love ~ the one game you lose...

if you refuse to play.

It was close to midnight, and I was furiously typing. I reached the end of the sentence and I gave the return key on my laptop a mighty tap, nearly a punch, with my muscular index finger...

And that set-off the fire alarm in my room!

I looked at the ceiling, and the alarm was blinking. And wailing...

I contemplated reaching up to see if I could shut it, but I guess the fire brigade was probably on it's way already, knowing how efficient they are in this country. I better evacuate.

Hmm... I must've been hallucinating... I couldn't possibly have caused the fire alarm to go off.

I headed for the door, and remembered that in this country, it would be freezing outside. So I put on more clothes. Headed for the door again, and remembered my mobile phone. Headed for the door again, and remembered my wallet in the drawer...

Oi, it's midnight and you're going to be gathering in a car park! What do you need your phone and wallet for??

I left my room, and saw the rest of my hall-mates slowly making their way down the fire escape. As we gathered in the carpark at that cold and windy and damp and dark hour, I realised that it was the first time I was seeing quite a number of my 150 hall-mates. This was certainly a good way to network! Most of us had nowhere to go for the next 15 minutes, we were in our sleeping gowns, pyjamas and other stuff I don't see often... and all generally pissed-off. When moods match, conversations flow.

And for a bunch of people who were preparing to go to bed or were already sleeping, we looked quite good actually...

*******

The next morning, the following notice was pasted near the main staircase of the hall (name, I censored):

"Reason for false fire alarm:

Who did it?....... M****K

'The Uncensored Story'

1. M****k sets off the alarm.
2. Why?
3. Because he really likes this girl...
4. Who?
5. We don't know either :-) ... but...
6. Apparently his friends say that she doesn't look too good without make-up... so
7. To prove them wrong, he sets off the alarm by smashing the fire safety glass...
8. So that she comes out without make-up...
9.We all hope that M****k managed to prove his point and is happy.


n.b. M****k along with his friends were first to come down and stand near the door to check her out."

Tossers.

They should have just told me. I would have got Michael from the job-agency or Chantelle from Paris to sort it out...

*******

An old saying, Spanish I think:

Occasionally, the train goes past and you must catch it because it will never come back, and that's true even when it is passing at an inopportune moment.