Saturday Morning in Siem Reap

Saturday morning and I'm at the Blue Pumpkin at the Old Market area. Breakfast is a croissant, toast, marmalade with HUGE chunks orange peel, a small cup of coffee.

There's wireless, and upstairs is white, modern, minimalist. People with laptops, people with backpacks (expensive ones), people caffeinating. There's a N American couple next to me with a Lonely Planet Vietnam guidebook. next stop Saigon? Taiwanese couples on the table behind, with their guide. In front of me a Western guy, my age, hops on a motorbike with a takeaway cup of coffee and a bag of Blue Pumpkin pastries. Their breads and pastries are as good as any I've had in NY and better than many places at home.

Last night I took a tuk tuk back after dinner and there was this old couple getting off the tuk tuk behind me. The guy was trying to pay the driver 1USD instead of 2. It's like DUDE! If you can afford to stay at the Grand Angkor - you can afford the extra buck.

Next door at the high-end craft store Kokoon there's handmade soap for three bucks a pop, place-mat sets for 12, silk handbags and scarves for a lot more; across the street the storekeeper's sweeping. In the front of the dark, narrow store, is a dusty glass cabinet with detergent, anti-perspirant, and stacks and stacks of film. Who uses film anymore?

A guy with no legs is on a "bike" he's peddling with his hands. He goes to the table next to mine and holds out a card to ask for money. I stare, more intently, at the Gish Jen novel I've been carrying around. He leaves, and goes to the next restaurant.

Indochina ... with a difference

We're in Cambodia for a regional meeting. After our meeting this morning we all went to do volunteer work at a village school as a team building event.

Cuz of my broken foot, I went to the reading room to read to the kids while my colleagues built a fence with concrete poles and barbed wire.

The kids were like - shoving at each other to get to me and they kept bringing books to read to them. The books were seriously-old, English language kiddie books. Many of the kids didn't understand anything beyond "Hi" and 1-10 and maybe the first third of the alphabet.

But they totally wanted to just hang out and repeat what I was reading to them. One of the boys ... he was, maybe 7...was trying to hand gesture "hot" and started fanning me with a book. Broke my heart. I almost started crying. A kid in a developed country would be too busy watching TV or playing X Box to want to do anything like that.

Life as a Klutz

Three broken metatarsals, Christmas Eve, DEFINITELY no alcohol involved. Although I do remember there was lots of sugar. Christmas cake from all over and macaroons from Paris.

Anyway, it was 2 30 in the morning and I slipped on a wet sidewalk going to my car. Carrie comes and picks me up, takes me to A&E at East Shore Hospital where I expect to see a bunch of drunk people but no, I'm the only idiot there.

I'm in a backslab for 10 days - that's like half a cast and lots of bandages; the doc removes it, which makes me really happy and hopeful even though I'm still on crutches, and when I see him a week later, he says the bones aren't healing and puts me back on them again. Lemme tell ya - hobbling on crutches, showering with a plastic Kinokuniya bag up to your knee, and depending on everyone else except yourself for transport and everything else is no walk in the park. In fact, there's no walking involved at all. it's mostly hobbling.

Anyway, six weeks later and the backslab's been off for like...two weeks now. I'm still on crutches although less and less. I can drive. My foot is slowly starting to look normal again. Until recently it looked like I had elephantisis. Last weekend I was able to buy a pair of closed toe shoes - OF THE SAME SIZE! Now THAT is a major milestone. This weekend I was able to hobble around DKNY. Except the shoes cost like $400 Sing and up so that's out. Next week Ferragamo? Looking only...no buying.

So...since the gym and the running track have been pretty much off limits for me, I decided to take an online writing class from UCLA Extension. It's a TON of fun. Been reading a bunch of short stories for the class - Tobias Wolff, Joyce Carol Oates, Eudora Welty, and I mean really, really reading - and discussing plot and character and all.

I figured taking a class would beat Mike's suggestion of taking up competitive eating. Less damage to my wardrobe that way.

And yes Gene, I did travel. Was in Tokyo for work. Try hobbling around Ropponggi and Chiyoda on crutches. I dare you.