Eyes only for you... Chapter 2

Surprisingly sleep did not curse me to be bedridden, Friday 6:45AM, quietly moved around my room not wanting to wake Ruby who was happily snooring away. Work went on as per normal, there were too many urgencies to handle, and with my "own time, own target" set slightly on the unattainable, I found myself tinkering with the computer doing close to nothing and floating beneath the dew of milk from the crest of a breast. *what was i thinking?

As the sun increased itself in altitude, and the craving for Mutton Curry from the canteen joyfully satisfied, my body began the painfull process of moving into shut down phase. It was another four hours until we officially ended, and the heart, nerve and sinew began to oppose rebeliously my escapades the night before. Every phonecall triggered total discomfort, every push of the key become an act of backbreaking trauma and every thought was only begging and yearning for some form of rest. Finally at 4, I could no longer hold on and made my decision on not staying, hurrily I left on time ; but leaving on time meant I had to meet Ruby for the keys and to dileberate the plans for the remainding waking hours. Departing the yard was a breathe of fresh air (literally as we are situated right beside an oil refinery)my exhaustion mysteriously dissappeared, and our rendeavous point was Beer Garden along lady Shipyard Road, never knew it existed till then. Rama coincidentally was also in town, big dreams of going to the gym to prep for the grudge game the next day was in the cards. So again Ruby and I were galloping on the Phantom. Cleared some bills and another impulsive decision made way for further actions ; we were to make our way to JB!!

Laying the keel at Dock 2


The jam along the causeway was palatable, took us a good 30 mins to clear, and it was much needed "teh halia" to calm the feeble mind. Another one of my favourite hangouts, Muthu's along Dobi Road... my conversation began to slur due to fatigue, and of course with a limp mind, more impulses began to intoxicate actions ; we were to top up, load up on ciggies and shoot to Marina Bay for the National Day Fireworks, and so we did just that. Alvin had already made reservations for a table by the river. Our arrival was greeted with the abundance of crowd tempered with chaos whereby everyone was wrestling for a good view of the show. Where were we to find parking in this madness?, It would have been alright just to watch the show anywhere, but the prospects of actually having a perfect view was there and great Alvin was the answer to our woes. Luck was on our side, parking came in the form of apparently legal parking behind some shaddy building. We rushed, jostling across herds of kiasu cattle,(Ruby walking within the Malaysian pace, and I was on running the mile in 4 minutes) time was still on our side, and Alvin was seated comfortably in One Fullerton. It is moments like these "kiasuism" was at its best, everyone did not want to make way even for passerby's, the Police had condorned all movement along the main road to avoid any unforseen meetings between man & machine, thus leaving all walkable areas with little room for movement.


Finally we got to One Fullerton, the line in was another amazing sight and heart breaking, there were just too many people, but Alvin was the Man!! all he had to do was to inform the bouncers that "we" had arrived and for "safety purposes" we were let in immediately, before it devil started speaking. Quick introduction to break the ice with his pals were made and we were even quicker to seek comfort with a pint of Stella.(No Kilkenny tsk tsk tsk...) 2 mins to blast off, and a mesmerizing blast it was.... it was a the singapore team showcasing their skills. The accompanying music was not loud enough, but the fire works itself was very beautiful. Shimmering arabic skirts bursting in the air, alien stares from the base of liftoff, the momentum picked up with the passing time and the reflection which could be seen from the mirrors of Marine Mandarin was superb... the heart was at awe and senses mostly captivated.

With the end of the fireworks, the crowd mellowed to a whisper almost immediately. And this time it was three to tango, Alvin, Ruby and I... next plan "small drinks" at the forbidden city. Here we found ourselves with new friends from Ireland and Auzzie, (memory tainted in alcohol, makes no room for names to remember) The forbidden city was a very pretty place, tentalizing lighting, cousy sofas, music was with the flow of good beats & Kilkenny was indeed on the menu, the pricing fair. Conversation was in staccatos with the guest, however after a drink or two eveything began to fall in place. Again another plan blossumed, MOS!! Oh fuck me, I need sleep!! I gave a very reluctant yes to Alvin but his trust in us being his backups just fueled interest in the club for other simple reasons ; to finally indulge first hand of all good & bad things that have been said about the great Ministry of Sound. The entrance made Zouk look like a dying dog. There was one particular dancer that moved as though he bones were dettached from her hips, and she gave her mind bending moves on the podium with all eyes transfixed, must applaude her (Roman Abramovich style) for she did beyond well. Cover was for two drinks and gradually we threaded darker

