I got a "honk"

I'm going to buy the book "Honk! if you're Malaysian" by Lydia Teh. This had been one of my new year resolutions to be accomplished. This is perhaps my most frivolous resolution. You may snigger at the implication that one can simply determines to do such little thing. But I figure I can at least get some credit from it. Doesn't mean for the reason just to keep my word to buy it. It's my anxiousness to be enlightened by its contents and be learnt from how Lydia narrated about honk. Last Friday, I finally got it. unintentionally also got another copy of "Secret of Graphology".

With a cup of coffee, few pieces of cookie and a pack of cigarette put in order at a corner of the Gurney's Starbucks, I sat down and started to use my index finger to moisten with saliva at times so as to flick over these two books.

A sip of coffee follows by several flicks of pages. My brain which is retarded has gradually building up some implications on the "honk". To be frank, I'm quite concerned with or about the outlook, footprint, and the presentation, rather then its contents. Maybe I'm a businessman who has lessened with other predilections, being business minded, have had built up these concerns.

I remembered, the time when I had walked out from the MPH to gather with my wife, I immediately received her usual initial query. "you buy what?" "nuh, 2 books for reading." I answered and concurrently passed the whole plastic bag to her according to my established habit. Means that whatever my newly shopped goods would be passed on to her for carrying. That's part of my bad addictions, It's too bad!

As she took out the books from plastic bag in order to have a visual percept of what's that, she felt out and rose up the "honk", "wah! 29 bucks for this comic book you also 'seh tak' (deserved) to buy." "no lah, it's a book about the contemporary instincts of Malaysian. That stupid publisher have had over cover it like a comic book, don't you open up and see?" I explained and added, "Its cover had also caused my misconception at first sight as if it was a comic book which was oddly displayed amongst other conventional books in the shelf. A half covered background graphical image would just be nice."

"Nah! this one "Secret of Graphology" is worthy lah! only 5 bucks." Another comment she had made. I smiled with advice, "don't ever try to judge beautiful woman by her rear appearance. Sometime at the back "sui sui" but the front like a "kui"."

Okay! let me beg a pardon to compare my said 2 books; It's completely based on my own thoughts after my Starbuck's digest. "honk" hereafter be referred to "honk! if you're Malaysian" & "graph" hereafter be referred to "secrets of graphology".

Honk priced at 29 bucks, graph priced at 5. Of course the price differentiation does concern me.

Graph is bound with much smaller size about 4x5 whether honk is bound with about A5 size. I love a smaller one for the advantage of handiness for travel.

Graph has plenty of colorful images and illustrations inside, making reading be blissful. The not so many black-and-white cartoons found inside the honk were small in size and less freshened.

The font used in honk is much larger than graph. Ah! it probably suits my old eyes.

Graph is written in a directive way whereas honk is written in an amusive way by using simple English. I like that because I don't have to get frequent helps from dictionary.

Both contents which are of different categories are not fair to be compared hereof. Meanwhile some phases of honk do really delight my heart and has given me mettle to read on. I've reckoned especially if I were a Chinaman who're not typically wearing Pagoda singlet and baggy drawer, wouldn't be punched & kicked if I'd tried to kiss the author, referring on her saying in chapter 1. Some more, luckily I'm not an industrious wife (car) washer! Hmm! I'm pulling the leg of Lydia!

Well, my conclusion is, honk is value for capacity especially for the younger generation to recognize those old tricks and bywords. But the price tag might ponder some students pausing to put one's hand in one's pocket.

My 1st NY resolution came out of the blue

The real celebration for 2007 is all about moving forward. Okay, it's a bit late at this time of year, I would normally have already scrounged up PDA and have jotted down all the things I'd like to improve about myself in this new year. The year would already be in full swing, and I'd be on my way to checkout for completing my resolutions. But this year? What a lopsided vehicle.

My 1st resolution of which I've to subscribe for the Star's epaper. What I thought was a money saving conception because it would be paid less from the conventional delivery. But what Hokkianese had said, "tou chit kwan, too teow ah moh hwan." Something like first trimester blues!

Although I had successfully registered with ebrowse.bluehyppo.com but when it came to the payment session for subscription, It was a mad thing. Hmm, I did'nt know whether I was stupid or the Tmnet was stupid. Submitting my correct IC numbers in order to verify my online payment had has turned out to be incorrect, according to their return.

