And How Could I Have Forgotten This?

Also witnessed last night: a good, old-fashioned standoff, with the requisite, "What are you looking at?", "What are you saying?" and "Let's discuss this behind."

(In Mandarin, of course - what self-respecting speaker of English would resort to playground threats like these?)*

How 1990s.

The two men were facing off at the cashier's counter in Isetan, Parkway Parade, because one of them (the louder one, I think - the other man was just doing the mute glare) cut queue. It was quite embarrasing to see something like this happening in 'sophisticated' Singapore. And quite embarrassing for the rest of the queue too, because the counter was in the middle of the Men's Underwear Section and everyone else was waiting to quickly pay for their, ahem, purchases and leave.

The louder man even hounded the quiet one when the latter had paid for his purchases and left the counter, forcing him to call the police on his cellphone. Only then did the belligerent one leave him alone, though he was still complaining loudly to the counter staff that the other man didn't need to threaten to call the police, and that he was the son of a CID officer himself.

Right.

Whatever.

Quite an exciting time.

Made me wish I still had my warrant card.


* Actually, I recall an incident from the Thanksgiving of 1994 or 1995 when something like this happened... but that's another story. Wonder where he is now.