Fuck me.

Buddy is gone. While I was out playing darts yesterday afternoon a construction worker left the front door ajar and the dog ran away. I was incensed that my helper didn’t have the sense to put Buddy in his enclosure. I was tempted to fire her ass for incompetence, but I could tell she was upset by what she terms “an accident”.

The front gate guards say they saw him running out of the subdivision and turning into an adjacent squatters village. I know Buddy can’t find his way home (here or his former residence) so he’s got to be just wandering the streets alone and hungry. I’m going to get some flyers done up offering a reward and post them in the surrounding area. If I can enlist the support of the street urchins perhaps he will be found. I’m just sick to my stomach over this.

On the flip side of the coin, I felt compelled to keep my date with Marissa despite my loss. I drank extra to dull the pain. She seemed to enjoy herself and the dance contest. She was also quite cuddly which I took as a good sign that she has some affection for me at least.

When the SOB was over we moved to another bar for an event known as the “Aftermath”. This features a series of raffle drawings (you get a ticket for each drink purchase) and culminates in a “find the Joker” progressive jackpot. Each week a lucky raffle participant gets to turn over a card. If the Joker is picked, he wins the pot, if not, money is added for the following week’s drawing. Last night the pot was 31,000 pesos ($620) and there were 8 cards remaining. Well, I had been disappointed all night that not one of my numerous raffle tickets had been drawn. And no, I wasn’t drawn for the “find the Joker” either. But Marissa was!

She was in the CR (as restrooms are called here) when her ticket was drawn so I picked the card. And yes, I picked that fucking Joker! Pandemonium broke out in the bar, and not in a particularly good way. Immediately there were calls “to ring the bell”, which provides all the working girls a lady drink for 2800 pesos. It’s a suckers bet that I never do, except last night I was drunk and overwhelmed so I relented. But the calls for sharing the wealth didn’t stop there. The girl who had pulled Marissa’s number thought she was worthy of a tip, and the waitress was also looking expectantly for a piece of the windfall. I had a huge roll of cash in pocket and was feeling uncomfortable with all the attention. When the damn doormen asked me to buy them dinner, I told Marissa I was leaving. She suggested we go to Alley Cats (the dart bar where she works and I play) for a final drink. And so we did.

It turns out they only pay half the jackpot in cash, and the rest in vouchers redeemable at the bars hosting the SOB/Aftermath events.

Good for a year, but I reckon I can use it up in half that time. Although I really don’t like drinking in the girly bars so much.

Anyway, I gave Marissa the cash. She didn’t want to take it, saying I had paid her entry into the event. I responded “it’s your name on the winning ticket” and she eventually relented. That’s a big chunk of change for her and really nothing to me. How big for her? She had told me earlier in the evening that she had a good day at work the night before scoring eight lady drinks. I asked how much she made per drink and she said 60 pesos (the customer pays 150). So, a good night for her at work is making just under ten dollars. Wow. Her date with me wound up paying off big time.

With the money burning a hole in her pocket she proceeded to buy all her coworkers drinks. Hey, her money to spend any way she chooses, right? I was beyond drunk at this point and feeling depressed over my dog, so I bailed despite Marissa’s entreaty to stay for “one more”. I guess I might have had it mind that she’d come home with me last night. She might have if I had asked her to, but I was just not in the mood. Another time perhaps.

I miss my Buddy.

UPDATE: BOLO