Monday, April 5, 2010

‘Many Happy Returns of the Day’, Honey Dear!

Try it! Say it out loud, ‘Honey dear! Yes, Honey dear! No, You can never say it that well. You cannot call out loud to someone dear to you when saying ‘honey’. The word has to be taken softly. The same thing with ‘love’ or ‘yang’ (short for sayang) It must be softly whispered, sometimes barely audible.

You would have to be physically close to your loved one to utter such endearment. I could never call out to my loving wife Shadah ‘honey’ or ‘ni’ when more than 5 feet away. It cannot be me in the lounge and she in the kitchen and I shout ‘honey’. No, it did not work out that way. If I have to call out to my loving wife I would have to come closer to her.

And another thing. I had never for the life of me called my loving wife ‘yang’ . Not in front of others as it sounded odd. It was embarrassing, and others hearing it would feel uneasy (meluat). But some people do and are proud to do so. At least ‘ni’ sounds like a name and sounds pleasing enough. I would always settle for ‘honey’.

Somehow ‘honey’ is universal and I very nearly always use it. It changed slightly when they came into our lives.(read: children) In front of them I would use ‘your Mama’ or call out ‘mama’ instead of honey. In our private moments it is still ‘ni’, even now.

Recently Zee Avi was in town. She’s the 23 year old Miri-born who was discovered through her ‘You Tube’ recording of her own song called ‘Poppy’. I’m saying this because one of her recent hits is called ‘Honey Bee’. On hearing it on the air, it rekindled times of togetherness with my loving wife, ever so sweetly , and it lingered on.

Zee Avi is special. I like her style. She is an acoustic guitar and an ukulele strumming singer and song-writer. Her rendition of “Honey Bee’ is plainly music to the ear, nothing pitchy, no high notes nor screams. It is so serene, innocent and peaceful. Her songs are reminiscent of Norah Jones on piano.( you can google more of her songs on You Tube)

Let’s get back to reality. Actually my loving wife’s birthday was on April 03. Yesterday, April 04, Adura and Hafidz (read: children) treated us to lunch together with their respective families . The option for lunch over dinner was prompted by the kids , Norman,Kimie,Nabil and Sarah Aishah (read: grandchildren ) who need to be early to bed. Azhar, my youngest boy chose to miss this out to attend a wedding in town instead.

As to the venue, both Adura and Hafidz chose a quaint little Korean Restaurant in One Utama that offered something different – a Korean buffet with a DIY grill-and-boil set-up (grill plus steam-boat like ) for each table. I thought it was perfect, not lavish nor overly crowded. It was ok.

It seemed to be popular with the younger set too. The attraction as opposed to a Japanese fare is pretty obvious. It is different, more savoury, spicy and hot ( akin to a Thai offering) The pickled kim chee ran out fast and was being topped up every now and then.

Last year, we had it at the Shogun, a Japanese buffet in town where it was practically twice as expensive (for the same number of us)

It is a far cry from those days , when I was in my final year and Shadah a freshie during Orientation Week. We would adjourn on my 2-wheeler to Amjal Corner (the eatery at the main entrance of MU) where RM5 could fetch 2 plates of whatever plus drinks ! ( I think it is no more there now, a sad casualty of road alignment works)

10 comments:

abdulhalimshah said...

Dear Hank,
Please convey my " Ucap Selamat Hari Jadi " kepada Rashadah ( pardon me if I got it wrong ) and pleased to know that her birthday is just one day after Nasimah.
We had it at Coca Restaurant in OU too last friday night with Nurul, Hasnul, Suzi and my grandchildren Muhammad Haziq Shah and Muhammad Rafiq Shah. My other son and family could not make it because my grand daughter was unwell.

kaykuala said...

Dear Hal,
What do you know! Both families may one day have a Bar-B-Q for both the matriarchs' big day together. Bisa diatur, Pak!

kaykuala said...

Dear Hal,
Thanks from Shadah and she sent belated bithday greetings for Nasimah too!

abdulhalimshah said...

Dear Hank,
Nasimah also sends her birthday greetings to Shadah and her heartfelt thanks to Shadah.
InshaALLAH we hope the BBQ will become a reality!

Al-Manar said...

You are lucky to have a loving and caring family. My congratulations.

norzah said...

Bro Kaykuala, both you and Bro Halim seem to put the makan on top of the list of priorities for a birtday do.
That's very important but it's not so much of a headache to me than the choosing of a present ( the damage on your pocket aside). It comes every year for Mama and the kids (though fully grpwn up) that I just don't know what to get them. Kalau watches and goldwears selalu, pokailah. Yang murah-murah pulak tentu menjatuhkan nilai kasih sayang yang memang tak ternilai. Some help would be most appreciated.

By the way calling the wife 'honey' or just 'Han' (spl 'Hon') or "Yang" seem all right to me. Could be an abbreviation for a name (like Farhan, Rohani, or Cik Yang). My greetings to all your beloved. Salam.

kaykuala said...

Assalmuli'kum Pak Cik,
Thanks for your kind comments. I've been following your blog with every new posting, without fail.

You have undertaken a noble 'responsibility' with Al-Manar and I salute you, Sir!

kaykuala said...

Sdr Norzah,
My.. it is the $6mil question! There's the peck on the forehead n a hug on the morning of the big day for start. You can never go wrong with a bouquet of flowers but unfortunately it is not lasting.

I suppose if it has something to do with what the loved ones like by way of a hobby/collection it has a better chance of acceptance (one of Shadah's friends is just mad about sunflowers - so some materials or objects with sunflower motifs, whether cloth, china or wood would find pride of place on the mantelpiece)

Just goes to show value is not important as long as it is welcomed and appreciated.

If they make it a habit of collecting branded watches or a Ferrari as a hobby, then, well .. maybe suggest a new hobby! My 2 cent's worth.

abdulhalimshah said...

Sdr Norzah,
I concur wholeheartedly with Hank, besides I am not that fastidious about celeberating "birthdays", and my wife knows that.
But she knows that my earnest supplication to Allah S.W.T. to bestow her good health and happiness far outweighs any token of love on her birthday.
Salam to you and Ton also, if she remembers me.

norzah said...

Thanks for the quick response Akhi Halim and Hank. I guess the outward show of love with the hugs and kisses would be adequate but the expectations of the day are different from what they used to be. Foreign social habits are taken as a sign of modernity and one must conform to be 'o'right'. Getting them what they love as a hobby is fine if the hobby is not buying expensive branded items from KLCC, the Pavilion or The Curve. Anyway, I always stressed it's the thoughts that count, hehehe.
BTW Tun certainly remembers you as her boss, AHS,and she sends her salam to the family. Yours too Kk.