Last Saturday night, our couple friends CM & Evan came back from Hong Kong to attend a wedding dinner. They were suppose to attend with 3 other friends within the group and suggested we catch up right after their wedding dinner celebrations.
My husband Tzek has been studying and getting his assignments done for his test which is due for submission tomorrow. So whilst he was rushing for time to finish it before the weekend is up, he was also torn to make time for these friends whom we cherish and miss.
Another couple friend I have got, Germ & Simon were like us, not part of the wedding celebrations. However, Germ's dad is hospitalised and she has been in the hospital day and night to be with her dad and to make sure he gets better. So, frankly meeting on Saturday night was something we really went out of the way to do, oh well, for good friends, let's not say it's 'out-of-the-way'.
In fact I have been checking online for cafes that open late into the night, and somewhere in Orchard road where the rest were attending the wedding. No one bothered to reply email on venue which was sent on friday (except Germ - surprisingly cos she is not someone who would check her emails regularly!) , and only 2 others replied my sms which was sent on saturday afternoon itself.
In the evening, we had dinner with both our parents and our parents in-law. Then at sometime 9.30p.m, CM smsed me and asked me to get a cake for Evan (his wife) altho her birthday was 10 days ago... he said we could still celebrate for her as an aftermath (gosh... I wonder why he didnt think of celebrating my birthday in advance - which is happening quite soon actually!!!!???)
Anyhows, we hurried to the cake shop nearby (with our whole family trudging behind us) to grab the cake. And thank goodness, we managed to convince the guy to part a cake to us before he closes his shop. With relief, we made our way back to my in-laws house for half and hour to settle in, then scoooted off to orchard road TCC at International Building to try and get seats for 9.
We reached the cafe at 10.30p.m, and had about 4 people ahead of us in the queue. Worried that the cake will melt, we requested for the waiter to help keep it in their fridge. They told us we cannot cut the cake here cos they also sell cakes. sigh! At 10.45p.m, we were no. 2 in the queue. However, as we were looking for a seat for 9, it was quite a feat for the waiter to try and get us this table cos the cafe was relatively crowded even at this time.
I called CM and asked what time they will probably be done. He said probably 11.20 - 11.30p.m at earliest! Oh gosh... it is going to be embarrassing 'chopeing' 7 seats whilst there are so many people in the queue! I also told him about the 'no outside cake' policy, and he suggested we go somewhere else that allows cake cutting and wait there for them. What the ---? We have been queuing for almost 1/2 hour!!! At that same time, the waiter managed to get us a strategic table for 2 inside the cafe. So that when those beside us leave, they can reserve the seats for the rest. We sat down and ordered our drinks cos we were really tired by now, having stood in the queue for 1/2 hour and in the warm humid air. CM called again, suggesting we change venue to Heeren, or Ben and Jerry's somewhere, or Dempsey road!
By now, I was really irritated and alittle pissed. Why are they changing venue only now? What do they think me and my husband are? Seat chopers?????!!!! My husband has a test to complete and was planning to do it after we are done at the cafe, way into the wee hours of the morning. We are not about prepared to move anywhere! Just then, CM called for the 3rd time. I knew I couldnt speak to him anymore cos I was absolutely pissed off... so I got my husband - who has a better controlled temper than I to speak to him. Just then, Germ and Simon arrived. We heard my husband say calmly in a slow voice, "don't shout at me... I am saying , no - - we are not going to come to Sheraton Towers where you all are, cos we are already seated inside and have ordered our drinks...." " I said, stop shouting and calm down...." I was really upset. I asked Tzek to pass me the phone, but by the time I answered, CM already hung up on us.
Geez! What the hell was that for? Tzek my hubby told us that CM had shouted at him saying "we don't give him face" and then hung up the phone. JEZZZ! What the hell is this???!!?!?!? Don't give him face??? If don't give him face, would we bother to :
(1) Rush and bring the whole family to a closing cake shop and beg him to sell us a cake for his wife
(2) Stop studies and be at Orchard road at the late hour to meet him and wife
(3) Germ's dad is lying in hospital, and she hasn't had rest, and still bothered to come and meet him
(4) Me organising this whole damm gathering - calling and checking cafes around Orchard road trying to coordinate and make this gathering happen despite having so much shit in the office .....
SO after all this, just because we have already (a) Queued for 1/2 hour (b) Ordered our drinks, we refuse to go to Sheraton Towers at THEIR CONVENIENCE and we are NOT GIVING FACE.
This is the most absurd thing I have ever encountered.... seriously....
All because of a cake, he would rather inconvenience us than to just bring the cake back or something and cut later. He even told my husband to "CHUCK THE CAKE"?!?!?! So who's going to pay for the cake???!?!?!?!? Doesn't mean he has money he can 'throw' his weight around??! He is not the only person that earns a high income here ok> but I really wish he could give us alittle respect at least, as friends.
The following 10 minutes was phone call from Evan, Cindy and CP, all asking about what happened and why we made CM so angry. Oh my.... it almost seems as tho' it's our fault that we are not cooperating here!?!?!?!? I repeated the story a total of 4 times. Once to Germ & Simon, once to Evan, once to Cindy and a cut down version to CP. Thank goodness Frank didn't call me cos I don't even want to repeat this anymore~! Each time I related the incident back to them, my blood boil even more!!!!
Tho I was really mad, I did not at any point even raise my voice. I was dead calm and very quiet when I spoke.... I surprised myself, cos I knew for once, this kind of disappointment mixed with anger and indignant was a special feeling I have never experienced before in my life... and yet I was able to speak in a quiet almost dead mono voice instead of raising my voice in anger.
The only solution to make this situation better now, is if he apologise.
Otherwise, I can only say, it's good to see the deep side of a person and how self centred he can be. I am already pissed with the way he treats his wife, who incidentally is my good friend. Now that it has come to this, I guess me and Tzek know better than who we should be treating well from now on, epecially looking back at how much we have done for CM in the past.
Comments on this post is most welcome.
I would seriously like to have an objective opinion about this.
