Washing down chicken spring rolls from the friendly neighbourhood Chinese restaurant with green tea from the friendly neighbourhood mom. I have a huge crush on the guy that takes down my order. And the watermelon ice cream melts only in my dreams.

How have you been, asks the shy guy with my coarse tresses in his hands. I want it all off is all I can bring myself to say. Are you sure? I'd like to keep it the way it is. We settle for somewhere in between. I walk out with the crazy curls now hugging my neck and a bottle of liquid gold in my bag. Time to change the ringtone on my phone from Maroon 5 to James Brown.

The four of us together again. The indelible ink on our fingers marks a first time family affair. The age old dynamics of the group come to the fore once again. It's mostly him alone and the three of us together, sometimes him and her together, on rare ocassions there's me and her but, always always it's me and him together. I know now what my tattoo could have read.

S recieves a distress call from me while I'm trying to field one from my personal banker. Between the hastily planned retreats and alarm calls, non-existent credit statements and post-dated rent cheques, we're all trying to hang in there.

A narrow escape from a freak accident at home with the air conditioner sparking and fuming a foot and a half away from me. I could have been charred to death, discovered a week later with my lungs filled with carbon dioxide and a hole where my heart used to be.

There are other advantages to spending my nights oscillating between The Golden Girls and Will & Grace instead of snoring away in bed while afore mentioned freak accidents take place. My dreams get just that much more interesting. They may have me with a gay lover wrapped around my arms but they make sure my killer wit and comic timing are the envy of many.