huff and puff

I had a lunch meeting with a client yesterday afternoon, just the two of us since The Cat was not able to make it. So he sent me instead. We initially wanted to have lunch at The Marketplace in Jalan Yap Kwan Seng but unfortunately it was closed so we had to settle at a nearby Minang restaurant, Puteri Bungsu. The food was okay but Minang food in Kampung Baru tasted a lot better. The meeting went well. We discussed what was supposed to be discussed. That’s beside the point, actually. The thing is, my client smoked. So what, you may ask. Wait till you hear my story. He asked me, “You smoke tak?” to which I politely replied, “Tak, I tak smoke.” Then he said, “Oh tak smoke ke? I ingat you smoke. Biasanya lawyer perempuan smoke.” Uh huh, yeah. Then I replied, “Tak semua.” To which he said, “Oh, tak semua ye?” and laughed. I almost, almost said, “I tak smoke but at the rate I’m exposed to cigarette smoke, I might as well take a puff!” But of course I didn’t say that. Gila hape? Hahaha. Dah la he is one of our valuable clients, and a good friend of the The Cat. Hmm, I can actually control myself and refrain from saying the darndest thing. So is there a stereotype about female lawyers or what? Why does he assume that most female lawyers smoke? On the bright side, I think he is being polite by asking me whether I smoke or not, and perhaps if I said I do, he would offer me a stick. Or two.

See, I analyze both sides. Ye, saya seorang yang adil. Hahahaha.