Sem 4 Indepence Day
Friday, May 18th, 2007"In a few minutes time, I’m pretty sure many of you will be jumping up for joy shouting ‘Merdeka, Merdeka‘ considering it’s the last day of the semester examinations" were the last words of Dr Kang before we were dismissed from MPH 1 - 3. Immediately, there was a change in the atmosphere: people were shouting and talking and screaming and clapping all at at once, turning the initial graveyard-like exam hall into a Selayang fish market, minus the smell.
Even in my own close-knit group of 6, I can sense a tremendous relieve from all of them. Throughout the entire 10 days of exams, we didn’t really have the time (and heart) to talk, partly because they were all rushing home to prepare for the next day’s paper and some were really worried about the previous papers. Frankly, I too felt the same throughout the period. After the exam, I felt that I could breathe normally again and that a one-tonne burden that had been pinning down on me since the start of Study Break 3 weeks ago had been magically lifted off my chest.
We gathered outside Vista B while some of them when to change. Our first stop for today: Ee Ling’s Grandparents apartment in Sentul where we’d hang out till evening and we’d proceed to Nailis in Taman Dato’ Senu for Yam Cha later. We took the Old Airport Road to head towards Sentul area and decided to try the new SMART tunnel which was opened just 3 days ago. Halfway through it, there was a fork in the pathway which was quite sudden: 1 leads towards Jalan Tun Razak while the other leads towards Jalan Sultan Ismail. We missed the turning and took the one that lead to Berjaya Times Square instead. We took a few more wrong turnings until we finally turned onto the correct road that leads to Sentul area.
Entering Tamarinds was kinda troublesome. The guards were very thorough in checking evey particular of the drivers, which is reflective of the cost of purchasing a unit of such a high class apartment. The courtyard in The Tamarinds were well landscaped and gives you a feeling of peace and serenity where you can simply immerse yourselve in nature’s commune and breathe freely. We went up to Ee Ling’s grandparent’s unit, which was also tastefully renovated with soft skirting lights and numerous other decoratives. We were greeted with a HUGE barrel of KFC, Leng Chee Kang and soft drinks when we stepped into the apartment, ate and chatted till the food almost went up to our noses. Just when we thought that we could no longer take anymore goodies, Ee Ling’s grandpa brought out a big tub of fresh fruits and cakes (chocolate mousse and butter). We took the fruits but have to sadly decline the mouth-watering cakes. (sob) A short while later, grandpa brought more refills of soft drinks for us. (,")
After a while, we realised that as long as we remain sitting at the dining table grandpa would cook up something new to fill us further. Since we were feeling stuffed and it was almost time to head towards Nailis, we excused ourselves and went to explore the pool side located at the 4th floor. Chun Wai had the shock of his life when he was almost thrown into the swimming pools. Hey, you can’t and shouldn’t blame Alex and I, we were simply applying the principles of Homeopathy: making a person more shocked will aid in recovery and to overcome any fear, just like applying allergodes to treat allergy right? Would you disagree? This picture is really nice but somehow my eyes reflected bright red so much more compared to the others.
At Nailis, we chose the highest spot: at the tree top. It was actually a circular "room" which is assessible by a stairs. There was a long flat table with very little foot space, giving the appearance of a pseudo-Japanese restaurant where customers sit of their legs and bow politely, saying Aligathokozaimas or Sinimase. Since we were still very full from all the KFCs that we had, we ordered 6 drinks and a basket of french fries to munch and chat.
Halfway through mamak, Pui San called Esther to make arrangements for the next day’s karaoke session, so we took the opportunity to "promote" Nailis, and to kacau her. The phone wasn’t turned off yet when these pictures were being taken:
Our "dinner" that night:
Snapshots from the tree top and around Nailis:
Although I was exhausted by the time I got home (about 11 p.m.), I searched for some song lyrics by Jay Chou that we’d be singing the next day at Galaxy. Searched till about 3 a.m. (Thursday morning), then I decided to turn in for the night since I would need to be up early. Tried to sleep but my mind was very active: going over what we had just done the entire day and feeling excited anticipating the karaoke session in a few hour’s time at 10 a.m. later. I kept telling myself "If I falll asleep now, I’d have 5 hours sleep. If I fall asleep now, I’d have 4 hours sleep, If I fall…" so much so that I became more alert than tired. Out of boredom, I messaged my fren at 3.30 a.m. since I knew she would be sleeping by then. I watched some lousy football match on TV2 (the only channel that was airing something) till 4.30 a.m. then tried to hit the sack again. Tried as hard as I could though, I simply couldn’t fall asleep. I tossed and turned many, many times and went through the songs that I’d be singing in a few hour’s time again and again in my head, and feeling a surge of euphoria everytime. (,")
At 6.30 a.m., after failing to sleep after 3 1/2 hours, I decided to "wake up". It was too early and there wasn’t anything on, so I watched Next by Nicholas Cage. It was a good show, although the movie was kinda short and the ending a bit weird. Left about 9 a.m. to meet the gang at IMU (yes, IMU again!!! we must be crazy to return to uni right after our finals) to head to Puchong. Met Esther around 11 a.m. and went in to Room 22.
If back in Sem 3 we had Huo Yuen Jia by Jay Chou as our stress-reliever, this time around Isabella by Amy Search took to the stage. I really screamed my heart and soul out into that song, relinquishing all the built-up stress during the whole 4th semester. We did many stupid stuffs as well like singing really childish songs, Speedy Gonzales, danced while singing, modified songs for someone special **Hint Hint, I wonder who ler?** and sang till our voices almost croaked. This session was supposed to be a 3-hour karaoke cum Set Lunch, and we were supposed to stop singing at 2 p.m. But Galaxy management allows their customers to stretch their sessions a little bit longer, even after they had paid for their 3-hour session. In our case, the "little bit" turned out to be an extra 2 HOURS!!! So, we left for Esther place at 4 p.m. instead of the 2-3 p.m. as originally planned.
She had prepaid a home-grilled heater set for us to grill our food just like Road House Grill. Since it was a "hazardous" task to grill the foodstuffs, Alex and I put on our cooking (or in this case, grilling) caps and prepared Lunner (lunch + dinner). We did another Ho Chak session by introducing to the viewers the right techniques to fry an egg. It was a very impromptu session and there were many mistakes said and made during filming but it was really fun, and the egg turned out to be edible after all!!! Haha…
Went home about 8 p.m. and watched some shows till about 12 a.m. (Friday morning). That was when I suddenly realised that I haven’t slept for more than 48 hours and decided to turn for the night. This time, I really slept like a log till late morning. As I’ve always believed, quality beats quantity; and there’s no substitution for true close friends with whom you can share troubles and happiness with. (,")
