The Water Man

We were crossing the road when a man cycled past carrying numerous empty plastic containers on his bike.

"I see him frequently. I think he goes out every night to collect water to bring home," you remarked.

Sure enough, I bumped into the water man last night as I was going down the stairs to meet you for dinner. There on the fifth floor corridor, his bike was loaded with the plastic containers that were now filled up with water. He seemed to have just taken a bath for his hair was limp with moisture and his shorts were wet. He grasped two of the containers by the handle and wobbled back to his unit leaving behind a trail of wet footprints.

"I think he has had his water supply cut off by PUB," you deduced.

"The outside of his unit is quite messy," I observed. "Piles of old newspaper, bamboo poles of laundry, a few old, rusty bicycles..."

"Maybe he is a karang guni man?" you suggested.

Air-Conditioning The Haze

The haze is back. This time much worse than previous years and we can actually see a significant loss of visiblity.

"I don't smell the usual burning stench of the haze," you said.

"It's there. We can't smell it now because of the air conditioning in your car." After some thought, "Do you set your air conditioning to renew the air from the outside?"

"No, the air is recycled within the vehicle," you replied.

Later at your place, we forsook the 42" plasma in the hall for the 29" Trinitron in the bedroom because only the bedrooms have air conditioning. After a quick shower, I was munching grapes on the bed. You were looking out of the window.

"It's really bad. It smells awful and Suntec City is no longer visible."

"What will happen when the PSI level finally reaches very unhealthy levels?"

"Maybe we will all have to wear masks."

Holiday Plans

rezipping:

hi dear.

you:

hi dear, so u just finish shower

rezipping:

ya, just came out

you:

ok, have u finish with those marking and paper setting

rezipping:

finish paper setting but still got marking

you:

ok

rezipping:

so are you free to take leave in dec?

you:

dun know yet... any plan

rezipping:

jetstar to hk is about 98 each way

you:

oh... that cheap

rezipping:

ya, but have to find hotel

you:

that true and that is peak period

rezipping:

can't be helped mah

you:

ok, when must be confirm ?

rezipping:

asap then can book mah

you:

err... i must check loh

rezipping:

hotel is from 110 per night per room, wonder if hk got gay guesthouse or not?

you:

how many day u intent to stay

rezipping:

maybe 4 days in hk? is it too much? then maybe 2 days in shenzhen?

you:

ok

rezipping:

about a week in all?

you:

i check then let u know

rezipping:

ok

you:

i going to bed liao, good nite

rezipping:

ok, gd nite

His Birthday

We met on his birthday 6 years ago.

I agreed to turn up at his birthday party even though I had already decided that he was not the one for me 6 months before. His lifestyle and attitude towards life were just too different from mine. For one thing, he smokes. But I guess one is blinded by such details when one is lonely. I was going through a difficult period in my life and he was convenient.

He was a good drinker but his friends managed to get him half-drunk by midnight. For some reasons that I cannot recall, everyone decided it was time to relocate the party to Niche, the gay pub on Pagoda Street*.

He knew the bartenders at Niche and got them to make a specially strong long island tea for me. I sipped my tea as I watched his friends teased him with more liquor. It was a Saturday night and the club was packed with 18 year olds jerking to the blaring music. In the dark, I saw him standing intimately close to a man who was seated atop some velvet-covered boxes by the bar counter. His arms were around the man and he looked like he was all over the man.

I knew then that I had been right to give him up 6 months ago because I felt more amusement than jealousy. I knew he was drunk "all-the-way" when he started behaving tartishly. I took my tea and went towards him to see just how drunk he was.

The man looked disinterested but did not try to push him away. Hands by the sides, the man remained uncomfortably motionless. I think the man was unattracted, yet at the same time flattered by the attention.

His hands, however, were all over the man, round the neck, round the waist.

The man looked at me as I walked by and I smiled.

Finally, he was too drunk to stay any longer. I helped him out of Niche only to have him stumbling towards the side of the club where he immediate bent over and puked into the drains. As I stood by him, I realised I was out of tissues. I left him there telling him I would try to get some serviettes from the pub.

In the dark, I bumped into the man he was caressing a few moments back. I asked if the man had any tissue and was given a pack of O'Darling 3-ply, the one with the anime girl's face printed on the packet.

"Thanks," I said.

"Take care of him," you replied.

----------------------------------------

*Niche Pub & Cafe on Pagoda Street has since closed down.

No More Bedbugs

We:

• pulled off the bedsheet to uncover the mattress


• scrutinised the mattress especially at the edges


• lifted and turned the mattress over


• scrutinised the other side of the mattress


• scrutinised the divan

but didn't find any bedbugs.