Hundred Quid's Worth of Happiness
The last year has seen a big transition in my perceptions, a warning that I make to older friends before they read this, ... I can imagine what they think I've splurged a hundred quid on, and I would tell them that they're all wrong. (although the previous post may be the case against this argument...)
It all started whilst visiting Martin in Manchester, a huge night out on the piss which ended with us doing flaming sambucas in our mouths, doing shit dancing to old indy tunes and getting pissed off with the DJ for refusing to put The Music (The People) on.
Obviously the next day began with a huge headache for me, and worse, a hangover that even morphine couldn't have made less painful. However, it seemed like a good idea (for Tasha) to put the three hungover boys' bodies into the back of her car and drive us to an aquarium. The close-knit stench of day-old alcohol got me retching, but I was a good boy and kept it down. I could've killed N'tasha though, were it not for how cool the fish-shop was.
Suitably inspired and having turned over a newer leaf, where pickling my body in vast 'n varied drinks isn't priority no.1, but at least 2 or 3, I decided that adding a few little fishy friends to my life was the way to go. I had the whole tank planned out, I had wanted a tank to go on the second floor, but abandoned this plan since I didn't trust the two-by-two that holds up that 'bed', secondly the roof is still too hot to sleep in so Im stuck sleeping on the second floor, especially since I have started to get the 'den' area going, and the fish-tank is all part of that. Then it all came to me in a vision, I would line the wall of this bed-den area with a long narrow tank and fill it with light an underwater landscape and tropical fish. I had the whole thing pictured in my mind... then I realised how expensive and heavy that tank would be... the tank plus a few people sitting in the den would put around 300kilograms onto the wood, and I doubt it would support that much for that long. Hence a downsizing was on the cards, and I saw a cool tank. Smaller, but still cool, and this has a pine finish to match the den-decking.
But, the store owner, this friendly chinese lady refused to sell it to me coz I wanted to put it there. She said that it's really bad for Feng Shui, since one of us would end up having loads of admirers; I just said it was OK since we do already anyway (I teach high school girls and Vita is a secretary) but she made me opt for a cupboard stand. She was right anyway since it does look cool, and it fills the whole room with this semi-natural luminescence.
Next come the fish, and Vita has fallen for Swan Fish. They're these little, bulbously-cute black guys, with massive out-set eye casings and eye balls plus a podgy pot-belly; all intertwining together in a schoal. Vita likes them because they're fat bastards so every time you put your hand near the glass, walk past or just point at the greedy gits they all crowd around that point and look for some food. A lot like those static-electricity, "crystal ball" things from the 80's. You know where you put your fingers on the glass and streams blue and red electricity shoots out to meet them. Well, the same but with black and white fish! I was kind of in shock when she picked out these fish since we went in but as soon as she saw these guys and began playing with them she was instantly happy. That's where the title comes from. It’s taken me much longer to find fish that interesting, I mean I though pet had to be big, strokable and fun to be loved, but I guess making you happy is the most important, and really, fish are pretty damned low-maintanance in comparison.
Anyways, it means she wants like 30 of them in the tank so they're fun to point at (just one on its own would be a bit boring, since its the fact that a group pour over that makes it fun). I really just think she wants to feed them, since they must go nuts it there's actually food there! But we're mixing in a few other varieties... err in fact I think the swan fish are actually one of these mix in-ers and the ones she loves are something else... and then some white guys who are identical as well... jeez, I don't need to learn their names, I'll just sticka photo up soon ... I still wanna get like 10 fighting fish and watch them in a battle royale!!! Hey, its more in keeping with my fish keeping philosophy, stick 'em in the mix and whoever's left at the end of the month gets to stay... losers get flushed!
Then I'll learn their Latin name and give them a personal name.
(photo credit: Vita: Sentosa Aquarium, Singapore)
(Vita on cell-phone, at home, MY TANK!!!)
posted by itakitez @ 11:17 PM
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