It dawned on me last night as I got off work (yes,…
It dawned on me last night as I got off work (yes, I was called in on my day off) that, since I was to attend a conference in the name of my job today, I probably needed a suit. That is, a new suit. The only suit I’ve ever had is one my parents bought for me at Sears as a high school graduation gift. I was so skinny then that I got a double-breasted job to make me look more substantial. Oh the irony, I know. Needless to say I should donate it to charity at this point. I’ve never liked wearing suits, and so I wasn’t happy that I had to spend my own money on another one.
I went over to the Sunrise Department Store across the street. Surely I could buy a suit there, I thought. It’s a cheap, second-class department store, and wouldn’t be as expensive as Sogo or Mitsukoshi. When I had made my way past all of the women-oriented merchandise, which made up most of the store, I asked a clerk how much their cheapest suit was.
“Twenty thous-”
“Thanks. Bye.” I hastily retreated before the clerk could finish his mandatory “Your Chinese is so good!” and found another store where they had a sale on baggy gray Italian suits that would go well with a fedora. I picked one out, plus a shirt and tie, and handed it over to the saleslady, who asked me why purchasing a suit required so much growling on my part. “I don’t like wearing suits,” I growled at her as I handed over my visa card. “And I especially don’t like spending my own money on suits.”
That ordeal overwith, I joined Dean, Mindcrime, Graham, Brian and several random women at the Shannon. This time we met in the Olde Celtic portion of the bar, next to the fake fireplace. I was wishing for a real fire before long, as they had turned down the A/C until I swear there was frost on the inside of the windows. My friends wondered at the fact that I had actually bought a suit, not quite believing their eyes. TC, all respectable and shit? Damn!
I woke up this morning to news that a typhoon was on its way, but nothing had been cancelled, so I took the MRT up to the Grand Hotel, where I met my friend Mark and sat through several boring lectures and presentations by people with all of the speaking skills of a Doobie Brother. Graham wanted me to take a picture of myself in The Zoot Suit. Yeah, laugh it up, fuzzball.
Lunch was free, which was nice, although the staff at the Grand Hotel are still operating under the amusing delusion that they are they only real hotel in town. It’s like they’ve all been hypnotized into thinking that the Hyatt and the Hilton simply don’t exist, or if they do, just don’t measure up. Mark and I were just sitting down at a table when the hostess came over and scolded us. “You can’t sit there!” she barked. “Sit over there with the rest of the APEC scum!” Harsh, that. Still, the pie was delicious.
When we finally got out of the conference, the sun was shining, and there was no typhoon to be seen, so we walked back to the MRT station and took a train back downtown. Just as I was walking home, looking forward to ditching the monkey suit, Mindcrime called. He wanted to eat at the Shannon again. It seems that he was quite enamoured with the Irish Stew there, so I met him over there after I had changed back into normal clothes. Out of curiosity, I had the stew as well, and I have to say that, no matter how much they may screw up the other items on their menu, the people at the Shannon can make a mean Irish Stew. I’d go back more often if it weren’t so arm-wrenchingly expensive, however.
After dinner I went to the nearest Blockbuster to rent some DVDs. The store was practically empty when I arrived, but when I made my way downstairs to check out my selections, the place was packed. It seems that while I was up there the government announced that school and work have been cancelled tomorrow for Taipei city and county. I assume this means that I don’t have to go to the rest of the conference tomorrow, although I will call in the morning to make sure. I’ve stocked up on ice-cream sandwiches, though, just in case I’m trapped in a flood and have to bribe rats to let me up the fire escape ladder.
