Jenifer

This blip represents one of the passions in my life. Let me introduce you to Jenifer. We have been together for fourteen years, which is longer than I managed with any of my wives. Not the most stunning of beauties, but she has a character all of her own. She is fairly low maintenance, requiring servicing four times per year. She is a straight shooter, on a good day she brings me great happiness and occasionally wealth.

These days, I play mostly 9 ball, 8 ball and some straight pool on full size (9ft) American style tables. I started playing snooker as a nine year old and regressed to English pub pool as I approached the appropriate age. English pool, a tedious game played with marbles on a tiny table. When I moved to Indonesia, I was introduced to the REAL game and became totally absorbed, playing six hours, sometimes upto eleven hours a day, but would be laid up with a bad shoulder for a few days.

One of the things that I love about Bandung, is that there are over a thousand tables in more than fifty billiard halls within the city. I doubt you would find a hundred American tables in the whole of Merseyside. The skill level here makes me look very average, compared to English pubs, were I would be difficult to beat. The atmosphere is friendly camaraderie, no drunks and no fighting, despite a lot of money changing hands. I walk into my regular hall and everyone welcomes me with hand shakes and smiling faces, probably because I am the only foreigner in this very Indonesian domain. They respect my dedication to the game they love.

My dedication to billiards has been my downfall on many occasions. Stuck at a table in the middle of a winning streak at 02:00am and having to be at the office at 07:00am. The divorce papers signaling the demise of my first marriage, named not the other woman, but every member of the pool team that I played for. I am not particularly proud of that fact, but at least I was not an adulterer, but that counted for nothing.

I can sense many of you muttering, ?Huh! No wonder he lives alone, MSP?. That is OK, I am not going for Mr. Popularity, just trying to get some enjoyment out of my life.

Dave