waters. I just couldn't wait for the Rhythm and Blues room....Smoove. Sure enough Alvin had it all planned out to perfection, he was to be the tour guide and we the tourist, finished our drinks and there we were like kindergarden children on a leash while the teacher dragged us accross the crowd. First Stop Club 54 retro room, not my cup of tea however it was a good dancing crowd, here we had a generous amount of old timers with their dilluded escorts. The women loved the place, for whatever sordid reasons, and we were uncomfortably pacing within our confinement. So next stop, was Pure, and bliss it was, it depicted the abode of love. The party concoction was just right, not too many people, music a good blend between house,latin,samba plus electronic, and sure enough there were many eye catching quotable vessels. Nevertheless, we still had one more stop, thus with one more hope for better things to come. However the bigger the anticipation, the bigger the dissapointment. Our last stop being "Smoove" the crib, was packed with young army goers, the heatbeat of the dance floor was the rhythm of mediocre tracks, every living soul crowded the dance floor, and to add salt to the wound ; movement was minimally and overly pretentious. So off we were, dropping off the ladies in the retro, while Ruby and I showed some faced by being in an unwanted arena.... enough was enough, and we needed Pure to feed of our desire of more rapturous hallucination.

The crowd picked up, straight ahead were the usual "pataya" lady boys who were the best dancers as always ( or rather more animated), their intentions were merely focused on cock teasing prospective partners, ... as much care and meticulous work done on them to be showcase who they really are, the overall outlook was a rather confusing sight. Time 1:30am, and it was the Kickoff of Happy Hour, drinks were one for one, which resulted with good introduction to my new favourite blend of whiskey....whiskey grind. Perfect, with the sweet potions for distortion which filled my veins with illogical passion, hence I began trying to acquire my vessel, but she had set sail to Africa. My eyes refused the mind to stop staring, and she was a trance in visioned of a person. Her hips trapped by the hardened grasps of her tootsie. He danced without a care in the world, for he just stood like a statue while she , his sole posessions made sure he was hers, and she being the part of his rotten ribs, made him God, ..... her raw unscatched matted locks, ressembled the thick embroidery of medussa's hair... while her skin was a tapestry of arabian silk and the amazon tiger, She danced only to him, and her eyes was clear brown layered in blue, lips laced in ruby red with lust.... and it was only for him, for he struck a pose, and she swayed to his wills, and her eyes was in a trance only of him, she swayed like a swan while he was her post....and I breathe the heavy pull on dunhills to catch scent of her skin....alas I had not a chance, but only too look beyond her beauty... those eyes were of total vice of sin, and yet she only looked at him....as I watched in vain.

Anyway, Happy hours resulted the pockets to dry up faster than one can say "Jack Robinson". Whiskey, Vodka, Gin.... and here came the Irish accountant, can't really remember his name, he came appeared in absolute disgust & frustration from retro music, he was higher than a kite, for all I recalled from the Forbidden City conversation with him was clear and precise, but he had one too many and Irish blood was taking his sane mind into a coup, I had to dig out my ear drums and crack my head to comprehend his conversation. However one thing was clear, he was happy... dancing like a kid who managed to catch his balls, and balls he did want to catch.... the trannies caught his attention and he was head over heel...... until I had to point the obvious that a sailors does know best," they are men" he stop stopped dancing & looked at me in amusement and confusion *are you sure?, Alvin came by and he burst out laughing for his parrot got flacid with the facts, continued laughing and acknowledged his stupidity with 2 big high fives hoping to avoid any more embarassment..... consequently drowning his sin of thought with more drinks.

The music only got better, and the time grew even later.... but who the fuck cared!! We were happy and soon desire was subjected to reality, that we had way exceeded our " curfew" yet again*strike two. The Yard always has a sad story on Saturday, because its a working day & I foresee a difficult match against the Wednesday Night Ballers in the evening whereby our last meeting triggered off a fracas of fighting, police, doctors and a sweetest thing I have laid eyes on, a baby named Shima. Anyway, here we were, three hungry drunk, and what else was there except McDonalds. Our misadventures lead us here, and within the que, I caught scent, these specimens of raw and wild passionate beauty, even without touching them the aura of ambience was softer than the clouded heavens.*must be the alcohol But with perfection, the imperfections became even bolder, their skin upon closer inspection ( no no, they were not lady boys) was tainted with unimaginable amounts of paints, even with such natural length on their lashes, they were forced fed with thick layers of black rubbish.... alas, my lust for them diminished, and I swayed my attention yet again to an unnecessary slut of a specimen. However, we just settled with contentment another night of Mc Donald's Chicken Pattee.... In all that imagination, Alvin in his dazed stance found great irritation of a couple of foreigners bullying poor locals. The Island and it's policies have somewhat made the people ignorant of what is. How I wished those punks disrupted our circle, for one has to be kind to your neighbours, thus this shall transcend to their neighbours...... pain begets pain.


We were the gang of three hungry ghost, gobbling like gluttons accompanied with what seemed to be serious conversation of life but in truth it was mere drunk men ranting .Alvin and I had great guilt for we had outdone ourselves, how the hell we were to manage the Yard in morning (which was only 2 hours away), And I had bigger concerns because I was adamant to head back with the Phantom in such pickled state? Ruby on the other hand, was happily wiping the chillie sauce off his mustache.......

Vancouver 2001, I miss the sea