Karaoke is kool.

         Some co-workers at the language center that I work at decided to go out on a Saturday night (even though we all had to work the following morning) and the first part of the night's events included a plentiful meal of goat and seafood (what a combination huh?) at everyone's favorite place to dine on goat  out doors at my old stompin' grounds in Trung Son. For those of you who remembered, Trung Son is where I used to live and it's also known as a desolate area with nothing to eat on Sundays.

        These lively outdoor places where you're pretty much dining with every other patron and their cousins due to the proximity of all the low tables can be pretty overwhelming. At times it reminded me of a chaotic market scene where bidders hurriedly attempt to purchase the previous night's catch. The waiters run back and forth obeying every other command. I haven't gotten a clue how everything can be calculated precisely because orders from every tables are shouted randomly at times as items are consumed and more plates are brought out. The waiters in these establishments are not known for their service. The chaos of a constant, "Em oi...em oi..." can be annoying. I love how some people just shout out orders and demands without confirmation that anyone even heard their order. When something doesn't come out because it wasn't heard, then the patrons whine like milk deprived babies or get upset like spoiled brats. Overall the food wasn't very good.

        After dinner, an unscheduled karaoke event took place in a room properly dubbed The Japanese Room where everyone convened and without proper adjustments, the singing began. Now karaoke never fancied me in the past. I never understood why my cousins came to Vietnam and would lug home some karaoke equipment. I had difficult times fathoming why the Tay girls from Lang Son would spend their hard earned penis tugging money on a cheap machine. Some people really love to sing and the Vietnamese are definitely one of them. I mean, even Cuc Phuong National Park had a karaoke establishment within the park boundaries. I never really understood why though because when I think of karaoke in America, thoughts of scary fat Asians dance around my mind. Something always doesn't sound right because the audio mixing is like shit- usually the vocals are overbearing.

         And then it hit me like a house of bricks. It's pretty simple why Asians love it. It's just fun. When you get a good group of people with half decent singers and a few bad ones thrown in with a little alcohol it can lead to a rip roarin' time. I don't drink yet I still had a good time. For those of you who don't enjoy it, you might want to consider why. Perhaps try unclenching the rim around your asshole and just let loose and enjoy yourself. I don't mean let loose a loose stool, but I mean just don't be embarrassed and let your inhibitions reign free over the microphone. Make sure you stand up and give a small performance too. Don't just sit there because then it will surely be boring and even unbearable.

       If you look closely, you can see me laying on the table just because ... BTW- for those of you wondering, three hours spent in this room resulted only in about 25 dollars worth of damage - divided up by 10 people and it wasn't much at all.

         Now many of you are wondering just what kind of a singer I am... well... I know very very few Vietnamese songs... perhaps just two or three and my problem is that I can't really read Vietnamese perfectly so I have to rely on making assumptions and memory. I'm familiar with at least the chorus of "Dong Toi Gian" and I picked up "Cau Vong Kuyet" pretty easily and sang my hearts out. I'm not a good singer. I'm a border line horrific ear drum fracturing blood gushing punishment of a singer. Just borderline. But anyways, in summation, karaoke was excellent. I'll definitely be doing this again. I went home with a few new songs stuck in my head and practiced "Cau Vong Kuyet" all night long. The second half of the chorus has this line that reads, "Đến bao giờ mời được có em...."  This line has been stuck in my head for the past few days now and I can't seem to get it out of my head. I'm still not over that girl. I still think about her all the time even though I hate to admit it. Seeing other girls after her haven't been much fun because I'm still not over her. The entire night I kept thinking that things would have been more fun with her around. With that being said, this time next week, I'm going home- hopefully I'll really be over her when I'm busy. Lol, I had my roommate smack me each time I would mention her and lets just say, I took a beating. I have girls who want me yet all I can think about is the one who doesn't want me. Lol. I'll take out my frustrations on the microphone from now on, it'll help me get over her.