i was rereading the last post and well i think i was, as usual, confusing and confused.
so i'll try some pictures. this is my cat, Chi chi. previously known as Dayan Putri Faizah, and before that Faiz, and originally known as Tiger. Sometimes referred to as Kangaroo and Rabbit.
And, these are the faces of lepak. Or rather, one face, in different positions, representing (all of them) lepak.
I really like the last two. really captured what i think lepak means..
lepak. an interesting word. pronounced lay-park, it is most often used as a verb; that is to say, to lepak is to loiter. yes, loiter. so people usually lepak at the mall, or the park etc.
too bad loiter's such a negative word. i prefer a wider perspective of lepak, which i shall talk about in due time. first, there's the kind of people with which the word lepak is usually associated.
now, now, i don't really mean to generalise and stereotype (which of course i fully intend to, just that i want to put a disclaimer up first)... it's just that people usually have no reason to, you know, loiter.
and when i say loiter i mean just stay in one place, doing nothing in particular. and it's specific to doing this loitering thing on more than one occasion. so it's appropriate to say that someone lepaks at the mall if it's like their umpteenth time there, well, lepak-ing. i mean, this loitering thing doesn't happen on a whim, does it? no one really remembers the first time they lepak-ed, they just know they've been doing it for a very, very long time. so it's actually the culmination of many little things, this lepak business.
and so happens, most people i know or hear of who lepak basically did the same things, or had the same habits. not usually punctual, kinda lazy, laid back, that kind of thing.. that's okay to me, but some others lepak 'cus they have nothing better to do. and they lepak instead of going to school. or work. that i cannot take. i mean, there's a reason for school and work, man... at least skip it for a reason. if school's too boring, do something NOT boring instead. just lazing around can get boring you know... and yet lepak happens all the time.
so yah. that's like how most people lepak. dun sound too lovely duddit? oh, and lepak's like a malay word. i have no idea where it came from, 'cus it still isn't inside the dictionary i have (and it's like, updated). they do have a lepak, but it's pronounced luh-park. kinda means pale, white. like your face is putih meLEPAK (like so white it's deathly kind of white, or victorian lead makeup kind of white). and this word, being malay, is usually associated with a certain brand of malay. the mat. not worth talking about anymore, really. compare them to like white hobos, just that they're not that worse off.
anyway (wow i like digressing),
i prefer a wider perspective, like because i kinda lepak too. and man, i don't like when it translates to loiter. 'cus i don't loiter.
for me, lepak is like... like... oh, like that lion king thing. oh... how do you spell it. aku-na-matata? something like that. it's just the idea of relaxation. just relaxing. and it doesn't involve any kind of work you don't want to do. it's like doing what you really want when you really want it. like singing your favorite song, dancing your favorite dance. just like that..
ok an example: i'm gonna start work as a relief teacher at my junior college next year. and i consider that a lepak thing. cus i think teaching's fun. and easy (i'll probably change my mind after actually doing it, but hey). and i like playing the guitar. and learning new songs.
learning new songs can be a bit difficult. especially if the stuff's like grade 8 shit and you have no proper training whatsoever. but it's fun. and i consider that lepak.
lepak is contentment. it's being happy with your life. it's not about running away from school. even school can be lepak. if you enjoy it. it's taking each problem in life without troubling yourself too much. to lepak is to take a break.
man... i'm not sure how to explain this lah. lepak is lepak. if you feel it, then you understand that i feel it. if not, then too bad for you. go stress yourself out.
1 Comments:
Hello from Americatown, brudder!
Today's my last day here in Massachusetts - a pity because I really love it here thusfar. There has been two snowstorms since I was here, and I have found out I really am a cold-resilient fellow. Maybe I was a polar bear in my past life.
Anyways, I hope things have been okay for you in Singapore - I LOVE your cat. When I come back I want to visit your rumah just to lepak with Chi Chi.
Also uhmmm. A lot of things happened soooo um. Cut things short, I hope Azhar and I can stay friends. I haven't managed to catch him online but yeah D: Ack, I feel bad after all that squealing over him.
I HATH BOUGHT THOU A CHRISTMAS GIFT.
I know lah, its a Christian holiday and so overrated sometimes, but I love Christmas, so THERE.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
From a fellow sistah,
Kari!
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