June 28. Glasses are stolen.

My glasses are stolen. This is the right moment. Yes, it is, yes. It is the last item that I carry from the past. How much can I give in to my tendency to dramatize the event, to clay it with fatty fingers and make it into something with some sort of celestial essence. Right. In German a philosopher criticizing another philosopher would call it "hochstilisieren". It happens after a nice football game between Argentina and Mexico, which we view on a big screen. But the mirthful nightly public viewing event quickly turns into a dark pit for thieves.

It is a long day. On our way to the mall, the "built-up" one, I pick up a pair of strong slippers that look like Kenyattas since I don't want to step into a dirty abuser's needle and die. What is a "built-up" place? We have had a lot of discussions about that starring me beating about the bush, reluctant to admit I mean Starbucks-Dubai Mall-Coffee Bean-Free wifi-Hilton lobby-shiny marble-steel 'n glass kind of built-up. I am trying other adjectives to express my wish to sit down in a clean Westernized place every now and then, like "glossy", "shiny", "polished", "Dubaiesk".

In the Mall I find three months worth of contact lenses and very friendly staff explaining Astigmatism and Myopia, oxygen level and moisture, changed my dollars, and give me free cleansing fluid. I bow. We walk through the mall and sit down for a while in a coffee place to bring the first hours of dizziness behind me.
After that, we find a small hotel and with Yeon's friend Mark. We have a nice streetside dinner together and meet some passionate Malaysians and a lovely French girl. Having introduced myself as Dutch, that is "Oranje", we inevitably go and watch the game that is on. I can't remember the opponent but the game was a bit boring and the outcome made everybody shruck despite the fact Holland made it further in the competition.