Friday 19 March 2010

..its Friday..

..Friday is many things to many people..for some it is the last day before the weekend..thus, Casual Friday..giving the phrase TGIF..thank goodness its Friday...

..to the Romans a day of Venus, ..for most Christians, Good Friday is for planting seed, potatoes..perhaps taking it to mean the day of Resurrection..the Jewish Sabbath is on a Friday..and Aussies celebrate Red Bull Fridays, where they consume Red Bulls, an energy drink from Thailand, and the Thais associate Friday with the colour blue, the auspicious colour for the day..as against red for Sunday..more reasons to paint the town red on Sundays..

..but for some, Friday is unlucky..sailors of yore refused to haul up anchor on a Friday.. and Friday the 13th is the ultimate in being unlucky..as of our very own Friday the 13th in the month of May, 1969..then I was a swashbuckling kid of 24 and in Kota Bharu, having obtained a transfer back from KL a few months earlier..

..and I remember the frantic phone calls that I made to check out my friends with whom I once shared a 3- bedroom flat in Brickfields..5 of them..and they were all Malays in a sea of Chinese and Indians..during better times we played football together at the railway padang..and got outselves invited to parties held by our Chinese friends where I learned the cha-cha-cha and some rudimentary Rumba..with a girl named Mary..

..it was with much relief that I later came to know that they were all safe and sound..sheltered and brought out of the troubled area by a group of Chinese residents..they owed their lives to them..to some Chinese underworld lieutenants who gave them their protection..in Kota Bharu, it was curfew times..and I sat out the nights with my late mother..abstaining from all activities associated with the time..praying for the safety of my friends in KL..

..to Muslims, Friday is a day of rest..it also the day of Friday Prayers at the mosques..during which time it is forbidden to continue with worldly activities....until after its completion..and so pakmat rests..with a song from
Mali, Africa..M'bora...I do not know what it means..perhaps mamadou of blog 'Everything is Possible' can help..but I liked the beat..and the sounds of the kora..









15 comments:

Pak Idrus said...

Pakmat, A very good morning to you Sir. Do enjoy the day. Take care.

rizal hashim said...

Salam Jumaat PakMat, penghulu segala hari.

Padang railway...hah, bersejarah tu...

relax PakMat, and focus on tasbih, tahmid and selawat...

Pat said...

I enjoyed the drums, too.

Here's wishing you a good Friday, today, and a good weekend as well.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Abe Mat,
Fine music you have there. Friday also means extra food for us as Mama would be so generous on the day. purrrr....meow!

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Hi Pakmat,

I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too
Thursday, I don't care about you
It's Friday, I'm in love

Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday, I'm in love

Saturday, wait
Sunday always comes too late
But Friday never hesitates….hehehe funny lyrics.

FYI Pakmat, the Skippy teenagers drinks Red Bull (Austrian {as in Vienna
} version not Thais’ version) mixed with vodka while they are out clubbing. I normally have a can or two without the vodka (& not more as it can be a health hazard, got cocaine???), i.e. only when I need to stay sharp & focus for 12 hours concentration whilst ‘working’. No, no not the tongkat ali type of activities that u had in mind lah….hahaha.

Have a good one, sir.

Cheers,
Tommy

Snakebite said...

friday is hari berkumpul and saturday is hari rehat. these two days should be the weekends, not saturday and sunday.

Unknown said...

..and a very good morning to you, too pakidrus..keep well..

..lc..padang railway tu home for pasukan bola Hong Chin..pakmat and flatmates ardent supporters..with several of them playing for the team..those were the days, lc..indeed, those were the days..we roamed free the grounds of Brickfields..sometimes walked all the way to Stadium Negara with girlfiends and gang to watch the Strollers..the in-band then..

Unknown said...

hi, pat..our weekends in on Friday and Saturdays..not that it matters much to this coot..seeing he's retired and all..but still enjoys the weekend with family..visits to KBharu or the beach, or a hotspring in Ulu La, Jertih..

my dear cat..every one's generous on a weekend..I am, too..care for some tuna?..its fresh and shiny here in Bachok,,,fresh from the sea..

Unknown said...

hi, tommy..:) I am surprised you did not dropped an URL..(L for lampooned)but you never failed to amaze me..and I will always wonder about you, wishing that you blog..that I may know of you..for u strike me as someone a litte bit age, but not vintaged like pakmat..worldly wise..and have all those links and information on tap..almost like a walking encyclo..and nick yewfigure is almost a challenge..land pakmat just can't figure you out..a sage of sorts..and a magi..with or without the redbull regurgitating..:) cheers, tommy..i love you..

Unknown said...

..salam dato'....and about time the whole of malaysia have holidays on fridays and saturdays..cheers..

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Wah Pakmat, u got me all sussed out. No need to blog lah, I memang a simpleton, life secret is to keep it simple & do not over complicate matter, stay AWAY from trouble. U want to know more about me, just read Zendra’s blog, she’s the exact Tommy but in a female version without the vices & male weaknesses, of course lah…hahaha, don’t know whether that’s a compliment to her or not.

Yes I belief in God & retribution since my folks brought me to Haw Par Villa (Tiger Balm Garden) in S’pore. Dad said “There son, that’s your punishment if u ever take to the evil path”. Now that’s a REAL lesson for a growing kid, I’m still traumatized til this day by those burning in hell visual images of evildoers…hahaha.

Here’s a good one that u’ll enjoy;

I Shall be Released

This one for u to reminisce about Mary your lancing & lumsing partner from the old days;

Arms of Mary

Cya, I’m off to recoup my losses from last night.

Tommy

P/S - Soli Zen, but true lah if I've got an identical twin sister, she'll be like u...hahaha..scary tot huh??? :)

Zendra-Maria said...

Salam pakmat, well it's Saturday - Friday's gone, God willing there'll be the next :) and same-old same-old for most of us... Like my evil twin said, no need to make it complicated ;)

Minta laluan ye pakmat...

P/S Hey Tommy, now I get it *light bulb moment* I've always wondered why you like me so very much KAKAKAH..... Psst want to compare DNAs???

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Zee, You never know, my folks said I was adopted anyway...hahaha

Unknown said...

..and parents always say that to their very nakal children..so at least I can imagine your childhood..and some insights into your youth..I am sure u have that killer Satdurday NightFever moves..right Zee?..:)

mamadou said...

Assalamualaikum Pak Mat

Maaflah Pak Mat, saya ni sudah terlambat. Sibuk sedikit kerana mahu menghabiskan tugasan disini, lagipun big boss dan bosses dah datang esok ke sini dalam rangka tour of afrika selama 2 minggu. Begitulah adat bekerja.

Mbora tu dah ditanya kepada kawan-kawan disini. Kata mereka itu mungkin tajuk lagu atas nama seseorang Mbora. Lagu ini menceritakan kisah kehidupan Mbora. Seperti lagu-lagu lain juga yang sering mengisahkan soal kehidupan. Begitulah budaya disini. Kalau dalam dalam majlis keramaian ataupun kenduri kahwin dsbnya maka akan ada penyanyi yang spontan melagukan nyanyian yang menceritakan sesuatu mahupun tentang tetamu undangan, tuan rumah ataupun pengantin..............

Maklumlah Pak Mat, disini ada l3bih 13 dialek utama yang diucapkan, tapi nyanyian iyu dalam bahasa Bambara.

Terima kasih