If R had stayed, I would have certainly rented him a girlfriend for Xmas.
I expect that this company's next peak trading period will be during Tet, when people travel back home and do lots of family things. Vietnamese Lunar New Year is called "Tet" and is the most important celebration of the year (in terms of both holidays and gifts).
This year, Tet is toward the end of February and I will still be living in Vietnam at this time. The article had me wondering whether I could also get R back here for Tet. He's the only person I could think of who would find this type of gift a both a compliment and an opportunity.
I think I can line up some work for him. I'll make the poor thing think we couldn't manage without him. And I guess I can't, given that my supply of fall guys has now dried up. This plan cannot fail.
Gets me thinking though ... what if Tet swings around and my secretary still has (vocal) concerns over my girlfriend status? What if she and the other secretaries (the ones who like me) decided to chip in and rent me a girlfriend for Tet? Anywhere else, the thought would seem ridiculous but in Vietnam I would give it high 80's in probability.
I think I'm going to have to invent a girlfriend in January. They already think my divorce was based on a real marriage ... and some speculate that a dead child was involved ... a leukaemic tragedy. So how hard can it be?
Stay tuned.
