the rain keeps me up

human heads

cow heads

pig heads

when they blur

things become clear

***

It's all a cycle, isn't it? Empires prosper, empires decay, revolutions start, empires go down, empires start over, empires prosper, empires decay, revolutions start, empires go down. All empires start out as revolutions, and all empires end with revolutions. Everything, no matter how well-intentioned it starts out to be, ends up rotten to the core. Ends up replaced.

***

Amazing, but the girl with no sense of direction managed to locate the pork noodle place to which she had followed a posse of people while trying to talk (and walk) intelligently. It (apparently) serves heavenly pork noodles for which people are willing to wait hours. Pork noodles which I have not tried, as mine was not pre-ordered and there wasn't enough time. So I had coke at a place which (apparently) serves heavenly pork noodles.

I had a debt to collect.

So, yes. The girl with no sense of direction managed to find the place that she does not know the name of in a street she has only seen once during which she was too busy trying not to embarrass herself. All in the name of honour. I will not leave a pork noodle place with a stomach full of coke. So Beatrice and I ordered and we waited for 25 minutes. It was above average. I mean, of course I wouldn't be incredibly impressed after all the hype.

ignore the green

But it was good. Yellow noodles, salty soup, tubes of intestines, slices of liver, real meatballs, bunches of deep-fried fatty skin. You know, the really badass type of food. The this-is-going-to-take-away-two-years-of-my-natural-lifespan-but-screw-it type of food. Oh yeah. Don't know if I can ever find the way back again.

***

After a few false starts, finally, it is confirmed. Amy will be setting foot in Taiping for the Raya holidays. Bus tix all bought and all. She can't back off now! Hah! I will give her the tour of Taiping that I wished I had but never had until it was too late. Will probably skip the tranny part of the tour. Probably. But will definitely show her the saddest place in all Taiping. Tesco. Will also show her hideous former high school. Will not sign her into club swimming pool, but will make her go boating in lake. Maybe tales of mutated Flower Horns will awaken dormant ability to swim.

The sad thing is, I told her so many (embellished) stories of Taiping, but her eyes only lit up when I mentioned I have a decorative piano lying around the house somewhere. Some people, I tell you. I bet my Mum will love her. They will (if I may be so vain) stay up all night talking about me. I might end up having to do a DNA test just to make sure.

Suddenly I have a strong feeling I will be replaced.

***

New book = Contentment