Mr. Abominable was my colleague. He was in his mid thirties with a florid face and a bulging belly.  From his appearance, one could easily conclude that he was a man of ease and comfort. What made him stand out were his beady eyes, which belonged specially to the predators who were constantly on alert, searching for next victim. Three features could well describe his character:  sensitive, shrewd and selfish.

   We graduated from the same college, but we were only casual friends before his coming to Macau. When the boss notified me that he was our new partner, I was very happy and volunteered to pick him up at the airport. A few days after his arrival, he enjoyed my hospitality and behaved well, but before long I detected a note of unpleasantness in his demeanor as he strove to make himself popular. Being smart, he hoped to make a good impression upon the boss. It is understandable and praiseworthy for us to raise our status by genuine work and exertion, but he wanted to grab it quick, so no means were so detestable and irrational that would deter him from employing them. Sure enough he quickly established himself as being an efficient, cool- headed specialist and won the praise from senior and junior alike.

     Two months after his arrival, the boss resigned,  and a new supervisor stood in his stead. Unfortunately the new boss was not an expert specializing in our field, so he temporarily let the team drift on its own course. This was a windfall for Mr. Abominable, who immediately capitalized on this opportunity. After having invited several juniors out to dinner several times and received their endorsement, his ego puffed up and became domineering in the office. He openly broke the rules, and never reported to office punctually. Many colleagues demurred and protested behind his back, but no one bothered to lodge a complaint, as he should be staying here only for one year. The local colleagues hinted that maybe I should give him a piece of advice, on which I pretended not to catch, as I  was not obliged to do so.  Unaware of his declining popularity, he began to be overbearing towards the juniors, many of whom were swallowing their pride to cater to his requests. It was less than three months since he came here that his notoriety finally reached the ears of the superintendent, who requested the new boss to tackle the problem immediately. The new boss initially wanted to turn a blind eye to it, as it was very tricky to pick the thorn without pricking his finger.

 We are working here as specialist delegated by the government, though the actual nature is the same as any other contracted employee. From their point of view, we are guests, so etiquette should not be breached. One day the boss gathered us together under the pretext of discussing some trivialities, though everyone knew that his real intention was to take him to task. After the meeting, Mr. Abominable was sensitive and felt hurt by the barbed words. He had the effrontery/audacity to ask me to join with him in resisting the pressure from the boss. What could I say? I only nodded and shrugged my shoulder. After the incident, he seemed to relent a little, but his symptoms relapsed within a few weeks. The only difference was that he had the decency of keeping his mouth shut, so no one said more about it and let him mark the time.

 Work actually didn’t much affect us, what annoyed us most was his selfishness, his vulgarity and his vindictiveness.

He was a miser. He would not give away a dime for nothing. He expected the colleagues, whom he had invited out to dinner, should be grateful and give him the leeway he wanted. Being frustrated, he was enraged and cursed them for their ingratitude, vowing never to go out with them again even if they begged him to comply. He was true to his word. Up to now he still obstinately refuses  to dine out with any of the local colleagues. Secretly he told me that they didn’t deserve his respect and he intended to make them uncomfortable by owing him a treat. Isn’t it absurd to be so bad-mannered?

The fact that I am not a man pursuing fortune made me a constant target of his criticism. He tried all sorts of ways to deride my pedantry. Though frivolous, his remarks made me uncomfortable. When I answered back that I preferred a simple life to the bustle and hustle of metropolitan city, he immediately  retorted that I should seek a sanctuary in the mountain or, if possible join the monastery. When I said that making money is not the ends of my life, he at once volunteered to spend the money for me.  One day he went to extremes by asking me to lend him some money, the reason being that he hoped to invest more in the stock market. I bluntly told him that I was penniless.

He was a moderate alcoholic, a chain smoker, and an occasional gambler, a habit enjoyed by many well-to do fellows, but his income was not adequate to cover his extravagance, so he exhausted his means to win rich friends who would be willing to lavish on him free meal, free gifts or a handsome tip. Every time he had a feast or had some fun during the night, his contented smile and his bloated face would give him away the next morning. Bubbling over his success, he little forgot to irritate my nerves by showing off what he had enjoyed and what he had eaten. Last month he made my stomach turn by telling me that he had the luxury of being served with armadillo meat.  I have tried hard to shun him; sometimes my ill-concealed impatience only fed his perverse pleasure in tormenting me. What a horrible man!

  After reading an article about how to work with an unpleasant colleague, I immediately set out to put theory into practice. First I attempted to find some good reason to account for his conduct and it paid off.  Like attracts like. I realized that I couldn’t get along well with him not because that he was bad, evil or strange, but because he was not my kind. We are living in an over-crowded, highly competitive and badly polluted world; few of us shall let go an opportunity of relaxation and enlightenment.  Any impertinent gadfly shall get on our nerves, so the best policy is to shun them like plagues. Second, we needn’t have the fanciful hope of nurturing an amicable atmosphere in the office which is the duty of the boss. If we find somebody incorrigible,  the only way to gain ground is to give ground. In this light I changed my tactics.  I happily picked up the assignment apportioned to both of us and finished it alone as if I were a workaholic. When he invited me out to dinner, I always handed the money to the cashier before he began fumbling for his wallet.  I would often heap praises on him about his unusual sagacity and individuality. He melted a little. Despite this, I would find every opportunity to excuse myself from his circle.  Gradually the hard feelings went away.

 Last week we had a dinner in a restaurant along with another colleague. After a few mugs of beer, moved by my generosity and hospitality, he told us about his family, his background and his hard struggle. He was from a poor family. As the eldest son in his family, he early assumed the duty of supporting his parents and his younger brothers. He said in earnest that he needed money badly, because poverty was unbearable. Hearing what he said, I began to scrutinize him in a different light. With a load of burden on his young shoulders, he had been soldering on for years in his unique way. He was doubtless a filial son, a good brother and a kind man. Though he sometimes overstepped the mark, he has not made any harmful mistakes. Why should I bear a grudge against him? We just live in different lifestyles. What’s more I owed him something: he was the prototype of my blog. It is fair and justifiable that at the ending of our story I should change his name from Mr. Abominable to Mr. Tolerable.

(The above account is based on true life experiences with some part being fictional, so reader’s discretion is advised.)