POISON MOUTH

Little did I suspect when I started learning Cantonese that on the one hand it would show me lyric hyperbole, on the other hand the heights to which cursing and foul language go rise. While eating lunch today I got to listen to a cheerfully foul-mouthed old blister using certain words as both punctuation and exclammatories. Sometimes both simultaneously, sometimes very much not. Always in the same sentence. Many sentences. I was there for an entire hour, during which he dominated the conversation with two other people, did not shut up, and delivered curse upon curse matter-of-factly, eloquently, and with both confidence and pointless dreary repetition.

Nah, I shan't tell you what those words and expressions were. This is a clean blog, and you can find all of that by browsing the internet and visiting Wikipedia.

Other than the extremely loud background noise, lunch was quite enjoyable.
They know me there. The food is decent. There is hot sauce.


And the HK milk tea is excellent.


Some of the regulars are unvarnished old reptiles.
Lizards with social issues made worse by age.

So yes, I enjoy the place, but usually I avoid conversation there, as my abilities in Cantonese do not extend to poetic exaggeration. At least not quite that much. I do not think I'm social enough to cuss up a storm.

And really, all I want to do is eat my meal, drink my cup of tea, and pack a pipe preparatory to a long stroll down to where I will catch a bus back over the hill.
That smoke was excellent, by the way.


Indignant geckoes, skinks, and water monitors are purely icing on the cake.



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