Dirty Laundry

Inspired by Tony's Big Time Labor Fun Noodle entry -- he's back with a new post today after a bizarre hiatus -- I thought I'd go ahead and write about something with a little bit of a Chinese twist myself.

I think I've blogged about Pong here before. She's the Chinese woman whose laundry service is conveniently located in the basement of my apartment building. Basically, she does my laundry.

Her English is a work in progress, so we have some interesting conversations no doubt. My interest in learning her language -- I'm up to six words now -- I think has caused her to harbor thoughts of a torrid affair with this patron. But sometimes some seemingly harmless miscommunication leads to bigger misunderstandings. And I think one might be brewing at this moment.

Tired of not getting along over the telephone, I asked the Baton on Wednesday if she'd like to come up for the weekend. So we spent a little money and got her a last-minute plane ticket. An hour or so later, I was downstairs dropping off my laundry, and Pong told me "You come," to a fashion show for which she's a designer on Saturday evening.

My intent was to tell her the reason I likely won't be available is because "Filipino girlfriend" is going to be in town. That's how Pong remembers Jennifer from when she was up here with me during the summer. Pong was excited to hear that "Filipino girlfriend" was going to visit, but apparently for a reason far different than why I'm excited.

"Girlfriend model," Pong barked, as she gestured in a way that tells me she's expecting Jennifer to model for her in Saturday's fashion show. So Jennifer and I are going to stop in at Pong's later today when she gets in town, and we'll see what happens. This could get interesting.