Pardon my ignorance (2, part)

She had seen the film, couldn't understand it, so decided to change it half-way through. She didn't ask us if we were interested in seeing it through to the end.

Mum has done this to me before. Where the television is concerned, she is boss.

'The ending makes no sense,' she said for a third time, looking at me, with a half-smile on her lips.

'Makes no sense to whom? ' I asked.

Chin said nothing, and went back to his comic books rather than watch Godzilla, Mum's choice of superior entertainment.

Kathoey Best refilled my glass for the 10th time. Life went back to normal.

Mum's husband emerged at the shop, after taking a short nap at home.

He saw we were watching Godzilla. Normally he is a serious politics man. He picked up the remote. Maybe he will turn over to the next channel, Inside Man, instead?

No. He turned up the volume. He wanted to hear Godzilla's roars even louder.

'I'm going back for a shower. Don't change the channel,' Mum said to me.

She walked away.

Kathoey Best left to chat up a young man with Chinese looks who serves at the shop next door.

Twenty minutes later, he returned.

'We really must be like family. Our interests come second to hers. Who cares what the customer wants?' I complained.

Best picked up the remote, and changed it back. We had missed about half an hour of the movie, and were into the last 15 minutes. It was pointless watching it.

Mum returned, and grumbled as she saw that we were watching Inside Man again.

She asked if I wanted to share the meal which she had cooked. I declined, as I don't like to eat with Mum and her husband any more. They are too wrapped up in their gambling talk, so I let them eat together in peace.

'No, I'm not hungry.'

'Why, what's wrong with you?' she asked with a scowl.

Declining her offer of hospitality probably hurt more than the fact that we went back to watching the movie of our choice.

Once, I remember reading a guidebook for farang visitors to Thailand: 'If someone offers you a meal, always accept.'

Well, I didn't. Call me ungrateful.

Mum and her husband sat down next to us at the counter to tuck into their meal, while Best, Chin and I watched the last 10 minutes of Inside Man.

The closing credits came up. Bitchily, Best asked: 'So, did you understand the ending?'

'Yes, I did, thanks,' I said.

Pardon my ignorance (1)

'That movie is no good. The ending makes no sense,' said Mum.

Three customers including me were watching television at her shop in Thon Buri. We were the only ones there.

The American thriller, Inside Man  was airing on satellite TV.

I knew what that meant, as I have heard it before. Mum wanted to change the channel, and was canvassing for support. She wanted someone to agree with her.

No one did. We were enjoying the show. Thais can get involved in western movies, even when they don't understand what is going on. This one had Thai subtitles, but that is beside the point.

Thais are usually taken by movies which have visual impact. The sight of two farang screaming at each other in a slapstick comedy which bombed at the box office might turn off the average western viewer, but it can hold the attention of Thais, because so many Thai films are made in the same vein. They also wonder if farang carry on that way in real life.

Inside Man is a star-studded thriller about a bank heist, by director Spike Lee. It combines suspense, drama and quirky New York-style humour. I am not surprised if much of it was lost on Mum, who prefers to watch action movies, such as Godzilla, showing on the next channel, about a giant lizard tramping through the streets of New York.

I was sitting at the table with graphic designer Chin, who had turned up with a handful of comic books, and a new kathoey friend, called Best.

Chin devours Japanese comics avidly, and had just been to a bookstore to buy the latest releases. However, he put them down to watch Inside Man.

Ladyboy Best, who comes from a high-class family in the North, but is out of work at present, busied himself filling my whisky glass. Thais are famed for their hospitality, but this is one courtesy I can do without, as I prefer to pace myself when drinking.

I do not want people filling my glass while I am not watching, but it would be impolite to decline, so I say nothing.

Mum repeated her comment about the meaningless ending, then took herself behind her shop to cook a meal for anyone who was interested. Good, I thought - maybe we can get some peace.

However, half an hour later, she was back.

'The ending is no good. I will look for something else,' she announced, while taking the remote, and blithely changing the channel.

