2007 was a crazy roller coaster ride for me. There were a couple of ups and there were fuck loads of downs.
As some of you might have already known, I lost my job in January 2007 and was unemployed for more than 4 months. During which, I was lucky to have a boyfriend who was always there for me to motivate and give me the strength I needed to carry on.
In March, I was offered a job to work as an Editor in a new magazine. Yay~! But as the job is based in KL, I was forced to leave JB and my boyfriend behind and move to KL. In April, I moved to KL. And for the first time ever since I left home, I was forced to live with a bunch of straight men.
Although things were going smooth at work, back home, my fucked up straight landlord decided that it's funny to try and cheat me on rent. So I decided that it's time to leave the place and move to somewhere else. Meanwhile, at the same time, my boyfriend decided that he would want to move in with me and come work in KL. Yay~! But not long after he moved in, we had a major fallout. I learned a couple of shocking truth about him and more along the way. It turns out that the person that I was about to spend the rest of my life with is nothing but a scandalous prick! Just great! Although I was in denial after I found out, it didn't take long before the two of us broke up. My depression came back. Followed by a string of unfortunate events.
Work was going smoothly but our salary began to come in late, and in October we were only paid half of our salary. Then no salary in November, and in mid-December, our boss disappeared into thin air. And now jess is unemployed, in the midst of his depression and owes people tons of money...
Ok, who am I kidding? 2007 sucks max! I really can't believe that I managed to live through it wthout killing myself! With all these going on, I really hope that 2007 will end faster. Who knows? Maybe 2008 will be a better year?
For those of you who had it good this year, may all be as well for you next year~! As for those who had it not-so good, let us all keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best as we countdown to a new year!
- jessism © 30122007-
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
English
I can't stress enough how important the English language is.
Coming from a family that is mainly English educated, and also mostly because my Mandarin sucks max, English is very important to me. So you can understand my frustration when people I converse with don't know what the fuck I'm trying to say, especially those Cina-Thinking bunch, who always call me a "West-Worshipper".
I'd like to clear things up by saying: I DO NOT WORSHIP ANYONE OTHER THAN MY GOD! I don't care if your preacher claims that your God greater and better than mine, leave me the fuck alone and don't try and preach to me about how great your God is. Everyone has their own believes and I respect that but just don't try to convert me.
Anyways, this posting is about English, so we'll leave debate of the religion aspect for future postings.
Like it or not, English is very important. Everywhere you go, English is the one international language that holds you together. In today's working world, whether this country likes to admit it or not, English is widely used everywhere. You go to a major corporation to meet someone, you speak English. You don't see people use Mandarin or Bahasa Melayu. English is extremely important.
I've been talking to quite a number of those conservative Cina-thinking bunch lately, who thinks that they as Chinese, Mandarin is the one and only important thing to them. Ok, fine with me, that's your preference. (If I worship the West, does this make you an East Worshiper?) But you coming to my face and tell me that all Chinese MUST speak Mandarin???? And you ONLY speak Mandarin to everyone who is Chinese? That's just too much! Yes, I am Chinese, but who say Chinese cannot excel in other languages other than their own? I am still Chinese, I don't forget my roots, and that's all that matters! If you're so staunch a Chinese, can you master all the local Chinese dialects? If you can't don't come to me with this bullshit!
When asked what do they speak when they work, they proudly reply: English!
The first thing that crossed my mind was: What the fuck?! If yu really think that English is unnecessary, why use it? Why not speak Mandarin to your Malaysian-Chinese boss? Or better still, why not attend an interview and tell your interviewer you refuse to speak English with her because she is Chinese and you would prefer to converse in Mandarin to all Chinese. See if you can still get that job?!
Wake up and smelll the shit people! It's the new millennium we're living in. You wanna speak Mandarin everyday, everywhere you go? Here's a thought: As Maureen nicely puts it - "Go back to China!"
- jessism © 28122007 -
Coming from a family that is mainly English educated, and also mostly because my Mandarin sucks max, English is very important to me. So you can understand my frustration when people I converse with don't know what the fuck I'm trying to say, especially those Cina-Thinking bunch, who always call me a "West-Worshipper".
