Tuesday, June 10, 2008

In Advance

I had planned to write this earlier but somehow forgotten about it till today. So, I thought perhaps its wiser for me to do it now before I forget again. After all, I did miss the previous occasion recently, and will not be able to log in for this particular day until late at night.

During one of my working trips to Jakarta, the local business manager had offered to assist me around. As we were newly acquainted, we tried to find a common ground. And what other things could be more in common for the people of this world but food. As we were talking I asked about some of the colourful looking stalls we passed by, particularly what food they serve. The guy, Budi by the name, did not look enthused at all to my questions. Perhaps, I thought, he felt I might not like them. I soon drop the matter but after thinking out loud that some of the food at the stalls might be very tasty. The statement was not totally sincere, but I just wanted to make him feel easier.

That evening, around 7, he called my room and asked me to dress up for a meal outside. Trying to be a gracious guest, I accepted the invitation. Now, when I stepped out of my room, I had no idea at all where the destination would be, but guessed it would be one of those fastfood outlets. But to my astonishment, he drove into a small road, and parked right beside a food stall. At that moment, I remembered my earlier statement in the day, and my mind went like "oh, oh! Me and my big mouth!"

But since the host was being gracious to satisfy my curiousity, the guest should never say no. Thus, there I was enjoying the food ordered by Budi. Apart from being afraid of the drinking water served (hot lemon!), the food was actually good, and the stall is just like any stall one would find in Malaysia. After we've had the food, Budi drove me around for a while before dropping me off for the night. Before he drove off, he said he'll be coming at 9am the next morning to fetch me.

Next morning, I was ready and waiting for Budi at the predetermined time. Waiting...and waiting. At 9.25 or so, he gave me a call on the telephone to apologise for not being able to make it - he was suffering from diarrhea! Huh? I thought I was the foreigner! I later took a cab to his office - his officemates and I were had a good laugh on Budi, and a joke I cracked from a statement by Gusdur, the President then.

In a statement that was widely circulated in Malaysia then, the Indonesian President said "Ya, saya mahu menjadi kawan kepada semua bapak bapak di Malaysia", or something close to that.
My mind being my mind, suddenly shot back "Wah! Kalau begitu kata Pak Gusdur, saya kena berangkat pulang sekarang juga!"
"Menapa Pak?" asked one of the guys there.
"Ya...Pak Gusdur mahu berkawan dengan semua bapak bapak di Malaysia, tapi dengan saya tidak boleh!"
"Apa, bapak tidak suka sama Pak Gusdur?" asked one guy in a face that was showing his seriousness.
"Bukan...saya belum bernikah, lalu belum jadi bapak lagi!". My instantaneous reply was received by a roar of laughter, breaking the almost serious mood I had set in myself....much to my relief, off course.


Now, at this present moment, I sit here in front of my PC, writing this to wish all my friends out there, alphabetic wise: Accia's husband Pak Azlan, Cikgu, Dato' Jeff, Doc TA, Pak Kassim, Pak Idrus, Pak MB, Pak Mat Salo, Pak Mior, Pak Shah, Pak Zabs, Pak Zawi, Pak Nora, Pak shirzad, Ustaz Maszlee and many more...do enjoy the song. And off course, several anons who dropped by with a comment or 2.

Happy Father's Day to all of you, and to all fathers in the world! And to you too, bro Zul, if you are reading this and that you are a family man.

22 comments:

Unknown said...

Saya mahu jadi kawan dengan semua bukan ibu bukan ibu di Indonesia. Shah mahu tak?

jaflam said...

Salam Shah.
Many thanks for the Father's Day wish and hope you will join us in the near future.

I did ask my son his life ambition and the answer was I want to be just like you. I will buy you big car and big house. I said son study hard, work hard and you will be able to full fill your dream to me and mum.

Parenting is a beauty in the sea of responsibilities.

Anonymous said...

direktori pertanian & penternakan. http://pertanianmalaysia.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

salam brother shah

do forgive me for my inconsistency but time isnt on my side these days. all i could afford at the moment is to read those entries posted by your goodself and by our fellow good friends. Thanks for the concern and for the wish as well.
I guessed a trip to indonesia is something always quite unpredictable. On my first trip alone to the indonesian capital, i remember having lost for an hour in the soekarno-hatta terminal after heading to the gents. I only managed to find my way to the immigration counter after asking security personnels several times. The second time, I remember being served with something like 20 different dishes on a large table in a Nasi Padang restaurant. But no diarrhea the next morning though. On another i was starving to death one night when i flipped the room service menu of a budget hotel. Many of the food sounded strange except for the mutton fried rice which i ordered. The taste, well, i would say delicious under the circumstances.
Couldnt get to sleep after that so i decided to put the radio on. There was no Engelbert Humperdinck or Neil Diamond, just some local musicians playing wayang ketoperak tunes. So i just let the tune filled the air as i closed my eyes and listened to Barbara Streisand's Somewhere from her Broadway Album.

cakapaje said...

