My Three and a Half Parties

Not sure how but I ended up with three totally different cakes this year - all of which I enjoyed thoroughly though for different reasons. Short summaries of the events of the past few days so let's start with the first.

Black Forest Gateau

You always remember the first :) And Big Bicep Barry certainly knew how to make an appearance. Dropped by my place in the evening with his cake and candles, singing the familiar song. A little exhausted since I'd just returned from my overnight trip, I actually planned to turn in early - but then Barry promised to entertain me with his awesome cherry-picking talents.

Which he performed quite memorably :)

And then there was the even larger
Banana Chocolate Cake

Orchestrated by Strapping Shane and the rest of the motley crew, they attempted to surprise me in Italiannies on a sunday afternoon. Though I don't see how I could have been taken unawares with the way he kept insisting that I make it there on time! You see, punctuality has never been one of my kid brother's shining qualities :)

A great party - that got even better when I noted a hunky Chinese waiter waiting in the wings ( possibly an escaped Myanmar monk, I believe! ). Razan with the cheekbones that could cut glass! Even managed to take a few surreptitious shots of him - though I think he might have noticed me ogling him quite unashamedly.

Hell, I almost flipped some chocolate onto his neck so that I could lick it off.


Baby, we ain't 16 no more!
Not exactly a cake but I just had to put it in...
Mojitos

Certainly not kids anymore and that fact hit us when my ISO and I both walked in through the doors of Qba. In our jackets ( forced on me by my ISO ), doubt anyone would mistake us for callow teenyboppers. We were finally adults. And boy, that sombre image certainly deserved a drink.

Or two.

And of course, saving the best for last...
Sugee Almond Cake

Baked to perfection and simply heavenly, my family bought this for me. It's been a family tradition to have a cake since... forever, I think. Got a shirt and cufflinks from my brother ( ever the traditionalist ) and the scrapbook items my parents already got for me earlier ( and that I plan to get done before Christmas ).

Three cakes and a mojito. Seems like it's pretty good turning 31 after all.

Shiitake Happens

Did my good deed of the week. Hopefully this manages to balance out all the evil I've done for the past few days. Hell, it's probably enough to risk a few wicked sins this weekend :)

If you recall Tearful Tony of gaycide fame, I made a return visit to check up on the boy. Call it my good samaritan act of the day. Certainly looking much more cheerful than the solemn, sad-eyed stud I brought in on the first day. I guess it's hard to look all that happy when you've just had your stomach contents forcibly pumped out.


Thoroughly wasted. That's how you feel like after a gastric lavage!
Even managed a smile for me.

Tony recognized me almost immediately, if not as his returning saviour, certainly as the doctor who shoved half a dozen unimaginable foreign objects in most of his available orifices ( and then gave him a five minute lecture on the futility of suicide ). Still Tony was friendly enough - after such wildly invasive measures it certainly loosens the inhibitions. Talked with very little prompting about his problems which I listened closely enough, his problems at work, in school, in his family... but he certainly steered safely clear of any mention of his apparent homosexuality ( and his faithful suitor on the nightly vigil ).

Certainly didn't press the issue of course - I've far more learned, experienced colleagues than me dealing in such tangled matters. But I did leave him a small message.

Paul : And what about your friends? Faithful Frank for instance.
Tony : Y-you met Frank?
Paul : It's hard not to notice, don't you think? He's here every night.
Tony : He's been really... wonderful.
Paul : We should always appreciate our friends.
Tony : But I-I'm not one of those gays! At least I think I'm not.
Paul : No one's saying that you are. Though it is that really so bad?
Tony : It's not! And I don't think I am gay...
Paul : You wouldn't be the only gay man around, you know.

Yes, it was a loaded hint. I do seem to be coming out in the oddest places these days.

Much too polite a boy, Tony didn't inquire further though I could see he was dying to ( ironically enough ). Perhaps I looked a bit too intimidating for him to ask such a searching personal question. We talked a bit more but he added very little after. Still, he seemed to be smiling to himself when I left.

So hopefully he won't swallow that next bottle of pills when he comes across them again. Shiitake happens but that doesn't mean you have to resort to making a sashimi of yourself.

Ex Communication

I'm sure some of you would have gotten the wrong idea about my purported one night stand in Singapore.

Well, if you count that as two guys spending the night at McDonald's in Orchard trash talking while gulping down endless milkshakes. Why not a jug of sangria, you say? Well since my hands tend to wander shamelessly when hot guys are near, I certainly wouldn't want to accidentally commit adultery whilst in the midst of a alcoholic haze!

We don't need another repeat of Christmas Past.