I remembered I'd have submitted a photo copy of my IC together with a duly completed application form when applying for the account of Streamyx many years ago. By right, they should have a right record of that. So I went to my Streamyx's account information page, thinking that it would be an ABC by just editing my personal info, but it was not that easy. It was completely chanceless to perform the task online. They made a written note asking for a personal handling of documentation. After many attempts, all were had failed. I stupidly laughed to myself, "It's called the Malaysian way of online business!" Let better make a highjump and forget about this at this moment.

Next, I'm going to buy Surbex 750, Abbott's vitamin supplements. I believe this to be a matter of concentration, nutrition, and the use of brain to trap certain special set of circumstances. I'll keep you posted.

Eschew for a moment

"Long time no see. Where have you been"? This was greeted by a familiar fish seller as I was entered the market for a regular weekly stock-up day before. I returned the greeting by telling him that I was busying in putting money into doctors' pockets for the last few weeks.

I was suffering from flu intermittently. The virus was so stubborn like a hateful spams that has refused to go away. Heeling software didn't work. It has remained its attack in between me and my wife periodically, prompting us to keep on changing doctor. Meanwhile, doctors' prescriptions didn't cure us but instead made us in a sleepy manner all the time. Probably the antibiotic-resistent bacteria had evolved, which makes tweaking our immune systems very difficult.

Most of yesterday's yesterdays and today I attempted to clear off all sort of backlogs. Now am feeling better despite few coughs persisted and at least I'm able to regain my mode to write again in this blogs-sphere.

It's been quite sometimes I was just keeping sneezing and seldom kept my eyes on what were happening within the society of these days. I wouldn't really recognize has someone was making troubles! Has someone was asking bloggers to register before you can blog?

Don't bend (distort) the history!

We found ourselves too tired or else too lazy to cook our dinner last evening. So we had "ta pau" 2 packets of our favorite - "Tiong Kok Sharkfin" (fried meehoon naming in an accredited way by Hokkianese) to fill our stomaches as dinner.

Usually the package's covering is an old newspaper pieced with an inner layer of plastic paper in which this kind of food is wrapped. And it has been my habit to read the wrapping paper simultaneously while taking my Tiong Kok Sharkfin.

Although the news are outdated, sometimes they're just quite entertaining. And this evening was not the exceptional. Hence I found this piece of news dated 02/10/06 fanciful and interested - The story about the critique made by Dato Cheah of Penang Kheh Association against the DCM of Penang, Dato Haji Abdul Rashid bin Abdullah, over the issue of bending the history of Penang.


According to the critique, Abdul Rashid had has in one occasion days before cited irrespectively that the founder of Penang was not the Captain Francis Light (1740-1794), but it was Dato Kanaden (name is assumed as it's since I don't know "mat sooi" he is) who had come to Penang earlier than Light. Cheah uncompromisingly argued that if the perspective of who-is-who the first comer would be entitled as the founder, were to be taken into consideration. Then how about his 3 named ancestors, who had been landed into Penang 4 years prior to the arrival of Kanaden!

"Kanasai!" My noesis of history which was learnt some 40 years ago, has been tought back to teacher already. But what is still I can remember is, Penang was found by Light. Right? And also I can remember there are Light Street, Beach Street, Pitt Street & Chulia Street in Penang.

Perhaps one day, Light Street will be called as Kanaden Street!

Actually, it's none of my business of whether the founder of Penang was Kanaden, Kanasai, Brown or Black. Therefore as usual, as soon as I've had finished enjoying the reading, my delicious Tiong Kok Sharkfin do finish simultaneously. So it has energized me for the enthusiasm to bring up this little news to share with you!

Harmonious cattle of different colors

I took this picture while I was taking a short puff at the corridor outside my workplace this noon. My first glimpse on this scene was blissful. These three different colors of cattle were getting together in perfect harmony with a common objective of "cari makan" freely at the large green green grass of field.

Resource for living is their most important goal. There is no social malaise inside their circle; protectionism which is sometimes necessary in trade, is not required to be practical between them; no brutal attacks or arguments. So, do they require apologies?