Karaoke Ron Lives Here

So, we’ve now lived in this hotel for many days, I don’t even remember how many days because it has been so many since we got here. Once you park yourself in a hotel for longer than two nights you kind of develop a sense that you live there, that you own it in a way. The people at the front desk know who you are and they know what room you are staying in. The guy that opens and closes the door (there are two guys that do this, big doors...) knows you and knows which button to push in the elevator when you come in with your 20 gallons of store-bought water loaded into your arms. The housekeepers know you well, they know how messy you are and which one of you loses the most hair in your sleep, as they change your sheets for you every day (at least every day you let them, we’ve been sick around here which has thrown our friends the housekeepers into a tizzy, they just don’t know what to do with themselves on the days we tell them they don’t have to change our sheets-so unsanitary!). So, it is a harsh realization when you have “tenants” move in next door who you haven’t encountered yet and who you don’t quite know what to do about.

You see, Karaoke Ron has moved in next door.

Karaoke Ron is a guy in “VIP II”. I’ll explain the whole “VIP” thing in another blog, it is in itself hilarious. Getting back to it, Mr. VIP II is two things; an enthusiastic singer and an early riser.

Now, the early riser part isn’t really an issue. We, in VIP, I are early risers for the most part as well. With Lucy requiring a 4 a.m. bottle and having no further sleep requirement until about 9 a.m., we are slowly acclimating back to our U.S. time zone, one feeding at a time. But, it is the enthusiastic singer part that is kind of getting me. Not only does Mr. VIP II like to sing, but he likes to sing in foreign languages, to his in-room music player, at the top of his lungs. Mind you; hotel room walls are thin, and I am well aware that Mr. VIP II is probably right now writing a post on his blog entitled “screaming baby lives next door”. But this is not his blog, it is mine, so I can tell you that Mr. VIPII has been given a new name; Karaoke Ron.

The story of Karaoke Ron is so terribly funny that I will in no way do it justice, and I do not remember all of the gory details of the story, so I’ve inserted a few of my own (please forgive me J.). Let’s just say that I have a beautiful, energetic, intelligent, kind and compassionate younger sister named Jessica. It makes sense that a woman with all of these qualities would frequently be asked on dates. Jess has been on LOTS of dates (Matt, you have no idea how lucky you are that you have snagged this girl :-) ). So, it further makes sense that some of these dates would prove to be not quite as fun as others. Well, Karaoke Ron was, for Jess, a date gone horribly wrong. This was a nice guy, who after a quiet dinner brought Jessica to his parent’s home for a one on one karaoke sing-off. When Jess politely declined the opportunity to sing a song from the “Top Gun” sound track to Ron as he sat and cheered her on, Ron didn’t take offense. Instead, he decided to give Jess a fun show, singing all of the songs on the sound track for her, one after the other, all night long.

Please don’t misunderstand, I have nothing against karaoke. It is the highlight of a whole nation, bringing giant crowds of Japanese professionals out every weekend night to karaoke bars across their country. Heck, I’ve even enjoyed a karaoke night with my cousins from Connecticut, and it was really fun. But one-on-one karaoke is a little much for me. And it was a little much for Jess. Needless to say that was a first date that did not lead to a second.

So, enter Karaoke Ron, an ocean away and now performing in Vietnamese. We’d sing along if we knew the words, heaven knows we can hear the tune. At least I know I’ll avoid any of the discomfort jess experienced all those first dates ago-I’m married, and karaoke Ron isn’t singing at his parent’s house-he’s next door. And I’m in here, with a husband, son and baby, keeping the beat and wondering when it will be time for Karaoke Ron to move on, and for a new guest to occupy VIP II.