KKNB chau peng hu*

So it turns out that it is possible to squeeze two mahjong tables into an average-sized HDB room, and to have two concurrent mahjong games running. While Terz coached the beginners' table, I pondered mediocre hands and tried to salvage at least three tai out of each win (we were playing, as usual, minimum two, maximum five). More than once, we took turns asking ourselves, "What the hell are we doing?", then twisted around to consult for the beginners' table. Their most common query: "Can I win with this?" We were often wondering that about our own hands.

Final score at our non-beginners' table: Two maximum wins; while G managed to break even, BoKo did well off Kay and me.

Rematch: Good Friday, possibly at G's place. Someone please remember to bring a tape recorder, like we always say we're going to, because our mahjong table conversations are so goddamn weird.

For the record, KKNB chau peng hu was uttered maybe only three times all night, albeit with great zest. Yes, we have the collective maturity of a five-year-old.

* KKNB = kan ni na bei, which means either "fuck you" or "fucking", depending on the context, and like its English counterpart, can be used to punctuate just about any phrase. It's usually followed by chau chee bai, which then brings the entire phrase up to par with "motherfucker". Chau peng hu is a mahjong hand whose value is halved if the player draws a flower tile, rendering a "pure" peng hu hand, er, chau (smelly?). (Definition adapted from the Coxford Singlish Dictionary)