I was out playing pool with my buddy The Chairman in The Pool Bar the other night. He is able to get down into the city (from his arse-end-of-nowhere digs in Changping) rather more readily and often since the opening of the new subway Line 5, which runs from within a mile or two of his place to within a mile or two of mine.
And these days (another significant improvement in the public transport service of late) the last train back is at 11.30pm.
However, the nearest station is about a 15-minute walk from The Pool Bar. The Chairman, with an early class the next morning, was being very 'sensible' and self-disciplined, wrapping up our session on the table.... heading out of the door - after the inevitable round of goodbyes - by 11.10 or so..... and even flagging down a cab to take him to the subway station, to avoid being in a last-minute rush.
Of course, that meant he got there with 15 minutes in hand, was tempted to go into a new favourite haunt of his - dangerously adjacent to this station - for "one last beer"....... and promptly fell asleep in an armchair for an hour - missing the train, necessitating a long and expensive taxi ride home, condemning himself to tackling his next day's teaching with an inadequate 5 hours of sleep.
When one reviews the epithets most commonly applied to The Chairman, 'incorrigible' is always among the frontrunners.
No comments:
Post a Comment