Monday, December 10, 2007

Awang Goneng And Kak Teh At Kinokuniya KLCC

Those who were there,


Standing left to right: Dr. Bubbles, Pak Zawi. Jaflam, Zabs, Mat Salo



Sitting: Wan, Awang Goneng, Kak Teh, Captain Yusof, Elviza with Luqman on her lap

Jaflam of Jaff Point had made arrangement for Awang Goneng to make a personal appearance at The Coffee Club above The Kinokuinya Book Store KLCC on 9the December 2007. Awang Goneng is the pen name of Wan A Hulaimi, a Malaysian residing in London. He just came back from London. He did the signing of his books at Royal Asiatic Society on 26th October 2007 and another signing in Singapore a few days ago. The signing was especially arranged for bloggers in Malaysia who were notified about the event a few days earlier.

The 9th of December was an auspicious date as it was their 28th Annivessary. To Awang Goneng and his wife Kak Teh we wish you a Happy 28th Annivessary.


Kak Teh with hubby Awang Goneng.
Happy Annivessary to the two of you.

Akmal of Wise Up and me was the first to arrive at The Coffee Club as we came from The KL Convention Center where the computer fair was held. I bought a laptop there after Akmal bought one at the same fair a day earlier. Now we are really mobile bloggers. After having a cup of coffee each and there was only minutes to 4 pm, there was not another single blogger that we know came to The Coffee Club. That of made us askance whether we got the right date or the right place. Akmal being 38 years younger than me was given the task to run down to Kinokuniya to check whether the bloggers were gathered at the book store below. He came back shaking his head from side to side which I took it to mean that non others were there. The only other blogger whom I know to have promised to come was Elviza and she didnt answer my call. I guess her one and a half year old son Luqman must have hidden her 2 handphones. A sms to Pak Idrus was answered with the message that he was in Singapore because a relative of his was hospitalized there and he asked me to convey his hello to Awang Goneng.




Thats my new toy sitting pretty on the table at the Coffee Club. We were the first to arrive.


Akmal had a beautiful admirer at the Computer Fair. U Lee would defintely approve.

The appearance of Jaflam made us feel at ease that we were at the right place on the right date. Soon Zabs of Realiti Kehidupan and Captain Yusoff of The Ancient Mariner came followed by Mat Salo of Borneo Blues. Mat salo of course will never leave home without his his Nikon SLR. Thanks to it that we get these pictures, already resized and ready for uploading into the net. The black T shirt with the word Zildjian he was wearing showed clearly that Mat Salo made lots more noise with the drums than the guitar. Mat Salo with the guitar that decorated his blog that made us assume that he was a guitarist. Next came Dr. Bubbles of Blowing Bubbles. Elviza of Elviza's Write Away came with Luqman. How nice to see Luqman looking healthy after the bout of viral infection. Dr. Musa should be thanked for helping Luqman recover this fast and so well. Awang Goneng came next with his wife. Awang Goneng looked smart in his beige suit with a Nehru collar shirt. Kak Teh looked resplendent in her blue dress with a matching scarf. How I envy the slim look of Awang Goneng. He could have sold his books to the ladies by his look alone if he would have stood at the door of Kinokuniya with it. Kak Teh could have done the same to the male readers.

If I remember right Wan of Kookabooras came after Awang Goneng. Wan was specially mentioned in GUIT.

Akmal had spent his fortune a day earlier when he paid RM3,000 for a laptop. He must have spent his last few ringgit to get himself a GUIT to have it signed at the gathering. Well Akmal, the occassion don't come everyday so better grab the opportunity while it was there. He ran down to the bookstore below, spent 10 sen shy of RM40 for a GUIT and had it signed by Awang Goneng at The Coffee club.


With best wishes.........

This is what Awang Goneng wrote for me.

While chatting, somebody received the news that Unker Zorro had been detained by the police for marching with the lawyers. The government had regarded the march as an illegal. Unker, you will have quite a story to tell in your next blog.


Pssst for your ears only. Jaflam trying to say something to Awang Goneng while the rest tried their best to hear.

Parking around KLCC on that Sunday was next to impossible as the computer fair must have drawn a record crowd. The last day price slash never failed to draw the crowd. This could have deterred some of the bloggers from stopping by to have their GUIT signed on that day. The usually quiet Coffee Club was quite crowded even though it was a Sunday.

The three Kelantanese at the gathering.

A special word of thanks is directed to Jaflam for making this gathering possible and for the refreshment. For Awang Goneng and his wife Kak Teh, thank you for coming and we wish you success with your book GUIT.

