Rewind: HK

As I approach my sixth month in HK (yes, I keep track too much), I had a very odd Saturday which brought me back to many, many years ago.

I meet with a friend for lunch, and he had a friend from out of town who was staying with him. So we head for one of HK's more famous must-eat locations for lunch. We walk up the stairs in a single file to the restaurant, tell the staff we needed a table for 3, and proceeded to wait for our number to be called. And that's when we discovered that the visiting friend had disappeared.

See, said visiting friend is not totally out of the closet and apparently he had seen someone who knew him at the restaurant we were at, and that totally spooked him. I totally understand the gay-by-association thing, 'cos I had my own issues about that years ago, but I never had to leave any restaurant because I might be outed. That's just sad and totally effed up.

I mean, I can empathize on some levels, but the guy is almost 30 and I think it's just silly that you cannot even eat lunch because someone might see you. How do you live like that?

Later that evening, I headed out to another friend's birthday and housewarming and it was a muggy evening but the company was great. And I meet another guest at the party who was smart and charming and pretty cool...and like a teenager, I had the worst case of insta-crush. Hate it when that happens. But I think I kinda kept it under wraps enough that my friend's didn't have to hose me down.

Back in the day, when I lived in HK the first time around, I suffered from insta-crushes all the time. I reckon it's a result of not knowing how to express affection within limits (does that make sense?) so much so that anyone who gave me attention, I would just cling on.

Deja vu is a funny, random thing. And hindsight is lovely, even on a muggy day in a country house by the beach. Maybe my date on Monday night will help give me some perspective.