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Monday, August 09, 2004

How Abimelech Came To Be...

On a bright sunny morning in Ipoh, I brought my parents to lunch in Jusco, Kinta City. Thereafter, we went for a walk and I was looking for new pillows for my car. I stumbled upon this cute little hippo-giraffe soft toy in Memory Lane with my dad. It was love at first sight! It would be just nice for my car! My car is brown and dull, and yellow seems to fit right in! It's a hippo with an identity crisis.
I knew I had to get it but my mom was around! I knew she'd be nagging all the way home and I decided not to get it without her prior permission. I was pouncing back and forth in front of the shop while waiting for my mother (she was in the next shop browsing). The shop assistants were smiling at me as I waited anxiously for my mom. And there she was! I immediately grabbed her and pulled her into the shop. She looked at it and said, "It's nice but....", oh, no... I knew my mom didn't like it.
But I got it anyway!
Huay Sien was talking to me one day and asked if my hippo had a name and I told her that I never thought of it before. Only girls name their soft toys! One fine day, I came across this video clip where a hippo was singing to the tune of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" while his friend, a dog, starts dancing. "Ah Whim Ba Wek, Ah Whim Ba Wek..."
I showed this to my dad one fine day and he really loved it. In fact, he started whistling the tune wherever he went that day. While I was doing some work on my notebook, I heard him singing the song and he went, "Abimelech, Abimelech!". I was on the floor laughing when I heard that! That's when I decided to call my soft toy, Abimelech.
You see, in the Bible, there were two Abimelechs. One who seduced Abraham's wife. The second, was an evil king who killed all his 70 brothers to be King. My Abimelech, though not as menacing, proved to be quite a ladykiller. Somehow, all the girls seems to be attracted to him. Gosh, wish I had that type of attention *grin*...