The Precious

Date: December 25, 2010

Here's a story.

So I woke up Christmas morning...and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Actually there probably was a mouse...and a gecko...and a frog... Jungle living! Anyway, after eating a scrumptious breakfast, and sending a few Merry Christmas messages via Skype, I retreated to our bungalow and decided that upon seeing a number of Emily's clothes hanging cleanly on our clothes line I should do some laundry. As an aside, Emily and I have mastered the art of transforming even the nicest digs into our own personal laundromat, stringing our clothes line to any available weight-bearing post and creating a limbo-like maze of wet hanging garb. Meet the Clampetts!!

An example. This picture is actually from China - you get the idea.

So. I went to the bathroom sink and started my washing with the most necessary items - underwear. 2 of 3 pairs. First I rinsed, then I got to lathering with a combination of Dr. Bronner's and bar soap (yes, intended for the body, not for the items covering it). With the Dr. Bronner's stock running desperately low, the bar soap was an improvise. The lathering was aggressive (after months wearing the same clothes, it needs to be) and the combination of soaps created extremely slippery conditions within the sink basin. During this, my wedding ring was freed from my left ring finger, narrowly avoided falling down the drain, and instead bounced out of the porcelain and directly into the waste basket below. Whew! Lucky, I thought. Understand that I never take it off, and as a result, my finger has come to care for it as it's own - in other words, it doesn't remove easily. Since it wasn't lodged in the drain pipe, I decided to just keep on washing, and retrieve it later. After underwear, I moved to socks, then to shirts... I'd say it was a good hour of washing in total and I was thoroughly pleased with the new lavender / mint scent in the air as I hung all articles out to dry. Merry Christmas, clothes!

After all the washing, I moved on to a strenuous afternoon of lounging in the sun...and reading. Fast forward to two hours later when I came to the panicked realization that a) my ring was not resting in the usual pale indentation of my finger and b) the cleaning ladies had come through and removed the trash. Actually, to be more accurate, the cleaning ladies entered while I was still washing, and I physically handed the waste basket to them to empty. Shit. I ran to the reception area, and explained the situation to May, one of JV's fantastic staff members. Her English is very good, but I don't think the phrase "I threw away my wedding ring while washing my underwear in the sink" is commonly heard or spoken. Fortunately for me, she understood and we both set off to find the two cleaning ladies. We walked quickly around the premises, she questioning others in Khmer re: their whereabouts (I think...or informing them of my lunacy...haha), and then suddenly, without words or resolution (in my mind), we went back to the reception. I stood there, looking confused, when she soon leaned over and casually said: 'they have it'. Fantastic!! Devin's butt = covered. Thanks JV! And with that, my finger got it's white gold buddy back again and I was spared the shame of losing my wedding ring on Christmas day.

PS - Yes Emily, I DID reference Lord of the Rings in the title of this post.