The sulky boyfriend

I went to iron a shirt today. The iron was set at a fierce temperature, so that when I placed it in the shirt it left a large hole.

In more than 20 years of ironing my own clothes, I have never accomplished that feat. I thought it happened only in movies.

'Look at this! I have burnt a hole in my shirt!' I said to boyfriend Maiyuu.

I was surprised, and took the shirt into his room to show him. 'The iron is set too hot,' he said.

This was virtually our first exchange in a week, after he returned from a marathon three-day stay-over at work. When he returned, he went straight to sleep, and he has stayed in bed the last three days.

I do not like being left alone - certainly not for that long. I sent him a message a few days ago - one day into his subsequent three-day sleep in after he returned home - to say he could hardly describe himself as a boyfriend, as he does not talk or do anything. I said I would like to find someone else.

That might explain why we have said little to each other since. I am not willing to apologise, and he is not willing to explain.

The little problems in our lives have a way of asserting themselves in a way that often brings us back together. I thought the hole in the shirt might get us talking again, but alas, it did not. Shortly after, Maiyuu went back to sleep.

I am dealing with another problem at the moment, but Maiyuu seems little interested in helping with that one either. I have two noisy neighbours, on both sides of the place we rent.

On one side, I have a Chinese family who are raising a child with tinkly bells on its feet. The grandmother thinks nothing of running up and down the hallway with the child, getting it excited, and making noise. Never mind that it is only 9am, and people might still be sleeping.

The mother? She's at work, or not interested. I rarely see her with the child. That's Grandma's job.

'They are Chinese - they're mean with money,' says Maiyuu.

As far as I can see, they never take the child anywhere, except on occasional walks outside, so they tend to regard the inside of the condo as the child's own play space. Except that it not. The hallway outside is a public area, and does not belong to that child alone. People leave their shoes out there, or hang their washing, but they do not run up and down annoying other residents. Or at least they shouldn't.

On my other side live a couple who moved in only recently. They have bought the single room they live in. They have attached their air conditioning unit to a wall which we share. When they turn it on, the noise comes into our place, and keeps me awake. The night before last, I had to wait until they turned it off - 8am - before I could rest, and after that managed only four hours of sleep.

I have spoken to the office about both problems. They are sympathetic, but progress is slow. Thankfully, the couple with the noisy air conditioning unit agree that it should be moved to a place where it will cause less annoyance, such as clipped to the outside of their balcony. However, we have to wait for someone to come and attach the thing.

As far as the Chinese are concerned, there is no easy solution to them, because they refuse to listen - even to the people in the office. I do verbal battle with the Chinese at least once a week.

The Grandma does not have Thai, apparently, and is raising the child in Chinese, in which case I pity its prospects when eventually it has to enter a Thai school.

She looks uncomfortable when I shout at her, which is what you would expect. But I am not prepared to tolerate her noise nuisance any longer. They are insensitive, inconsiderate, and just plain stupid.

So where is the boyfriend in this? He is the non-confrontational type, like most Thais. However, he is even more reserved than most, perhaps because he's gay. It falls to me to be nasty to people, where it's needed, because he can't do it.

A perfect match, you might think. I can do the things he can't, and vice versa. Yet these days he is not doing a thing, except sleep. I have talked to him about the couple with the air conditioning. If he supports my efforts to address the problem, he has said nothing. He just listens.

A moment ago, he saw me have another go at the Grandma, who was taking her morning exercise, running with the naked child up and down the hallway. 'Close the door!' I bellowed.

Apparently, I am the only one in the condo who does not regard the child as cute, because everyone else talks to it. Once again, the boyfriend said nothing, and simply rolled over in bed.

I suspect he's sulking, and is waiting for me to apologise for the text message I sent him days ago.

I won't do it. I expect a boyfriend who performs, not one who sleeps and feels sorry for himself.

Would I tolerate such childish behaviour in the West? Of course not. But I wouldn't get the privilege of seeing Thais up close over there.

And who would want to miss that?