samakint2 Lyrics

''People often ask if I was like this - if I talked a lot or was blunt - when I was young. My answer is yes. I have always been straightforward. I dislike people who say sweet things with sour intentions.''

And the roots of his love for cooking and shopping for groceries? They lay in his being a__igned the job of cooking for the family since he was seven years old.

''The activity must have seeped into my blood! I still go out to buy groceries now...'' the then 63-year-old politician said.

Mr Samak credited being poor for making him street-wise.

''I was never embarrassed being a dessert vendor. Life was like that. My father taught me that being poor and being undignified are not the same thing. I could maintain my dignity in being the son of a Phraya, even though I had to sell things in the street to make a living. Now, whenever I come upon Thai dessert vendors I always buy something from them. Kanom kluay and kanom tarn are reminders of my past.''

How about cats? Mr Samak said he has been a cat-lover since he was a kid, even if he suffered from asthma and had to give up his pets for some time. He started to raise them again once he was cured of the infliction.

''I like their colours and the fact that they don't go around trying to please people. Their owners have to please them,'' he said.

''Bad cats which don't pay attention to me? I simply shun them.''

Consider yourself warned.

blunt - saying what is true or what you think, even if this offends or upsets people สวนกลับอย่างทันควัน
straightforward - clear and honest ตรงไปตรงมา
intention - a plan in your mind to do something ความตั้งใจ (เจตนา)
seep - to flow into or out of something slowly through small holes แทรกซึม
street-wise - able to deal with difficult or dangerous situations you often find in cities รอบรู้ เอาตัวรอดได้
embarrassed - ashamed of something and worried about what other people will think of you อับอาย
vendor - someone who sells something, but not in a shop พ่อค้าข้างถนน พ่อค้าหาบเร่
undignified - embarrassing or silly, in a way that will make people not respect you ที่เสื่อมเสีย (เกียรติและความน่านับถือ)
dignity - respect that other people have for you or that you have for yourself ความมีเกียรติ ความสูงส่ง
reminders - things that cause you to remember something สิ่งที่คอยเป็นเครื่องย้ำเตือน
asthma - a medical condition that makes it difficult to breathe โรคหอบหืด
infliction - a painful condition (affliction - an illness - might be a better word here) การติดเชื้อ
shun - to deliberately avoid a person, place or activity หลีกเลี่ยง