the states…it had 110v plug in throughout (something you notice after you’ve burned up 90% of your stuff), primary language was English and most of all…I saw a WATER FOUNTAIN…like a DRINKING water fountain…think what you like…yes, it’s basic stuff at home…to this day, I remember standing in line during P.E. and after basketball practice, waiting my turn to soak up some water and wet my face and head…I mean, they were/are ALL over the place…airports, schools, malls…but not in Cambodia.  I mean, I can see why…while I enjoy this country and its people, cleanliness is NOT one of the strong points…and when you see people daily peeing wherever, blowing their snot on the ground, picking their boogers while they hold the door open for you at the bank, and signs above the toilet telling you to sit on the seat, not stand…and that taking showers in the toilet is not permitted…well, you can understand WHY there aren’t really any drinking water fountains around here…

(a REAL sign above a toilet here…)

SO…my WOW moment was when Brandon and I were stuck in the “waiting for our number to be called when nobody else was in there getting pages added to their passport, but for some reason it took over 40 minutes for our number to be called, only to be told that it would be another 20 minutes”…we were biding time and found not one, but TWO, fountains…It was just one of those wow moments…he was just amazed…that he could push a button…and water would come out…and he could drink it…and it wasn’t splashing everywhere…and he controlled it…he kept smiling and pointing and saying, “Tck!  Tck!!  Mama…TCK!!!”…(translated, “Water!  Water!  Mama, Water!!!”)

Reality Check…

I.live.in.Cambodia.  My 22 month old has never seen a drinking fountain before…silly, I know…but sometimes you just forget…it really is the simple things in life!  As Americans, we take simple things like that for granted…you can go almost anywhere and get safe, clean water to drink at your disposal…for free…lucky we are…and I mean it!!!

Brothers…

I have 4 brothers of my own…so I know the love/hate thing that comes with sibling love…(being the only girl, I have more love than anything else for them!!!)…my boys, for the MOST part, get on great…

they laugh, play, chase, run, giggle, share the couch, watch movies, eat popcorn, vroom cars, sniff cuddlies, call out each other’s names…(except when it’s time to share the iPad)…

I LOVE them ALL so very much:

their sweet little voices, stubborn screeches, belly laughs, starfish hands, stinky feet, yummy kisses, round peaches, whipped cream loving, rainbow chasing, corn loving, bed hogging, superhero loving and everything in between…

without a doubt, my life would not be the same…

it would be nothing… if I did not have these boys…

they are EVERYTHING to me…

Welcome Tom!

Somebody was a VERY good boy at school again and Tom came for a visit again…THIS week (he was just here last week!!)…Well done, little Z!!!  One more week of school and then ALL sorts of summer fun!

If I Could Bottle Time…

If I could bottle time, I would bottle my sweet little Zachary…who is always so excited to hang out with me; giving with his loving words and ready to strike up ANY conversation…today, I was telling a friend that Jim & I had a 40th birthday party to go to…and Zachary heard the word “Party” and all bets were off…he was going come hell or high water!!!  His dad said OK, so we got dressed, he picked out his clothes and asked me to make his hair “real handsome”…

OH.MY.GOD…I LOVE this boy…seriously, he is just the best (truth be told, ALL of my boys are in their own way…I love EACH of them as MUCH as the OTHER for their OWN reasons!)…he was quite excited and chatting up a storm and it has been a rather long week…and I just wanted some down time…but he was in his “party” mode and was asking a million questions…and I finally said, “What?  Why do you have so many questions?” and he said, “Mommy, because I am your smart little BooBoo Monkey!” …SO true…put me in my place and I thought, “ask away, my son…I will answer whatever you want”…

So…here were his questions (in a 20 minute time span with watching Cars II in between):

1. Will there be pretty brown girls there?  Oh, really?  I want to kiss them all!
2. What kind of party is this?  Who is it for?  How do you know David?  How old is he?  FORTY?  That’s OLD!  What color is his hair…is it white?  No, he doesn’t have hair?  But when he had hair, what color was it?  You never saw it?   Oh, you saw it, but you don’t remember?  Why don’t you remember?
3. Will everyone say, “Oh!  Look at that American Boy, he’s so cute?!” (yes, he’s been living abroad too long!)…
4. You know, I don’t really like it when people call me an American Boy…I am a Californian Boy…would you please tell them to call me that…and if they don’t, can you kick their booty?
5. You know when I ran off at the store today and you told me about those bad mens?  Can The Hulk kick those bad men’s butts?  What about Daddy?  Will the police get them?  I promise to stay close to you.
6. Will everyone think I am so handsome?  Is my hair broken?  Can you fix it?
7. Where is Daddy?  Is he meeting us there?  Is him’s gonna get handsome like me too?
8. Daddy’s home…why are you walking all over the room?  Can we go yet? (I was walking all over the room because I am packing an overnight bag to go to Singapore tomorrow!)

…and the questions continued in the car…but I wouldn’t change it for a minute…this guy loves a party and is more than happy to pick out a collared shirt and nice slacks and a sports jacket and go to an all adult (with one boy besides him) party…and he can hang, shake hands, say nice to meet you and talk Spiderman all night long with his new friend.  I LOVE this boy…LOVE LOVE LOVE HIM!  I get teary eyed thinking of his precious little heart and innocent mind and the way he processes things and how he just wants to be with us…he turned down a sleepover to go to a party with his dad & mom…and he was SO excited!  Here’s my sweet boy…all decked out!

Sweetest Zachary…I Love YOU to the moon and back…