Friday, July 19, 2024

Xiao Bai de Tian's birthday party

Oh dear at 4am it was more diarrhoea and then every few minutes for the next few hours, getting micro-sleeps between micro-leaks. I did the correct thing of drinking lots and lots of water, but couldn't manage any solids. I wonder which solids it was/were that caused it in the first place. I suppose it could have been something at Xiao Bai de Tian's but their bbq is known to be very fresh. It more likely was Xixi's chicken on a stick that she didn't want. Her loss was my greater loss in that case.


I had a break from the toilet for about four hours in the early afternoon and managed to take advantage from half of it by dozing, during which time I received a message I couldn't be bothered to check. But it was followed up by a call from Haiwei asking me to meet up Sunday evening for a meal with his kids. Wow, a plan more than 48 hours before it was due to take place. Makes a change from 48 minutes! I said that assuming I had nothing planned (I hadn't) that I'd confirm later.


I then realised soon after 5pm that I had not practised for Xiao Bai's party tonight, when she pinged to say they were starting at 9.30pm. I was in no mood to practise, and had had to go back to the loo a few times too, but I couldn't not go. So I forced myself and realised the music wasn't the problem, just getting out the words so quickly. It really is a tongue twister to say "Zao xihuan chuansuo chongmang youhuo de heiye" (the third line of the second verse). In fact that's one of about nine tongue twisting lines (I can manage three of the four chorus lines no problem). Then I found out that the lines I could sing better were those that I actually understood; it wasn't that they were necessarily more difficult to pronounce physically. The problem is that the translation of the particularly difficult one is "I've long been accustomed to traveling through the night full of temptations", and I still don't really understand it. I guess I'll need to break it down but I won't have much time this evening.


Oh but I needed some food, and found Xixi had a bag of "toast", which really means very sweet bread. I'd normally not touch this but reckoned I needed the calories so had half a slice followed by a yoghurt. Followed by another half slice.


At 8.30pm Li Kun pinged me to say he was en route back home from Baise and that he'd let me know when at his studio so I could pick him up. Fair enough, It would be no earlier than 9.30pm then. Indeed it was gone 10pm and we got to Xiao Bai de Tian's at 10.30pm and it was heaving, but we found a couple of seats at a table with mostly young women and I recognised one or two of them from the other night. The beer was room temperature and I wasn't really in the mood but managed the usual ganbeis. I called Nong to tell her to turn up, then received a call from Zhang Hongping to ask where I was. As it was noisy and sweaty I went outside to talk and explained it was really busy and we could meet "gaitian", a really useful term for "another day". But someone had spied me in the youcha place and called me over, and I found Haiwei at a table with his girlfriend and some other mates, who bade me sit down, which I duly did. For three minutes until it started pissing down so we moved to a covered place.


I was actually a little peckish and the raw salmon was appreciated, and I stayed longer than was polite as I got a message from Li Kun asking where I was, so I made my excuses and went back next door to find Nong outside so we went in and found the same table for a bit before table-hopping as you do. Handsome singer bloke turned up with his wife, who for some reason didn't look like a popstar's wife, rather a nice, normal person, and when I needed some more fresh air I had a nice conversation with her outside. I was aware I'd said I'd sing but wasn't in the mood even after a couple more beers, and it was gone midnight now, plus there were better singers on the stage. I considered asking handsome singer bloke to accompany me but a bit later had Tan on the blower telling me to come back and for once I thought that would be a good excuse and told her I was on my way and didn't even tell the others as I wouldn't have had time for the ganbeis.

Xiao Bai de Tian's birthday in full swing


I pinged Xiao Bai to apologise and said i could do it "gaitian" and really meant it, and she was fine with it of course. And it was probably for the better.

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