I'd like to clear things up by saying: I DO NOT WORSHIP ANYONE OTHER THAN MY GOD! I don't care if your preacher claims that your God greater and better than mine, leave me the fuck alone and don't try and preach to me about how great your God is. Everyone has their own believes and I respect that but just don't try to convert me.
Anyways, this posting is about English, so we'll leave debate of the religion aspect for future postings.
Like it or not, English is very important. Everywhere you go, English is the one international language that holds you together. In today's working world, whether this country likes to admit it or not, English is widely used everywhere. You go to a major corporation to meet someone, you speak English. You don't see people use Mandarin or Bahasa Melayu. English is extremely important.
I've been talking to quite a number of those conservative Cina-thinking bunch lately, who thinks that they as Chinese, Mandarin is the one and only important thing to them. Ok, fine with me, that's your preference. (If I worship the West, does this make you an East Worshiper?) But you coming to my face and tell me that all Chinese MUST speak Mandarin???? And you ONLY speak Mandarin to everyone who is Chinese? That's just too much! Yes, I am Chinese, but who say Chinese cannot excel in other languages other than their own? I am still Chinese, I don't forget my roots, and that's all that matters! If you're so staunch a Chinese, can you master all the local Chinese dialects? If you can't don't come to me with this bullshit!
When asked what do they speak when they work, they proudly reply: English!
The first thing that crossed my mind was: What the fuck?! If yu really think that English is unnecessary, why use it? Why not speak Mandarin to your Malaysian-Chinese boss? Or better still, why not attend an interview and tell your interviewer you refuse to speak English with her because she is Chinese and you would prefer to converse in Mandarin to all Chinese. See if you can still get that job?!
Wake up and smelll the shit people! It's the new millennium we're living in. You wanna speak Mandarin everyday, everywhere you go? Here's a thought: As Maureen nicely puts it - "Go back to China!"
- jessism © 28122007 -
倒數108
108天前，小狗失去了這日子以來最重要的一部份。傷心極了，小狗無論做任何事來都提不起勁。失眠的夜晚也漸漸的增加了。
（＂這裡的空氣很新鮮。。。＂）
這些日子以來，小狗不斷的提醒自己一定要堅強的走下去，別要再友人擔心。小狗每天都嘗試擺著一副笑臉和大家開心笑著的，但心裡卻默默的掛念著那些日子。在無法入睡的夜晚裡，小狗偷偷的打開那首歌，聽著聽著,眼淚又掉了。。。
（＂這裡的夜景很有感覺。。。＂）
小狗不斷的吹眠自己把過去忘了，嘗受失憶的感覺...＂如果能忘了真好！＂ 但內心深處，小狗卻好害怕忘掉一切的回憶。好矛盾喔！
（＂在一萬英呎的天邊。。。＂）
今晚吃晚飯時，提起了飯碗時，想起了你那時教小狗如何提碗和用筷子吃飯。。。心裡好酸。
（＂可是親愛的你怎麼不在我身邊。。。＂）
最近小狗的舊患又發作了。。。回想起以前，無論再困難的日子裡只要看到你的笑容都能熬過去，但現在都已成了回憶。。。唯獨耳邊輕輕響起的那首熟悉歌曲：＂我的親愛的你怎麼不在我身邊，一個人過一天像過一年。。。＂
雖然沒有翻唱者唱的好聽。。。但想了想第一次聽到這歌的感覺。。。好想再次聽到那熟悉的歌聲。。。好想再次擁有那熟悉的鈴聲。。。眼淚又很不爭氣的弄濕了臉。。。
（＂我很想為了你快樂一點，可是親愛的你怎麼。。。＂）
小狗又失眠了。。。在遠方的你會在乎嗎？再過３天，期限就到了，是時候該放下了。。。小狗會做得到嗎？ 可能會沒想像中的那麼簡單。。。
（＂不在身邊。。。＂）
- 失落的小狗 © 28122007 -
（＂這裡的空氣很新鮮。。。＂）
這些日子以來，小狗不斷的提醒自己一定要堅強的走下去，別要再友人擔心。小狗每天都嘗試擺著一副笑臉和大家開心笑著的，但心裡卻默默的掛念著那些日子。在無法入睡的夜晚裡，小狗偷偷的打開那首歌，聽著聽著,眼淚又掉了。。。
（＂這裡的夜景很有感覺。。。＂）
小狗不斷的吹眠自己把過去忘了，嘗受失憶的感覺...＂如果能忘了真好！＂ 但內心深處，小狗卻好害怕忘掉一切的回憶。好矛盾喔！
（＂在一萬英呎的天邊。。。＂）
今晚吃晚飯時，提起了飯碗時，想起了你那時教小狗如何提碗和用筷子吃飯。。。心裡好酸。
（＂可是親愛的你怎麼不在我身邊。。。＂）
