Monday, November 14, 2005

 
Desolation Row
C was outta town most of the weekend on business and left to my own devices I immediately chose to tutor handicapped, low income Filipina and Thai refugee children with Spike (see his blog, Hongkie Town http://laowai.blogspot.com/ for his version of events) on Saturday night.
On Friday night he and I had watched Martin Scorsese's No Direction Home at his Library of Congress-style ville stocked with seemingly every box set, vinyl album and DVD issued within the last 40 years and more. As such Dylan's Desolation Row was still an insistent ear-worm burrowing through my brain on Saturday when we gave up the idea of a Macau sleaze tour package (roundtrip ferry, hotel, and, uh, female ``guide service'') in favor of the local options in Wan Chai.
I gotta say I don't know how he does it. It was like being out on the town with the King of Hearts and Tarts -- a guy with an amazing mix of true sincerity and good natured lechery in one often simultaneously cynical package.
As for me, I went into sodden, slightly sullen-looking journalistic voyeur mode watching the hookers transform themselves from early (7 pm or so) arrivals with still-wet hair from their wake-up showers into whatever it was the men on the prowl wanted them to be.
I wound up sitting with an entertaining Filipina working girl who'd been in Hong Kong since 1985, easily the oldest one there though she wore it well. Like Spike, she seemed to have the entire place wired and (correctly) told me without prompting or hints that
1. we'd never spoken before;
2. I worked for The Standard;
3. had been in the bar three times previously within a year;
4. had never picked anyone up, and then went on to dish the dirt on a coworker whom I'd previously thought of as your basic lovable rogue, but not a philanderer.
It was like being with a combination red light psychic/gossip columnist.
``They never forget a face or a history,'' said Spike, pausing a minute from wooing an old Thai flame (``Best sex I ever had!'') while putting the good natured munch on about six others. ``Just like a journalist.''
I wish.
I left alone, muddled, somewhat in awe of her mental skills and missing C more than ever.
Comments:
我爱你
多么好您将今年与我结婚在圣诞节!!

江·钱
 
My legend continues to grow!
 
Nice to have your comments section going. I wanted to tell you for quite some time that I really like reading your ramblings.
I am a former HKG expat and before I spend considerable amounts of time in Shenzen, Donguan and Guangzhou.
Keep it up :)
 
Muchas gracias Fred! Good to hear from a new reader (as well as ESWN and satyr Spike; extra thanks for the translation ESWN..)
 
Very scary that the old Filipina had you pegged so exactly... always think of the Wanchai bars as pretty anonymous places... that hide one's late night fun. Guess it'll be more nights in Mongkok from now on :-)
 
我非常想念您和准备花费时期来这个周末
 
Justin,
I like your new comments capability. And it seems that you have gotten past the blue-funk period. Onward and upward. Are you and “C” going to do something soon?
Has the touring Governor of California, and his entourage come through Hong Kong yet?
Take care of yourself
 
Yeah, so I hope that marrage comment was a joke/misunderstanding. Anyway, it's nice that I can finally say something about your posts.
 
I have enabled the masses to heap mounds of praise upon you and stroke your ego. I want candy.
 
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