Magnificent sofa perch, floods stay away, Oil misses Mum

Maiyuu’s magnificent sofa has finally arrived.

A team of three turned up with the sofa a few days ago. It now occupies pride of place in our living room.

For the first few days, we could not get over its impressive size, or beauty. The sofa reminds me of a chaise longe sofa bed.

Maiyuu has posed on it like a 30s actress, stretched out full length, one arm raised in the air as if holding a cocktail aloft.

‘It’s much bigger than I thought it would be, and makes the rest of our place look shabby,’ he observed on the day of its arrival.

Maiyuu found the manufacturer on the internet, and ordered the sofa at the owner's factory, in Theparat of Pathum Wan.

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‘Is it flooded there?  the sofa manufacturer asked, on the day of delivery.

‘Not yet...we have yet to see a drop,’Maiyuu replied.

While the floods occupy everyone’s minds, those of us in the inner city so far have been spared.

This condo is in a low-lying area, and is frequently flooded in heavy rains. If the floods from the North do arrive, I wonder if they will climb any higher than the last floods we had, following a downpour a few weeks ago.

They rose to mid-thigh level, and were gone by next morning.

Maiyuu and I have kept our heads. We have refused to stockpile anything. Maiyuu heads out on his bicycle most mornings as usual, to buy food and groceries.

He has found some trouble locating some of the items he needed for his cooking. The floods have cut supply links for some products, while panicky residents have hoarded others. For the most part, however, he reports no problems.

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Oil, my teen friend from Petchaburi, has gone back to his home province to visit his Mum.

Oil, who comes across as rough as any teen, nonetheless has a soft spot for his Mum. Since he moved to Bangkok a month ago, they speak on the phone twice a week.

Oil lives with his father – his parents are separated – in a slum close to where I work.

His father works strange hours at a nearby hotel. Oil, one of three children, works for a bedding shop about five minutes from his home.

 ‘I am going back because I miss my Mum, want to visit my girlfriend, and play football with my friends,’ he said.

I introduced Oil to takraw Ball the other night. Ball and I were drinking at our usual haunt when Oil, whose place is 50m away down a slum alleyway, turned up.

They appeared to enjoy each other’s company. ‘Even though he comes from the slum, Oil appears a good lad,’ said Ball approvingly.

When I had mentioned my friend Oil previously, he did not look impressed. ‘I know what those guys from the slum are like. They like to take drugs, and get into fights,’ he said.

Oil, however, is different. While Oil spent his early years growing up in Bangkok, he returned to Petchaburi about eight years ago. He has now come back to the big city to work, though I am not sure how long he will stay.

After we finished our drinks, I sent both lads to a karaoke lounge.

One of the first challenges of the evening was to decide in what capacity they should enjoy each other’s company. ‘We can go as friends, rather than senior and junior,’ Ball told Oil, as they worked out what status to accord each other.

Both claimed me as their elder brother. Oil was so impressed with my generosity – I gave him B200 to spend at the karaoke shop, and what remained of our whisky – that he hugged me and gave me a cheek kiss.

The next day, I called him just as he was arriving in Petchaburi by bus.

‘What will you do first – see you friends, or visit Mum?’ I asked.

‘Visit Mum, and give her a hug,’ he replied.

Oil says he'll be back in Bangkok in a few days.