Yesterday there was a break in the middle of the week - Wednesday, Thaipusam, a nationally-declared holiday - so today feels, ironically, like Monday. I don't feel like being at work (but then again, I never do) and I am simply going through the motions.
Had a long involved chat with a colleague about the movie Cuci (we neither of us were very impressed and we thought that even for slapstick, it was wanting) and then I called my friend Mary and asked her out for chicken rice at Megamall. Yum! That's the best darn chicken rice this side of the hemisphere.
She was busy watching A Streetcar Named Desire, and said she wanted to slap Marlon Brando. I replied that he was supposed to be that crude and belligerent and that was why I couldn't watch Streetcar. I found it too hard to take.
I have always depended on the kindness of strangers...
Mary and I ended up at Backyard last night through a series of misadventures. Actually, just one misadventure. Mary has these neighbours, well one neighbour in particular, who could pass off as a serial killer. After beating his wife and kids out of house and home, he takes up with a girlfriend.
He continues dysfunctional behaviour with girlfriend and yesterday, she screamed so loud and long that all the neighbours rushed out of their houses to see what the matter was. Mary's hand was on the phone and she was all set to dial the police if the woman screamed again, when the two combatants emerged very demurely from the house.
He slid into the driver's seat of his car, she into the co-driver's seat. She patted her hair and adjusted her make-up while he drove off. There was no evidence of the hysterical screaming match, except for the neighbours who were gathered, all agog outside.
In relating the story to me, Mary said, "Real Keling, I tell you!" (Note: we use the term in the most derogatory sense of the word, but we're allowed to because we're both Kelings ourselves).
Anyway, as she was coming out to get into my car, she saw the crazy dude's housemates and she asked: "What was going on? Did anyone get hurt?" And they smiled uncertainly at her and shrugged non-committally. So she said: "You mean it was just the usual drama? I nearly called the police!"
Anyways, I was sending her back at 11 at night when we saw crazy dude standing close to the front of her house. She said: "Angel child, I don't want to get out. What if he accosts me and asks if I was going to call the police and not to interfere with his business?"
Far from doing any of this, crazy dude had smiled and waved at her. So I said, OK, we'll go one round. We did. Crazy dude and two housemates were still there.
"OK Mares, we're going to Backyard. Woo hoo!"
Mary adjusted her lipstick and I adjusted nothing. We sat outside and Jerry came and hung with us for a while followed by Victor, Mark's bestest friend. Victor is the strong silent type. He barely smiles and he acknowledges you with only the slightest inclination of his head.
I had never seen his so voluble, but I guess beer tends to loosen the tongue. Victor informed me that I had a split personality, which was kind of interesting because I didn't know. I didn't realise it, but I have started to swear like a trooper. Oh dear.
Fuck, fuck, fucketty fuck!
Anyways, we chatted till past one in the morning and then Mary and I took off. This time, crazy dude was no longer waiting outside her house to jump her unawares with nasty questions about the weather.
I'm not as sleepy as I thought I would be this morning.
Just bored.
Terribly bored.
And Tony and gang are over at our office for a board meeting. Whopee doo! I thought he sucked out loud in Cuci, but maybe that's just me.
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