Inebriation > Inhibition

Friday came and I was unsure of how to proceed with the final two weeks of my journey. It was beginning to feel like this truly was the end and that I just needed to accept it and allow the dwindling hours to run their course like the flame of a candle. The modest day began with some basic ordeals like laundry, studying Chinese, lunch, etc. I went for a jog and decided this truly was mediocrity. Soon enough Kurt gave me a call and let me know that him and Allen were heading to the gym. Why not? I was filled with hopes of Allen amazing me by revealing that he was in fact a world class weight lifter.

That of course did not occur, but we did manage to pull off a modest work out. We decided to hit up dinner. We met up with some friends and enjoyed some noodles together. Max, one of the Kyrgistanias, was with us and I asked him if he wanted to hit a bar later. He doesn't speak English so it was a little difficult for us to plan out the details of the evening in Chinese but we managed to do it. He wanted to meet at 11pm so I said that was okay. Around 10 he stopped by my room to say he had to meet up with a friend and that he'd meet me at the Vox at 11. I decided to head down early to pound a few cold ones outside on the street before heading in.

At the Vox, I did just what I set out to do and made some small talk with some ladies. Self esteem boosted, I proceded to meet some bros that I could later get to buy me some drinks. The plan went smoothly, and soon I had myself together a posse for the night who I could count on. Went in early with the new friends and there was a hardcore punk show playing. Fuck yes. Started moshing with the crazier breed of Chinese who wanted to dance on people's faces. We had a great time and soon I added some new members to my cult. We all shared many a brew and talked sparingly as our vocabularies in the other side's respective language was starting to dwindle. Max and company showed up late and seemed to be lacking energy. Out of obligation I split from my hommies to pay my respects to my dorm mates. They spoke in Russian for the most part and the fat guy who thinks I hate Muslims gave me the stink eye the whole time. He truly is a goutish fucker. I'm uncomfortable up to my ball sack and no one noticed. Except one. Just as I'm thinking about slashing my wrists in a desperate attempt to steal the show an Australian voice from behind me makes the observation that I don't belong with the Russian sideshow. I quickly agree and am handed two shots. Fuck...I hate shots...or do I? Perhaps its the excitement of seeing native English speakers or the punk music still flowing through my veins but I start to pound down shots like a coal miner after his first visit to the saloon in months. The Australian (Phil) was accompanied by his heterosexual life mate Frank. Phil and Silent Frank would have been perfect because the shit coming out of these guys' mouths could have been straight out of a Kevin Smith movie. Many drinks later the bar closed. Damn. I'm about to go home and Phil states that I am clearly "cool shit" and invites me to go with them to a club. I hate clubs, but for a split second I was willing to pretend that it was only a minor discomfort. We get to the club which if I didn't know better would have thought I was in the middle of Milwaukee. There were African people everywhere! So I started dancing and there were girls heading for us white folk. I thought it was because of our good looks but it turns out the suave guys knew some people. So we are dancing and I'm drunk and my mind was beginning to decide that some bad decisions are going to happen if we don't leave soon...

BAM! Frank gets slammed to the floor. Shits going down. My heart was beating fast and I sobered up momentarily to take in the new situation. I didn't know the details but I was in. I threw myself in to get Frank's back and deftly get elbowed in the face. After a little bit of a scuffle the bouncers got involved and we were rejected. The strangest thing about this incident was that as we left, neither Frank nor Phil made any mention of it. The next thing out of Phil's mouth was "let's get some McDonalds."

We head to McDonalds where Phil tries to convince Frank that he needs to get some ladies. Frank has some issues about acting the way he feels guys have to to get women. "Girls love douchebags...and I am not a douchebag." I agree, I think it is pretty well documented that girls like the worst type of men. I get invited to a party the next evening but after looking at my eye in the mirror decide I might have had enough for one weekend. Fucking China.