At about 6.00 PM, we clutched our treasured copy of GUIT duly signed by it's author, Awang Goneng from Trengganu, as we headed for home. My ride on the RapidKL bus 69 to Amanputra Puchong was another story to tell in my next blog. The story will tell you why I will never ride a bus again in KL.

30 comments:

Mat Salo said...

Haha - The Unholy Trinity of the Three Kelantanese!

Thanks for using the pictures Bang Zawi.

New toy eh? Hmmm. Which one, the laptop or something that deserves to be sitting on someone's lap? :)

Great write up - I believe you're the first!

Pak Zawi said...

Mat Salo,
Thanks for the pictures.
My new toy is the one that can sit on my lap hahahaha.
I am not the first. Captain and Dr. Bubbles came ahead oif me. Well everyone has their own story to tell. Lets just enjoy them.

pat said...

Helo Pak Cik,

BEst nye dapat berjumpa! Setakat ni Pat belum pernah jumpa kawan2 blogging.I hope to meet them in the future :)

Pak Zawi said...

Pat,
Memang seronok bila jumpa member bab bila kita dah berkenalan secara bertemu kita lebih mesra. Besok ada gathering kat rumah Kak Ton untuk mee rebus. Ini kali pertama Pak Jakun ikut sama. Bila balik Kelantan nanti tak ada lagi la peluang. Sama blogger Kelantan je la.

Unknown said...

Hahaha. Pak Zawi.
What was her name again? Tiffany rite? Well, she is gorgeous, anyway hahahaha.
Thanks for the companionship. You presence had made my day(",). Yes, and the treats too.
Well, I am glad to be able to be with all you guys. I may be a bit silent at the day, hahaha, perhaps becoz I missed so many things. I am the only one single there, after all.
Good write up Pak Zawi. Another day out some other time, perhaps? I was wondering why you arrived late home. Well, I guess all will be answered in the next posting?
You keep well Pak(",).

ZABS said...

Salam Zawi,
A very nice write up of what actually happened at Kinokuniya. And it is a pleasure meeting you there. After reading your vbery informative entry, I decided that I don't need to write about it again in my blog. However, I will just made a reference about the session, to your blog. Is it okey? TQ.

Anonymous said...

alamak! you beat me to it! Hik hik hik... seronok baca posting nih. Lagi seronok on the day itself lah...

What a sunday it was. And really, the traffic was an absolute nightmare!

p/s: how s your new lappie??

Pak Zawi said...

Akmal,
How can you forget the name of such a beautiful admirer. If I were you I would have got her number by now. Ask uncle Lee what he thinks of her. We can always get to her place of work if you want me to help you.
I enjoyed your company as well. I relied on you to move around as I would be lost even if I am within KLCC itself.
Keep guessing why I arrived late till I tell u about it.

Pak Zawi said...

zabs,
I am happy that you enjoyed my post. It was mutual zabs. Enjoyed meeting you and everyone else there as everybody was for the first time even with Akmal.
Do whatever you want to do with it. You can even cut and paste what I wrote. Dont worry I wont kick you like that famous assembly man did.
Semoga akan bertemu di rumah Kak Ton besok.

Pak Zawi said...

Elviza,
I waited for so long for you to make your posting. What took you so long? I guess you were busy with meetings.
Sorry to have taken a few shots at you. I will make another joke on you again in my next posting. I hope you wont be suing me for my last dollar. Like Akmal I have spent my last dollar on the lappie thing. Lucky thing Jaff picked up the tabs, otherwise I may have to borrow a few tenner from you. The guy who sold it to me lives a few doors from me in Amanputra and he will be coming to install the wireless router and install the programmes on ity according to my requirement. That's the main reason I bought the lappie from him. The salesgirl was trying to convince Akmal thinking that I was just the father who was going to foot the bill.
I agree with you the traffic in KL is just as bad as the traffic in Pasir Mas. A bloody mess hahahaha.

Unknown said...

Hello Zawi,

Hey how nice to meet up as a group. Jaflam posted the invite in my comment box, only that day I could not make it as I had a few prior engagements.

But anyway, great photos. Now I know how some bloggers look like..he he..like Dr Bubbles, Mat Salo..the rest I dah tengok gambar before. Now who is Wan? Not a blogger?

Btw, I'm eagerly waiting for handsome Luqman to blog about this entry soon even in goo ga ga lingo..ha ha. So cute the lil one.

