the phnom pen

Fluffy, Halfway and The Runt

I went and checked out the puppies yesterday and they are looking great but they present a dilemma. All three bitches are very different in the way they present. Fluffy is just that . She has a very thick soft coat and I assume gets this from her father who is a long haired Shep. Halfway is..well….halfway between Fluffy and The Runt. She has shorter hair than Fluffy and is the same size. Lovely markings on  her paws and eyes . The Runt is the smallest ( duh ) and is a sweet little thing and I have always had a soft spot for runts. Initially I went straight for halfway which should answer my question but then The Runt gazed lovingly at me and Fluffy bounded over and all of a sudden I was confused.

Fluffy

Halfway ( love that droopy right ear ! )

Fluffy and Halfway gorge while The Runt looks on at the back

As the mother circled me huffing and puffing and grizzling away ( only natural for a protective mum ) I interacted with each pup as best I could. it was the hottest part of the day so they were all  a bit dopey . When I chose my Kelpie back in Australia I actually spent 3 hours observing 8 active pups ! ( male and female ) and it did my head in. Anyway……we will probably get the pup on the weekend if the owners so it is OK for them to go and I will take Leakhana and Grace over so they can have some say. Stay tuned…….

Mum looks on

Paul picks it.....

*Singing* ” One poker tournament and one World Cup doo dah doo dah….”

What a top weekend. After a particularly shitty finish to the week due to an obstreperous customer putting me in a bad mood, Friday night was a non event. I had wanted to go out but my mood was deflated so whilst Leakhana and a large group of her girlfriends ( including her sister and some of the mums from Grace’s play group !! ) hit the town I had a couple of beers and a quite meal at Aussie XL with Aoife, Richie, Murph and a newly super platinum haired Anja – looking good girl ! Over dinner they started talking about a great new series called Spartacus they had all watched so I finished dinner, headed to the dvd shop and picked it up. I was at home by 8pm and ensconced on the couch and Spartacus would not disappoint. It was all splashing blood and flashing tits and lots of  “BY JUPITER’S COCK I WILL HAVE HIS HEAD !”. Marvellous stuff.

Spain kicks it

Saturday after work I took the family to Singapore Kitchen for lunch and then after a few hours kip in the afternoon ( Phnom Penh seems to have gotten hot again ) I headed out to the Red Fox for the Saturday night poker tournament. With 20 of the regulars playing, I settled in with my $20 stack and as I had only has one draft before starting, I played tight and I can honestly say I don’t think I put a foot wrong the whole night . The cards were being very kind to  me with many strong starting pairs KK,QQ, AK, JJ etc and as the others dropped off it was soon down to four of us with Ritchie ( Scot ) and I being the high stacks. The other two soon bowed out and I had guaranteed myself not only a top 2 placing but also a nice little earn. Our stacks exactly even and happy just to have made it this far, I declared to Ritchie I was just going to go all in no matter what my cards come the first hand. He asked  ” You sure you don’t want to try for the 1st prize ?” and I told him as far as I was concerned I had already won getting through to the final and besides….I couldn’t be arsed playing anymore. He laughed and when the first hand came out he said in his thick Scottish accent ” AHH FUCK IT …ALL IN”. I had A7 so was happy to oblige and in the end Ritchie took the pot. So…………not an actual win BUT per se but a strong second and $130 to boot. Oh yeah…..and I beat my mate Raz which is always fun ” oh…you jerk”. I then headed over to the Pickled Parrot for  a quick beer with Frank and Diane and in good spirits I asked Diane if she wanted a punt on the World Cup final later that night. She took Holland and so with Paul the Octopus tipping Spain, I took that bet for $50 and well…..we all know how that turned out.

Buen intento, pero no cigarro!. el pulpo lo hace de nuevo …………… VIVA ESPANA

Last night I had a few beers at Liquid with Mark and Sindre and some lads in from Bangkok and then decided to hit Naga for a few hands of poker. I received an SMS saying that there were 5 people already on the $1/2 table and that they were ” all Koreans”. WUHHOO easy money I think so off  I  go. When i arrive there is no-one at the table ….just a bunch of large chip stacks in front of the seats. The dealer tells me they have all taken off temporarily for some lucky draw so i get my chips and sit patiently waiting.In a scene like a slow motion car crash, I watch as the players return to the table and they ain’t Koreans….they are the posse of diamond ring wearing Khmer/Chinese players who usually play play the $2/5 table which I avoid at all costs. One of them is the smug little Chinese bastard who took down a $15k pot last week and i am shaking in my seat.

So off we go and I drop about $100 in 10 minutes. The very first hand I play ends up a $500 pot and this sets the scene for the night. I look around at the growing chip stacks around me and it looks like the Hong Kong skyline. I can barely see the elliptical roof above me for the chip towers and I my stack looks ludicrously small. I am torn between going all in, taking a chance and getting the hell out of there or biding my time. I decide on the latter and keep folding folding folding weak pairs until finally I get KK and decide to play them hard. At this stage I have about $80 and luckily there are more than a few guys who stay with me. I end up all in pre river card and the pot is about $400 or so. The river comes down with a K giving me KKK ( white supremacist’s dream) and I take the pot with everyone else shaking their heads.  Nice one. Back from the dead. In one fell swoop I have recouped my $200 buy in and also made a quick $200. I call it a night and head to Heart of Darkness where a few victorious cold ones are had and I am bloody proud of myself for having been able to get away in more than one piece.