Posted 4:58 PM by Andy
I need to depart from my usual shtick to vent some frustrations here. It's not about basketball or work, it's more complicated than that.

It's not quite 8 a.m. on Sunday morning here. I've slept only about 2 hours fitfully. I'd like to say I was out partying until the dawn hours, but in fact it has been the most miserable night in recent memory. It started out with me meeting up with Angel and her friends around 10 p.m. last night at a new club, ignominiously dubbed CD Bar. Among the crew of 8 already there when I showed up were 3 white (or Caucasian to be PC) kids. They seemed harmless enough at the outset. At 11 p.m., while a few of us were on the dance floor, the fuse blew out and the whole club was thrown into pitch darkness. For over an hour, people were milling around yelling for a refund and generally feeling antsy. Around 12:15 a.m., power was restored, but in the interim, what transpired caused me much unrest.

As we sipped our drinks in the darkness, Angel was her usual hospitable self, busy refilling glasses and toasting everyone at the table. Once the white guys saw her in her element, their eyes lit up. They started flirting with her and the other girls at the table by attempting to throw ice cubes down their shirts. I deflected a few and gently moved Angel over from the middle of the table to the side to avoid the ruckus. While a few of us were negotiating with management over a potential refund, one of the white kids started chatting up Angel. He used a standard opening gambit and played the "I'm learning Chinese" card. I watched from a few paces behind them outside the table. Of course, after a few pleasantries, he pretended to be drunk and started groping her behind in plain view. The moves were subtle enough that I didn't felt compelled to act. Besides, who am I? I'm nobody. So I watched as she half encouraged and half restrained his overtures. Before too long, he took her out to the dance floor and danced with her in a provocative manner. I could barely contain myself but again, I'm not at liberty to intervene since all her other friends who have known her longer stood by without a word. So I averted my gaze while he enjoyed himself. Thankfully she has some self-respect and left him after a few minutes.

Half an hour later, Angel asked to leave with me. As we made our exit, the kid gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek to my incredulity. I didn't acknowledge him as he patted me on the shoulder when I walked by. I put Angel in a cab and proceeded to Guandi to chill in peace. I got home around 3 a.m., prayed and thought about the situation for 2 hours, then slept intermittently for a couple hours. Now here I am writing this entry.

I don't know what I'm more upset about, the blatant temerity the kid has to work his game, or Angel's tendency to allow me to witness such shenanigans. As a friend, I feel sick and appalled at what took place, but I don't have any right to interfere. She has every right to garner attention with her charm from every stranger she meets. He has every right to mack her in the midst of all of us. But the question that still troubles me is why was I there? Why am I such a sucker to be the gentleman who serves and protects while the player wannabes go at it? I will let this rest for a bit and then tell her I prefer not to be there next time in similar circumstances. It will be easier and less painful that way. Maybe what's best is being just her English tutor and not engage so much in her personal life. I don't know, I'm perplexed.