Messing with his mind

I wrote[^] a few months ago about Steve. He was somewhat reluctant to go to Nice for a few days and did everything he could to avoid the trip. Last week they sent him to The Philippines. He was even more reluctant about this trip yet strangely resigned to it. As a veteran of the trip he asked me for advice and information.

So I drew him diagrams of the airport; instructions on where to change money (and how much money to exchange to cover likely needs), how to find the driver he's never met; advice on which hotel to stay in. The standard stuff. I'm glad that, on my first trip to The Philippines, I accompanied someone who'd been there more than once before and knew the ropes. He was on his own!

So today he phoned, mainly to discuss some issues of a nature irrelevant to this post. But along the way he asked me about the hotel. 'Were all the bathrooms tiled?' 'Uh huh' I confirmed. 'Even the showers?' 'Uh huh' I said. In some ways I've become rather Americanised in my speech! :-)

'You do realise', he said, 'that tiles have grout?'. 'Uh huh' I concurred as the penny dropped. 'Oh Steve', I said. 'They have a fungus over there that eats into your toenails. But don't worry, they grow back in about 3 months'.

It's a good thing he can take it as well as dish it out. I'm pretty sure he realised I was yanking his chain.