Salam Cikgu,

Ooooh...with a thought and question like that, mahu! Mahu! :)

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam Dato',

You are most welcome.

Though I have yet to taste true parenting, I have had the pleasure to help raise a niece until she about 6. Yes, parenting is a beauty in the sea of responsibilities, beautifully put :)

cakapaje said...

Salam direktori,

Terima kasih.

cakapaje said...

Salam shirzad,

You're welcome, bro.

My later stays were in a budget hotel too, though I can't remember exactly where. But honestly, you should try one or two of the cleaner stalls, the food is good. And off course, you would have also noticed that there's almost no beef, mainly sapi (buffalo) or mutton. But do I love mutton - lamb, actually.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

eh shah, quadfather tak boleh kira ke?

talking about dads, there's this one song that may shed a tear or two. have you heard Living Years by Mike and the Mechanics? sedih i tell you. apparently the writer of this song, possibly mike, wrote this piece as a dedication to his late dad. its an old song but i discovered this one a few years back, incidentally when my dad was hospitalised due to minor stroke...nangih aku bro. but Alhamdulillah he's back to his usual self now but already a non-smoker.

Ydiana said...

Salam Shah,

Beautiful song. Ok, ok...i know this entry is not dedicated to me, but I still have something to say. "Cutenyer the girl at the piano!"

My late father and I were not that close. However, once, he mentioned that I was his favourite girl. I took that with mixed feelings. I would certainly love to 'dance with him' again.

Btw, sapi tu buffalo ke, not lembu? Haram den takkan makan lagi lepaih ni..

Raina said...

erk..sugar daddy

pader gak ke ??

huahaha!!!

opps..

sowwy anak teruna

anak dara tumpang lalu

^:)^:0^;P^

huahaha..

Bebee said...

Salam Cak,
Thanks for the Father's day wishes...some of us are both dad and mum to our children, sometimes, so i perasan u wished me too:)

While u are also on the subject of makan, think i owe u some tips on where to take your Emak in KT. Well, there's the Restoran Terapung Puteri in front of the main post office, close to Pasar Payang in town, and the new Bistro in the padang in Batu Buruk and Warung Pak Maidin close by, near the beach.

But on the drive-up u may want to visit Aziz Satar (not the actor) in Kuala Kemaman for satar obviously, otak-otak, kerepok lekor and ICT (ikang celup tepung)...makang belang jjalang in a slightly off the actual interpretation!

On Jakarta, love the food there (oops, lunchtime over!) but the machet just drove me crazy!

cakapaje said...

Salam kerpie,

Quadfather also can, lol! But, who are you father to?

Yup, I believe it was you who mentioned Mike and Mechanics sometime back. Have not the chance to listen to them though.

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam ydiana,

Hey, its a OK. And the girl is cute, yes.

I'm sorry to note about your father - semoga rohnya dicucuri rahmat Allah s.w.t. And yes, many of us would like the chance to be with our loved ones, true.

Lol! Lumbu punya susu, sapi juga dapat nama - it goes to show the difference between the 2. Though the meat of Sapi can be tougher, it taste almost same, doesn't it? Just close your eyes...:)

ps. I promise I won't take you for a Sapi steak ;)

cakapaje said...

Salam mk,

A'ah...father kucing, lol!

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam bebee,

You are welcome. I suppose, it does apply to all single parents too.

And thanks for the tips. Will look forward to those places. One thing though, having few more people can sometimes throw your plans haywire - each wanting to go somewhere. Kalau budak kecil, boleh suruh masuk kereta dok diam diam, tapi ni semua dah besar...termasuklah supir cakapaje tu :)

Regarding Jakarta, good thing you spelled machet correctly - people going crazy have been known to wield machetes! lol!

tokasid said...

Salam Nak Shah:

Dah lupa pulak about father's day.Thanks bro.

When I went to bali and Jogja I dare not venture much at stalls not due to lack of courage trying their food or getting purging.Its more of the phobia of accidentally eating the kerbo pendek stuff.
I was advised both in Bali and Jogja by our guide if I want a totally halal eatery get a Nasi Padang stall or restaurant.

Saya juga sama seperti bapa guru KTN...saya mahu kawan sama bukan ibu bukan ibu yang ayu...lwxhayiy

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam Doc,

Hmm...that kerbau pendek you had must be delicious, lol!

As for the bukan ibu, hmm...fancy a trip to Menado? We can get there via Kota Kinabalu!

Oops! Ramai lak yang terbaca reply ni nanti :)

Pak Zawi said...

Shah,
Thank you for dedicating the song to us. Love it so much.

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam Pak Zawi,

It was my pleausure :)

Anonymous said...

terima kasih shah,
maaf shah, saya terlambat di sini.
akan saya sampaikan pada pak azlan.

cakapaje said...

Salam Accia,

Sama sama :)

Terlambat tak mengapa...better late than never. Salam saya pada Pak Azlan :)