A sweet escape!
Though not on a bicycle made for two!
Far from running off down south in a fit of pique ( and we all know I'm a little old to be indulging in those childish antics :P ), what happened was actually so innocuous, so innocent that we barely realized what was happening. First we were talking about our thirty-something classmates all happily married - even one with a kid in primary now! - and the next we were both headed down to the customs between borders with matching looks of astonishment / horror / glee.

Ah. Mid-life crisis.

And it all started with an innocent bit of siew mai.

Paul : Haven't had breakfast like that in ages.
My ISO : My last time was those noodles with you.
Paul : Same here. I need a break.
My ISO : Let's go now then. I am free today.
Paul : Yeah, let's just follow our instincts, pack up and go without further thought.
My ISO : Why not? You have your passport right?
Paul : At home, yeah. Are you serious? What did you put in that tea?!
My ISO : Come on, let's be impulsive.
Paul : Aren't you here to see your sweet grandma?
My ISO : She's almost senile. She won't miss me.
Paul : Aren't you the grandson of the year? Come on, we haven't even booked a hotel room. Where would we stay?
My ISO : Like you haven't slept in some shady places lah.
Paul : Sleeping overnight in your car was an aberration. And you were the one who got semi-drunk in Genting.
My ISO : Good times.
Paul : I refuse to sleep in the backseat. I have creaky joints already.
My ISO : Old age arthritis.
Paul : For that, you are driving.

And so we left.

Fallen Red Leaves on Fragrant Hill

Yesterday I had a handsome man offer to let me lick his naked chest slathered in expensive dark chocolate.

Today I had another guy doing something illegal with his mobile tongue and a virgin cherry from the black forest gateau.

And all I can think of is Charming Calvin shivering away in his vaunted winter clothing ( thousand bucks worth, don't play play ) while viewing autumnal leaves shed on the hills around Beijing. That does sound awfully sappy-saccharine-sweet ( I blame it on the slight cold I'm nursing now ) but wait, you haven't heard it all.


Hmmm.. now how do I get out of going?
Haven't turned into complete sentimental mush yet. You'd expect my image of Calvin to be picture perfect but it isn't. :) Would I date someone angelically perfect? That'd bore me in days.

So... of course after being dragged off for a nature lovers' excursion, diplomatically Calvin would proclaim it the best day he'd had in the capital though I know inside he would complain bitterly about the cold. Muttering sotto voce to himself as he blows warm breath onto his frozen fingers.

But then hell he keeps his charming civility for the others and only mouths off with me.

Colleague : How are you enjoying the winter?
Calvin : A little biting but I like the cold. Gives me a chance to wear my new winter coat.
Coleague : Don't you think the leaves look beautiful?
Calvin : Almost like a water brush painting.

What a politician. Of course what he actually means is...

Colleague : How are you enjoying the winter?
Calvin : Are you kidding me? I'm freezing my balls off. Stupid weather!
Colleague : Don't you think the leaves look beautiful?
Calvin : Fuck the frigging leaves. Get me back to the hotel where there's a bloody heater!

Or something like that.

Shanghaied

Spontaniety.

That's a word I gotta learn. Seriously.

You see, Scorpios take perverse pleasure in knowing. Sure I might not sketch out my future plans to the teensiest details as much as our anal-retentive Charming Calvin does but I do at least have some idea what's about to happen. Certainly not the kind to fly by the seat of my pants. Surprises ( especially unpleasant ones ) are not my favourite things in the world.

So how did I find myself in a foreign city with a handsome man naked in the shower?


Gosh. Where the heck am I!
All I had planned was a day free for my scrapbooking. Been a while since I've had the time, brought all my utensils back for the weekend all ready for an intensive day of cutting, pasting and decorating. But then I got that special call before breakfast.

My ISO : What are you doing?
Paul : Scrapbooking.
My ISO : Good God, grandma. What next? Crochet? Lawn bowling?
Paul : You know I've actually tried that.
My ISO : Fuck that. You are coming for breakfast. Get ready.

And four hours later I'm in the Lion City for lunch.

Did I ever mention that apart from being evil, handsome and charming, my ISO can be devilishly persuasive as well? A well-heeled traveller himself, my ISO's sense of distance is sadly warped. One moment we were talking about our last road trip over steaming buns and the next we're looking for chocolate leaves in Vivocity. My new word of the day is Singapore-d - my own special version of Shanghaied. Didn't plan anything, didn't call anyone ( unless you count that last hasty message to Calvin before I jumped into the car ). Hell, I barely had time to grab my passport.

Haven't done anything this spontaneous and impulsive in years - probably since that last time I recklessly jumped off a cliff in Australia. There was a harness, helmets and I closed my eyes all the while but still...

The much-talked-about ( at least in my aging workplace ) mid-life crisis has arrived early obviously. Next thing you know, I'll probably trade in my reliable car for some sporty phallic symbol.