The three of us who were watching Inside Man were left, as the Thai saying goes, with mouths agape. We are regular customers, but our needs come second to those of the shop's owner.

now, see part 2

Back from travels

My partner is back, which is good news. He returned bearing food, which is also a welcome sight, and clever of him, as it salved my irritable mood.

Maiyuu and his friends, who went to the provinces to make merit at a temple, but were away longer than expected, stopped by the roadside on the way back to buy desserts which are hard to find in Bangkok.

They include those roasted sticky-rice desserts made in bamboo tubes (khao lam), and softer desserts, like a custard pudding, which are sold in silver metal trays (mor gaeng).

He bought them in Chon Buri and Petchaburi, which are well-known for them. Now I am busy putting back on the weight I lost during my three days of flu.

Time-wasters

Day two without the boyfriend. In years gone past, day two, three, or four in a row would be nothing out of the ordinary. But these days I am used to him being home.

Last night Maiyuu sent a text message to say that the car had broken down. The travellers were waiting for a mechanic to arrive, but if the repairs finished too late, he would have to spend a second night away from home.

Maiyuu left for Singha Buri to make merit with kathoey friends on Friday morning, just as the flu decided to pay me a visit. I was too ill to go in to work, and have called in sick for the last two nights.

Unfortunately, I have had to spend all that time alone, as there is no one else here. Most of the cooking which Maiyuu did before he left - pizza, a spicy sausage salad, and pastry puffs - has gone to waste, as I couldn't eat it.

They went away at short notice. To expect otherwise would be to involve Thais in 'planning', which is almost a foreign concept. Similarly, I am sure no one bothered to check the roadworthiness of the car before embarking on the journey.

When I called him yesterday at 11am, his group still had not risen for the day. This morning, I called at 8am, as I am tired of him wasting time in the company of veteran time-wasters such as his kathoey friends - one of whom even makes merit for pet animals.

Maybe that requires a separate trip to the provinces. Hey, why not make that one day for dogs, and another for cats? Who cares?

They have achieved little with their lives, but I don't see why they should have to act as a drag on mine as well.

I would like some human company around this place, as I am getting sick of being alone. Having Maiyuu around makes my own company much more bearable.

'The car is now fixed,' he told me sleepily on the phone.

Hopefully, they might get home at a reasonable hour, preferably before I return to work this evening. If his job is to make merit at temples, mine is to go out to work, to keep him in the style to which he has become accustomed.

Sick leave

I have a nasty dose of the flu, which I picked up 24 hours ago. I called in sick to work.

I woke feeling wretched. The boyfriend chose this moment to tell me that he was going away overnight to Singha Buri. He wanted to make merit with friends at a temple.

'Please give me B200, so I can make merit for you,' he said.

I handed over the money.

Maiyuu is going with a ladyboy friend called Bic. When I first met her years ago, she was a university student. She lived in the same condo as us, with a young guy who likes ladyboys.

The relationship ticked along steadily for years, until the boyfriend met an ageing ladyboy who claims to have spiritual powers.

He left Bic for her. You can read about the spiritual medium here

After the relationship ended, Bic moved out of the condo and went back home to her family's home in Chon Buri. However, now she is back at our consdo, and renting a room on the floor above.

In Bangkok, she has found work as an 'organise [er]', as the Thai has it, finding models for functions such as product launches. These include the famous 'pretties'- girls who cavort on cars at motorshows.

Maiyuu claimed he had to rush, as Bic was waiting. He did not even stop for a shower, but packed a bag and raced out the door.

As he was packing, I set about doing jobs around the home: taking out the rubbish, wiping down a table, sweeping.

Maiyuu could see this activity was going on, and that I was sick, but it did not worry him. He could have helped me do a few basic chores before he left, but said he could not leave Bic to wait.

When Maiyuu falls ill, he doesn't like to bother me. He cares for himself, until he is better.

That same independent streak showed through again yesterday, when he assumed I would be fine on my own, nursing my flu overnight, without anyone present for company.

At 8pm, he sent me a text message.

'How are you?'

'Terrible,' I said.

I hope he returns speedily today.