7 days (what i saw in the neighbourhood)
How to start a New Year post? Oh, about a week of shenanigans in the neighbourhood, and some colloquialism thrown in. 😎
What! New Year was last week?
digital collage by dsnake1
7 days (what i saw in the neighbourhood)
1)
Friday Nov 27
only this empty greasy table
noodles i must have today
bak chor mee will do nicely
no cake, never mind.
mother said so
2)
Monday Nov 30
girl in the bus frowns
thought i was staring at her.
great legs though.
3)
Saturday Dec 5
glossy brochure, 2 storey house in JB 1180 sq feet
my malaysian friend pointed out, very cheap
RM330K only
where the fuck do i get RM330K?
how much you paid for your singapore pigeonhole then?
hahahas
4)
Sunday Dec 13
hey auntie, your dog shits anyhow anywhere
ought to clean after, i wanted to tell her
but her face like her pug's.
5)
Wednesday Dec 16
does anyone still dial 1711, friend asks
check time lah
crossing carpark, saw car with plate 1711
a sign! a hint!
buy the number on 4D, same day, zilch.
6)
thursday Dec 24
a pair of sloopy looking papier mache reindeer
at mall entrance.
small kid looks at it and walks away.
only a drenched plastic santa
in the rain.
diners chatting at coffee shop
7)
Tuesday Dec 29
on way to lunch same JB friend observes, before elections your gahmen give you one chicken drumstick to shiok shiok. after elections, they take back whole chicken. hahaha!
dammit, he may have a point.
shall we have chicken rice, Ken?
various days, 2016
****************
For you folks out there who are lost with some of the language :
bak chor mee - minced pork noodles, a staple in Singapore's hawker centres.
JB - Johor Bahru, the Malaysian city nearest to Singapore
RM - Malaysian Ringgit, the currency of Malaysia
4D - Our local numbers lottery, of 4 digits
lah - a slang word, an interjection commonly used in here and Malaysia to complement almost any sentence in a social conversation.
gahmen - Our Singlish way of saying "government", usually as a cynical or sarcastic usage. popular in internet chat.
shiok - Usually used as an expression to convey pleasure or excitement.
still not sure, just google them lah.
boy : Dino!
cat : meow!!
nice to know that the community cat has a name.
(this makes it the 8th day?)
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2017
What! New Year was last week?
7 days (what i saw in the neighbourhood)
1)
Friday Nov 27
only this empty greasy table
noodles i must have today
bak chor mee will do nicely
no cake, never mind.
mother said so
2)
Monday Nov 30
girl in the bus frowns
thought i was staring at her.
great legs though.
3)
Saturday Dec 5
glossy brochure, 2 storey house in JB 1180 sq feet
my malaysian friend pointed out, very cheap
RM330K only
where the fuck do i get RM330K?
how much you paid for your singapore pigeonhole then?
hahahas
4)
Sunday Dec 13
hey auntie, your dog shits anyhow anywhere
ought to clean after, i wanted to tell her
but her face like her pug's.
5)
Wednesday Dec 16
does anyone still dial 1711, friend asks
check time lah
crossing carpark, saw car with plate 1711
a sign! a hint!
buy the number on 4D, same day, zilch.
6)
thursday Dec 24
a pair of sloopy looking papier mache reindeer
at mall entrance.
small kid looks at it and walks away.
only a drenched plastic santa
in the rain.
diners chatting at coffee shop
7)
Tuesday Dec 29
on way to lunch same JB friend observes, before elections your gahmen give you one chicken drumstick to shiok shiok. after elections, they take back whole chicken. hahaha!
dammit, he may have a point.
shall we have chicken rice, Ken?
various days, 2016
****************
For you folks out there who are lost with some of the language :
bak chor mee - minced pork noodles, a staple in Singapore's hawker centres.
JB - Johor Bahru, the Malaysian city nearest to Singapore
RM - Malaysian Ringgit, the currency of Malaysia
4D - Our local numbers lottery, of 4 digits
lah - a slang word, an interjection commonly used in here and Malaysia to complement almost any sentence in a social conversation.
gahmen - Our Singlish way of saying "government", usually as a cynical or sarcastic usage. popular in internet chat.
shiok - Usually used as an expression to convey pleasure or excitement.
still not sure, just google them lah.
boy : Dino!
cat : meow!!
nice to know that the community cat has a name.
(this makes it the 8th day?)
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2017
Labels: heartlands, Humour, landscape, list poem, politics, Singapore, Singlish, Work
posted by dsnake1 at 7:11 PM
17 Comments:
You don't have to go far to find a good story - you just have to have an open mind!
😁
thank you, Jae!
ha I like the diarised style and use of colloquialisms - like vivid little stabs of images and moments
Ahahahaha❤️ I enjoyed this one very very much! Wishing you a most prosperous New Year ❤️
I enjoyed these so much, especially the aunt and the pug who look alike, and the gahmen giving out a chicken leg then taking back the whole chicken. It is the same everywhere. A great start to the new year, my friend.
Love the little story and the introduction to singean lingo... beware of looking at girls though...
Nice nice 🍸
Much love...
Love 'em all! Particularly number 4. (Grin.)
Love the local flavour.. food, news and language!
These "pieces" have a diary-esque quality to them. They kind of go together, I thought ... a sort of earthy-just-trying-to-make-my-way "human" vibe which - with the asian influences - popping through the lines - creates a really unique effect, that is very, very cool.
cheong lee san Happy New Year from us in the States. You should be a stand-up comic. Even without the translation (though It helped after)I kept chuckling "Poor Bugger"
I hope your year is well, happy, and peaceful.
ZQ
What great fun walking round with you seeing (and hearing) life in your neighborhood.
OT
thank you for the visit!
colloquialism can be a beast, it is pretty dicey, it is said it degrades the language, but i don't care now. :D
Sanaa,
thank you for the warm wishes. i am just curious, do the people in K.L. speak like that too? :)
Sherry,
hehe, loved your comment. but i think your Canada has the best prime minister in the world at the moment.
Bjorn,
😇
a pleasure to introduce a bit of our lingo.
gillena,
thanks for the martini! :)
Rosemary,
thank you!
most of the pet owners are considerate, cleaning up after the pooches have done their business, but this particular lady just doesn't bothers. :(
thotpurge,
thank you! :)
Wendy,
thank you!
i was trying to make it look like a diary, and writing mundane things and inane conversations.
turns out quite well, i think, very human, very earthy sort of feeling. :)
ZQ,
stand-up comic? more like frozen-up babbler if i get on the stage. anyway, 2016 was pretty kind to me, very busy at times with work but not that angry much, which is kind of worrisome at times because it doesn't look like it was me. i hope you understand what i am talking. :D
anyway, thanks for the greetings from the States. :)
Robin,
thank you!
shall we take another walk? :)
this was really great! funny!
J
Thank you, Jillien! :)
:)
hey Ashok! glad to hear from you! :)
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