Valentine's Day apart

What are you doing for Valentine's Day?

As I write this blog post, Maiyuu has gone to our new condo in town for a second day of pre-move cleaning.

'I am in a hurry to move condos,' he announced this morning, as he checked his clothes in the mirror.

He spent just 20 minutes fussing over his appearance today, which is less indulgent than yesterday's half-hour effort, so he really must be serious.

When we met the owner of our new place the other day, the condo looked clean. However, it takes a gay eye, I suspect, to really know whether a place is up to scratch or not.

According to Maiyuu, who spent a full day cleaning the place yesterday, the place was full of long strands of black hair (yuck!).

Small progress report? He has spoken to the True telephone company about putting in high-speed internet, which I need for my work.

We will have to put in a new telephone line, as the old number is disconnected.

The last occupant was a foreigner (with a liking for Thai women with long black hair, presumably), who worked in design.

The technician will arrive next week. Maiyuu has also spoken to the satellite TV people, who will install a new dish about the same time.

After inspecting the place, Maiyuu decided he would like to lay a new floor in what will be my bedroom.

He has also decided to keep more of our furniture than he had planned, as it is in better condition than the couches, tables, and chairs which the owner has provided.

That is the problem with renting furnished places: the fittings are invariably old and used. We did not want a furnished place, as we have everything we need already.

However, most places for rent in town are furnished. The owners appear to expect that tenants will be newcomers to the city, arriving with nothing, not long-term residents such as us, moving to town from the sticks with their own household goods.

In the end, we had to opt for a furnished place, as there are more of them on the market.

We have asked the owner to store some of her stuff. We will move some of ours to her place, and try to sell the rest.

I probably won't see Maiyuu for the rest of today, so our Valentine's Day won't amount to anything much.

Last night, when I saw him after work, he was exhausted. 'Do you want anything?' he asked in a tiny voice.

'No...just you,' I said.

Condo cleaning duty

Maiyuu is on cleaning duty at the new condo.

Without prompting from me, he took himself off to our new inner-city condo this morning to do a thorough clean before the furniture arrives.

We have yet to move anything from our present place in Thon Buri to the condo, as we signed the rental contract only a couple of days ago, and these things take a while to organise.

Yesterday, Maiyuu sold several bags of his clothes to a second-hand dealer, who paid B1000 for the lot.

Maiyuu's clothes, which he packed in large black rubbish bags, have sat in the living room for months waiting for a buyer. Not before time, of course, but finally, we are rid of those awful bulky bags.

In other pre-move jobs, yesterday he photocopied pages from my passport, which I forgot to give the owner when I met her this week.

He also cut me a copy of the keys to the place, and stored a few more household belongings in packing boxes.

About midnight last night, he visited a friend in this condo who owns a truck, to see if it would be big enough to move our furniture. No luck. He will try somewhere else instead.

While at the new condo today, he will ask about installing hi-speed internet, which I need for my work, and satellite television, which he needs in his capacity as Good Housewife Who Deserves Time Out.

Before he left this morning, he spent half an hour adjusting his clothes in front of the mirror, making sure he looked right.

Maiyuu wore a pair of close-fitting pants and a T-shirt with collar and large stripes. Of course he looked great.

'You might wreck those clothes if you are cleaning,' I warned him.

'I have packed a pair of rough clothes. I will change into them when I get there,' he said.

He took with him a large shoulder bag, which also included cleaning gear.

'Do I look ugly?'he asked.

'You look wonderful,' I told him.

'It's an illusion. I might look good now, but I look different before a shower,' he said pragmatically.

'But we go for the whole package. I love you because of who you are, not just how you look,' I reminded him.

I also urged him to eat.

'I will take a meal on the main drag close to the condo, so I can survey the local territory,' he said.

So organised...well done.

Pop-out bicycle for two

In the first flush of excitement over our plan to move to an inner-city condo, Maiyuu has set his heart on buying a fold-up bicycle.

After meeting the condo owner to sign the rental contract yesterday, Maiyuu and I walked out towards the main road in search of a taxi. 'It is a long hike,' he complained.

A few hours later, he had thought of a solution. 'I shall buy a fold-up bike,' he said.

'When we need groceries or ingredients for baking, I will ride to the local store.'

'Can you ride a bike?' I asked, surprised. I haven't seen Maiyuu perform physical exercise in years.

'Of course. I have seen one advertised on television. But it is not made for people your size....100kg, 130kg,' he said.

'I am not that big, and I have ridden bikes in my time you know,' I said.

'...I could even ride down the road to meet you some time,' he said.

I am looking forward to seeing whether this cycling dream comes true.

Maiyuu, who also took a taxi to Silom yesterday, bought several shirts for me, and a long, slender pair of yellow fashion shoes for himself.

