We are the Champions

Last Friday was the final celebration and awards ceremony for the Jakarta Pool League. You can check out the website for full details about them. What I am basically involved with is the bi-annual pool competition held between some of the most reputable and expat friendly bars in Jakarta. Each bar has 3 teams that are split into 3 groups and games are played every Wednesday at various participating bars across the city. The competition is sponsored by various local companies, such as Sampurna, Bintang, Dos Hermanos, and many more. Guys and girls are in the competition and it is not only limited to expats as the name suggests. There is however a balance of how many expats and how many locals can play per team. This is just to keep the game fair and fun.

So I am the captain of one of the Fez teams. I am not really that good at pool but what I lack in skill I make up for in good leadership skills and team moral boosting. Yes, I keep telling myself that. Or it could just be my rugged good looks. Not likely. We used to head out every Wednesday by 5 or 6 in the evening to get to our game by 7pm. It is a great break from the monotony of the week. We all get really tipsy and usually head out clubbing after that for some mid week madness. The next session does not start till August I think so I am all out of recreation for Wednesday nights till then. It is a blast and I look forward to getting together with my friends and breaking away from reality for a few hours.

The awards ceremony was held at the ball room in the Marriot Hotel Jakarta. Tickets were sold for Rp.150,000 for team players and Rp.250,000 for guests. This included free flow booze, cigars, and a whole sit down dinner. In addition to that they also hired this French comedian/magician for entertainment. We got there and proceeded to get tanked when I was approached by this magician who took me into the kitchen. He asked me if I would help him with a trick and I agreed as long as he promised not to make an ass of me. Now I don’t want to into details and spoil it for those who watch the show, but in essence he told me that he will seat me on a chair and when he taps me on the shoulder I should pretend like I got an electric shock. He also gave me a blue shirt and red tie to wear, as you can see in my pics. I don’t usually wear ties though. Too constricting. After a few hours of drinking and the awards show he picked me out of the audience.

I must say Pierre was a funny little guy. I followed him on stage and stood around while he mocked me a bit. Then he offered me a seat on the chair while he grabbed another guy from the audience. I sat ready to jump as soon as he touched me. He walked over about 5 minutes later and laid his hand on my shoulder but before I could even react, I swear to god there was a bite on my ass!!! The fuckin chair was rigged and I got a big ass shock on my ass that felt like someone bit my butt cheek! I jumped up and ran across the room to my table and he pulled me back up again. We went through this cycle a few times and I kept getting my ass electrified, which the audience found hilarious. This was not supposed to happen. After that he cut my tie to shreds and reproduced it, he ripped my shirt clean off my back while I wasn’t looking, leaving me standing there bare chested under my jacket, and the then he produced my sock which was not on my foot when I took off my shoe. Impressive… Overall it was good fun.

The HIGHLIGHT of my evening was that we won an award. We did not with the championship. We did not win for best sportsmanship nor for best captain. We did not win for being the best dresses… We won for what we do best, THE BEST DRINKING TEAM!!! Yaaaaayyyy! I have never won anything in my life before this, my parents will be so proud. They announced that the Fez Natics drank roughly 2 bottles of JD per night. This is the best prize to win if you ask me because the whole propose of the league is to boost business for the pubs. Next season we are going to approach Jack Daniels to sponsor out team. Maybe that way I can save a bit of cash too. I can’t take all the credit though. We all did the drinking and the buying. But I must mention that the one person who kept me company all the way from early afternoon sessions, Mr. Puts Daddy. Take a bow. He flew back to LA yesterday. Another one gone and Avi is left alone. Even B took off to the US last week.

We had a great time and ended the night at Manna House. Check out the JPL website for more information about the participating bars, upcoming events, and score updates. Here’s some pictures from that night. Big UPS to all the guys on the team who didnt make it that night. You deserve this cup almost as much as we do.