Ahh..missed the fun with Kak Teh and you gang. Another time perhaps...

Btw, you and Akmal bershopping sakan eh? Ha ha.

Another thing, I was born in Kuala Krai, but parents from Perak so I have belong to two states.

zaitgha said...

wish i was there but due to whats going on at home, i gotta skipped this gathering...

looked like fun though....

DCampbell aka Puteri said...

Zawi,

Did the #69 bus not take you to Amanputra?! Can't wait to read your experience! Hehe.

So lucky to have a booked signed by the author himself!

Wah, jeles nye I! New laptop! Did you get it at a specially discounted price?

Haha, the traffic in KL is as bad as in Pasir Mas?! Haha.

Rockybru said...

bro zawi,

wah, dengan awang goneng dan kak teh! bloggers malaysia di london yang hebat dan handal.
ada repeat tak? kalau ada ajak lah kita beb.

Pak Zawi said...

Ruby,
Oh you got the invite only that you couldn't come. Would have been great if you were there too.
The photos were mostly courtesy of Mat Salo and a few were of my own so he deserve the accolade more for the beautiful pics taken with expenive Nikon SLR and expensive lens. Will definitely buy one when I am rich. Will I ever be?
Wan is a blogger too, I think his blogsite is kookakubura. Yet to check it myself.
Luqman? Will tell his mum to open up a blogsite so that Luqman can post some thing like this hjalafjhhvncndcvnn dddddddddd. He is definitely cute and saw him did a few things when the mum told him to. I guess he will be an accomplished blogger by the time he reaches Akmal's age.
Thanks for the visit.

Pak Zawi said...

Zai,
I believe there will be another chance before the couple leave for London. The book publisher have yet to make an arrangement though. The one at KLCC was by courtesy of Jaflam. Better be there the next time they are signing it in KL otherwise you may have to travel all the way to Trengganu to get him.

Pak Zawi said...

Puteri,
The #69 RapidKL went straight to Amanputra but I can't tell you more about it without giving away the suspense to that post. Sabar ya.
Yes I was lucky to be in KL on that day and also lucky to be in the goodbook of Jaflam otherwise I wont get to be invited. Must thank him for that.
No need to be jealousla the laptop is just an entry level. When I get to be rich in a few years from now I will give you one as a present.
Pasir Mas is well known for its traffic jam especially during Hari Raya holidays because the town has only one ring road around it and when the train level crossing is down, the town is jammed tight. During such festivities, the population of cars in Pasir Mas increased by the hundred thousand when all Pasir Masians return from all over Malaysia to show off their Toyota Alphards, Merc, Bee Ems, Rexingtons and what have you besides all the Datsun 120Ys, Protons Wiras and Sagas, Toyota Vios and Daihatsu Charade Auras that are already there. The jam was so bad that it became the manifestos of every political parties in the last by election for the Pengkalan Pasir state seat.
After two years the solution is still nowhere in sight yet.

Nightwing said...

Helo Pak Zawi,

Thanks for sharing ur experience with fellow bloggers and meeting up with the author...how cool is that?

Not bad Akmal..ya, Uncle Lee will agree she is a SYT...:)

Hope everything is ok with Uncle Zorro..

Pak Zawi said...

rocky's bru,
Thanks for the visit bro. It was your comment and H J Angus comment in my first blog that urged me to go on beyond the first blog. That really spurred me on. Due to my ignorance I have deleted that blog. How I regret my stipid action. From the bottom of my heart I would like to thank you and H J Angus for the encouragement.
Yes bro, I was with Awang Goneng and Kak Teh from London.They are living within in now. Ask Jaflam if there will be a repeat.
It was nice to have met the famous Rocky in person. You were such a nice person, I can't imagine how they could sue a person like you for whatever reason. It must be fun for them to go around suing people and charging the expense to the comapany's account.
I wish you luck bro.

Pak Zawi said...

Nightwing,
Thanks for visiting. Yeah it was real cool. Top that with an experience with meeting bloggers for the first time.
I just came back from Kak Ton's Mee Rebus Tuesdays and Kerp who lives next door to Unker Zorro told us at the MRT that Unker Zorro was busy thumping on his keyboards posting his experience at the march. I guess he is OK. Please check his blogsite as I believe his latest posting should be in by now.

jaflam said...