They are cheap copies of some expensive brand, and look like sneakers, but have frilly edging just below the toes.

'They are sweet and fem. Are they your new cycling shoes?' I asked.

He smiled, but said nothing.

Sign on the dotted line

Maiyuu and I met the owner of the condo today to sign a rental contract. We can take occupancy immediately, though Maiyuu expects it will take us until the end of the month to get everything moved.

He has asked the owner to take back her microwave, small oven, TV and two mattresses, as we will use our own. She will return in a couple of days to retrieve those items and at the same time pick up a copy of my passport, which I forgot to take along with me today.

The owner turned up in a smart car, with her own driver, who accompanied us to the unit, and acted as a witness in signing the contract. Maiyuu acted as the witness on my behalf.

The owner was probably in her early 40s, though looked younger. She has two children studying in Australia, whom she will join on a visit soon. She was lovely, and I would like the chance to know her better.

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Maiyuu is interested in supplying bakery to a shop close to our new place. 'A sister of a friend has opened her own shop nearby. I might sell her bakery,' he said today.

Maiyuu told the owner the same thing while we were inspecting the condo, which makes me hopeful that he will indeed find an outlet for his baking and cooking talents.

He has evidently chosen not to supply my friend Wirut's eatery close to Mum's shop in Thon Buri.

Once we move to the new condo, Wirut's place will be too far away to supply with bakery products.

However, I would like to continue visiting the place, as I enjoy Wirut's company, and am now getting to know his family and girlfriend's family as well.

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The moo krata restaurant on the banks of the river

At Wirut's place last night, I received two special visitors - bloggers Bangkok Bitch and Kawadjan.

It was good to meet two prominent members of the Bangkok gay blogging establishment.

I have met BB at Wirut's place one time previously. It was my first time for meeting his Filipino friend Kawadjan.

After drinking for an hour at Wirut's shop that night, we moved to a small eating place on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, next to a well-known moo krata restaurant.

Mum's shop was empty of customers, as usual. I feel sorry for her - Mum is obviously hurt that I have stopped drinking at her place after so many years of regular custom - but I stand by my right as a customer to go wherever I like.

BB and Kawadjan are intelligent, observant, and fun. They have packed a lot into their stay here: today they might visit Siam Square, tomorrow they could be on a cold mountain top sharing an uncomfortable tent.

I am enjoying hearing their stories about life in Bangkok and their impressions of Thais.

As I prepare to cross the river back to the centre of town, which Maiyuu and I left almost nine years ago to live in the wilds of Thon Buri, I feel we are about to enter a new chapter of our lives.

I am about to return to a part of Bangkok where I have not lived since I myself was a relative newcomer to the kingdom.

It's almost as if I have a new set of eyes, like a first-time visitor to Bangkok. Who knows, BB, Kawadjan and I might get to enjoy some gay adventures on the city side of the river, too.

Old man in the wardrobe

We have started packing our place into boxes, ahead of the big move into a condo close to town.

I have not yet signed the contract allowing us to take occupancy, but that day will come soon enough.

In the meantime, I have bought 16 large packing boxes from a hardware store in the market. I have taken all the books off the shelves, and sorted them into piles of 'to keep', 'to sell', and 'to throw out'.

Maiyuu has found a trader who buys furniture and clothes. He will invite him to our place to take a look at our stuff.

He hopes to sell as much as possible, and throw out as little as he can, which makes the packing process slow.

I would like to to throw out as much as possible beforehand, but Maiyuu has been going through my 'throw out' pile looking for items to add to his 'to sell' pile, for the sake of a few more baht which the trader might pay him.

'Don't throw this out...you can sell it,' he said yesterday, as he picked up a used notebook.

'You can't sell it - it's full, there are no blank pages,' I said, surprised he would want to sell such rubbish.

'Thais will buy it for scrap paper,' he insisted.

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Another persistent complaint of Maiyuu's is that he buys me clothes, but I forget about them.

They sit in the wardrobe until they begin shrinking (or my waistline begins expanding) until the day when I can no longer wear them.

'You like wearing the same clothes over and over, to make people feel sorry for you, as if you have nothing better in your wardrobe, which is not true,' he grumbles.

He is right! I didn't realise the extent to which I had become a creature of habit, like an old man.

I put clothes into the wash, they come back, I iron them, hang them on a clothes horse, and wear them again. Who needs to look for trouble in the wardrobe?

Yesterday I took everything out of the wardrobe. I tried on four pairs of trousers, and four pairs of shorts which I didn't know I owned, or had forgotten.

I still fit in them, which is good news.

I also found another four pairs of trousers which are now too small for me (they shrink in the dark), including two pairs of smart looking work trousers which - ahem - I never wore. Sorry, but I just forgot!

Postscript: A few unkind readers at the thaivisa forum once complained that my writing was mundane. This mundane post is for you!