Shiok

The word 'shiok' in singlish has no comparable equal in the English language. Yet it is such a wonderfully economical and succint word that vividly expresses the idea of relish and great delight, words which, even as I explain now, do not quite fully convey the flavour of the term 'shiok'.

I spent this Saturday lounging at home, doing nothing save lying in bed for most part of the day, drifting in and out of semi-sleep whilst reading parts of my books and magazines.

The local word which aptly describes what all these activities amount to is this: Nuah-ing. It was simply, absolutely, Shiok! (Saying 'wonderful' doesn't quite do it, for it does not capture the tinge of gleefulness and the intensity of the feeling. Ditto for words like 'awesome' and 'great'; and even if one were to add intensifiers like 'absolutely' or 'superbly' to the words, it still doesn't cut it.)

I've had too many packed weekends for the past two months and this was the first time I had nothing on my weekend agenda. Just doing nothing and having no plans is a luxury these days. Like I told R and KT the day before, I don't like to go through my weekend engaging in many activities and feeling at the end of it, on Monday, drained and not having had a good rest. A weekend can have activities, but it should be restful and recuperative too.

My Saturday ended with a trip to the nearby mall. I wouldn't have gone there had I not have to run an errand. It turned out to be a pleasant affair, for I wasn't met with the mad crowds that are a feature of the said mall. After buying the necessary, I decided to enjoy some tea and toast bread. Thankfully there was no queue and there were seats. I made a wrong order and had twice the number of slices of bread than usual. But this being such a SHIOK Saturday, it didn't bother me and I quite happily finished all of them.

Shiok!