Zawi, thank you for writing a good account on our meeting with Kak Teh & AG + some great shots. The meeting was so meaningful b'coz its was the first time that most of us met each other, it manifested our support to fellow bloggers achievements i.e Awang Goneng & Kak Teh + GUiTs + 28 years of happy marriage. They have been a wonderful friend to me and many of us for many years.... what we did last Sunday was informal and great for them to have a sweet memory of their 28 Wedding Anniversary & the success of GUiT. Hope we will meet again before you leave for Kelantan. Salam.

Pak Zawi said...

Jaflam,
I never had the faintest idea that I will be attending a book signing of GUIT. I jokingly once commented on AG's blogsite that I wanted to sign my book on behalf of Awang Goneng as I thought it would be beyond me to meet him since I didnt know of his homecoming. Thanks to Allah himself that we came to know of each other via our blogs that made it possible for me to be invited by you.
Supporting each other is definitely a trait that we must adhere to and inculcate among bloggers especially the new ones. I am new to blogging too though I am already old.
Its just the beginning to more gatherings I guess though it may differ on the place and the occassion.
Yesterday I had the great fortune to attend MRT at Kak Ton's place. Thanks to Elviza for making it happened for me. She drove out of her way to fetch me and later sent me home. She had syampathies for me after reading my problems riding the KL bus. That's thay kind of support that I can never forget.
Thank you Sir.

Kak Teh said...

zawi, on behalf of my other half - thank you. We are so touched. To you, Jaflam, zabs, mat salo, ancient mariner, elviza, akmal, dr bubbles, riz, wan Thank you for making our 28th anniversary a special one.

Pak Zawi said...

Kak Teh,
If we had known earlier that it was your anivessary we may have cooked up something better. That was all that we could muster. Biggest credit must go to Jaflam as it was his initiative.
Earlier I had wanted you to sign my GUIT as well but somehow I forgot about it untill I was on the bus home.
Hope GUIT will sell. We will do our bit to promote it.
Thanks for visiting my site.

tokasid said...

Salam Pak Zawi:

Thanks for this entry.
As you'd have known, I was away.
How I envy the bloggers present. I read about in in Sis Elviza's Write Away while I was in Luxor.
I would be nice if I too were there to see AG and KT in person as well as meeting you,bro MS,sis Elviza with Luke and Pak Zabs. But that rezeki was not mine.

But, reading this entry made my day pak.You've given me an insight and glad that you and others could make it. I was expecting Bergen , Raden, Shah,Pak Mior and Kerp to be there too.

Sorry to hear about Unker Zorro.

Pak Zawi,with the new toy you are not only a mobile ,but a roaming blogger too.LOL!

Thank you pak .

NaNa said...

Pak Zawi,

I thought of going and get my copy of GUIT signed by the author himself but I had prior engagement.

Anyway Pak, you have another story to tell about your bus ride? Can't wait for that.. :)

Pak Zawi said...

Doc,
Dah balik ya? Tell me whether it is worth going. Blog about it soon.
yes it was an opportune time to be in KL and Jaflam was kind enough to have invited me. The others may have been stuck in the traffic, cant get a parking space in KLCC as they had a big crowd for the computer fair or they didnt know about the event. Actually it wasn't publicised much as it was kind od private affair organised by Jaff for fellow bloggers.
Don't worry about Unker Zorrow. They must have taken pity on an old man and they didnt take him in. Hw went to the police station to lend support and maybe post bail to those who were taken in. He vented his anger through his latest posting.
Ya new toy to be moble and roams around hahaha. I will be around in KL till the 18th. Kalau Doc ada di lembah sini kasi sikit sms sama saya 019 9125647 bisa ketemu Pak.
Thanks for visiting.

Pak Zawi said...

nana,
You still have a chance to meet AG and Mrs AG. They will be here till Jan which is another year away :) Kidding u la nana. Next month. Contact Karim to know there his whereabout. Karims number can be found on AG's blogsite.
There are too many topics that I need to blog. One of them is the life and death story of Breast Cancer. Read Raden Galoh's latest post and I think I must do something fast to help people detect it early. I have a friend who has the technology to detect breast cancer early. That is my top priority now. The bus ride could wait for later but it will definitely be out sometimes this year :).

Anonymous said...

Nice blog. Keep it up....Pak Zawi.

Pak Zawi said...

emir ramli,
Thank you for the visit. Nice new post on GSC bulletin board. I have drafted something about GSC and will be posting it soon. Maybe I will post it after the gathering so that we can discuss about it first and add more things to it. Tell everybody to bring along their laptops as I will be setting up the wireless router for everybody to use. Or we can just share the PC at my house. There will be 3 connections for those without wifi so almost everybody can make a posting when there. Can you please inform the others?