My Longkang

I spied Connoisseur Cafe when I was with Mary’s friend on the way to Kokoberry. The name Connoisseur Cafe attracted me. According to the dictionary, a connoisseur is a person who is especially competent to pass critical judgments in an art, particularly one of the fine arts, or in matters of taste: a connoisseur of modern art;a discerning judge of the best in any field.

Thus we decided to visit this place instead. Frankly the thought of being with Mary seemed very tempting at that time. At least I would have nice pics like HB to put on a post Imagine sweet Mary giving a sweet smile and tasting something as if it tastes absolutely delicious. But what to do? Make the best of the situation. Mary is probably too busy anyway. My friend was also in a hurry.

The guy at the counter was very young and kinda cute ( Suggestive wink to Mary ) . There were equally young ladies there. I found out why my friend chose this place. There is internet access for customers. When we were arrived the place was empty but soon the yuppies started arriving one by one with their laptops.

I had this combo meal. The main dish is Singapore laksa. At first I thought it kinda bland but after a while I sort of started to enjoy it. Total cost Rm12.00. There was also a 10% discount,

It is situated near Muhibbah food court, next to the massage centre or the row of shop houses behind Sugar Bun.

Driving from Bintulu to Sibu can be very tiring especially when it is very hot. So I was relieved when the driver decided to stop at a school to ‘rest’ for ten minutes. I took the opportunity to take a few pics.

I felt very ‘uncle’ surrounded by all these young and bright faces. Their bright smiles were contagious. For a moment I permitted myself the luxury of imagining myself the same age as them. When times were simpler and I was contented with so little.

I woke up this morning and saw a familiar face on theStar:Tan Choon Hoe. Tan is of one the country’s foremost experts on his mother tongue, Hokkien. He has come up with a new book on how to speak the dialect.

It is a must buy for all Hockkien dialect enthusiasts. He explains it this way:“I wanted to preserve my mother tongue and see it used by as many people as possible. In these days of the Internet, I see parents everywhere speaking to their children in ‘international’ languages. I don’t dispute the value of this, but we should still try to keep our dialect alive.”

The books are available from most good book shops. From now till Oct, 30% of all sales will go to the Penang Adventist Hospital’s Fund for Needy Patients. If you would like to sponsor a certain number of books, PAH will re-sell the books and donate everything to the fund. For details, contact Tan at 012-482 0038.

Personally, I am hoping his book will be available online soon. I haven’t seen a copy of his book in the local book shops.

What are dreams? Dreams are just our minds working overtime when we are sleeping? A manifestation of our inner conflicts? A release from stress? Just a state of hallucination? I sometimes wonder what would go through my mind if I were to take ‘magic mushrooms’ or hallucination-inducing drugs.

Well, last night I had a weird dream. I was in a strange place. Time and period uncertain. There was a lady there with ‘arresting’ eyes. She wasn’t particularly beautiful nor was she young. But I kept stealing glances at her. When she moved away from the scene, I followed after her. She knew it. She was leading me somewhere. I was like a lamb to the slaughter. Willingly.

There was no grass or flowers or trees or color of any sort. The terrain was flat and stretched endlessly. The skies bleak nothingness. No signs of life. I kept doggedly following her. It was like the transient period between dusk and night. A heavy sense of nothingness hung in the air. A sense of ‘no heat’ in the surroundings. I shivered and pressed my arms against my chest. I realized I had no clothes on. I pressed forward with increasing urgency.

I heard my dad’s voice. He had left us a decade ago. The shock of hearing his voice stumped me. He asked me why I had not gone home. When the realization I was hearing a dead man hit me, I woke up.

I think I must be going bonkers. Mind going flaccid. What are the kind of dreams that you have? What do you think the dream means? The voice of my dad was very real. It is not the first time I have had this kind of dream. Just a different variation.

It was about 0445. Mrs BB was still sleeping softly. I went to have a look at Benghui. As usual off the mattress and on the floor. Still in one piece. The neighbour’s chickens were making a racket and my dog was barking at the newspaper delivery man. I thank God I have another day to live.

Another long day ahead.

Continued from bunga-bernasib-or-lucky-flower

From Rumah Siba we continued to Rumah Tuan and then finally to Rumah Selabban. ( I hope I got the spellings correct )
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Continuation of sibu-selangau-balingian-long-house

When we arrived at Rumah Siba, the bus had a tough time reversing as the road was narrow. In the end it was decided that the driver should reverse into the compound of the long house. That in itself was no easy feat too. Every body then got off the bus. I did the same. Until I realized not every body got off the bus.
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I went to a longhouse near Balingian today. Actually I went to three longhouses. The journey was a long one and tiring. When I think of KLites complaining of the LRT there and roads, I think they would change their minds when they see what is on offer here in the central region of Sarawak.
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I was at Tanah Mas last night at a function to show appreciation to a wonderful human being, friend and leader. She is also the mother of Dora and Roger.
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Character : Jerry, mid twenties.

Jerry : The minute he came in the hall, we knew we were doomed. It was supposed to be a friendly match. But we needed to win. Our girlfriends were there. He came in a Vios which was normal enough but he was dressed as if he had stepped off the pages of a sports magazine.
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For this week’s post, for the benefit of Photohunters who come once a week, I submit pics of the River Nyelong, Sarikei and the cross river ferry. It is in the central region of Sarawak and about an hour’s drive from my town. It is famous for pineapples.
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