最近小狗的舊患又發作了。。。回想起以前，無論再困難的日子裡只要看到你的笑容都能熬過去，但現在都已成了回憶。。。唯獨耳邊輕輕響起的那首熟悉歌曲：＂我的親愛的你怎麼不在我身邊，一個人過一天像過一年。。。＂
雖然沒有翻唱者唱的好聽。。。但想了想第一次聽到這歌的感覺。。。好想再次聽到那熟悉的歌聲。。。好想再次擁有那熟悉的鈴聲。。。眼淚又很不爭氣的弄濕了臉。。。
（＂我很想為了你快樂一點，可是親愛的你怎麼。。。＂）
小狗又失眠了。。。在遠方的你會在乎嗎？再過３天，期限就到了，是時候該放下了。。。小狗會做得到嗎？ 可能會沒想像中的那麼簡單。。。
（＂不在身邊。。。＂）
- 失落的小狗 © 28122007 -
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Langkawi (IV): Still...Day 1
[Author's Note: After getting complains from everyone that my previous posting was too long, I'll try to cut to the chase and keep this one short.]
After a long afternoon at Bella Vista and failing to check in, the four of us drove to City Bayview to check ourselves in. Walking into the hotel, you can tell that the place is way much better than Bella Vista. Classier and the staff are much more polite and organized.
The first thing we did after checking in was rushing to check out our room, to see if Ms. Fan honor her words. As like she promised, our rooms had the sea view. The rooms are spacious and very very much comfortable. (Now you see why I have to honor my promise to Ms. Fan as well, for not exposing her internal dispute with Bella Vista to the general public.)
.jpg)
After washing up, the four of us - who are now almost dying of starvation - had a wholesome seafood dinner at a nearby shop before heading on to Eagle Bay for a long evening of "modelling" session.
Eagle Bay was crowded with tourists and couples who went there for sunset-smooches. As if it was having people everywhere is not hard enough for us to take those pictures, the sun was setting like there's no tomorrow. Before we knew it, we're engulfed by the darkness so bad our camera flashes weren't even able to help. still, that doesn't stop us fromcam whoring getting our pictures taken.
.jpg)
Our next task is to find a duty free shop for some serious shopping --> GET BOOZE!!!
24 and I were like kids in a candy store, running around looking for all the liquor we can think of. We went from one shop to another, checking out the prices and comparing which is cheaper. Worse, we even haggled with the sellers like two desperate aunties, literally begging them to lower the prices even more than they already have. Ang Ku Kuih and Irene stayed a distance from us and just wacthed on. (Yeah.. I would pretend I didn't know me as well if I were to be in their shoes.)
At the end of that shopping spree, between the four of us, we bought close to RM1000 bucks worth of liqour and chocolates!!
.jpg)
As we had an early dinner (Which was at about 5-something-pm), all of us were hungry by the time we're done with our late-night shopping spree. 24 and Ang Ku Kuih offered to go buy KFC, while Irene and I sort out the stuff we bought earlier. The four of us had JD-KFC for supper in the room, horse around, and before we knew it, it was already 2am!!
Don't worry, you're not going to read about every boring details on what we did during the trip. This is going to be the last posting on my Langkawi trip. All I can say is that despite the incident with the hotel, all of us had a great time!
To whoever that is going to Langkawi, just remember this:
1. Do NOT book your hotel through Air Asia!
2. Do NOT go to Underwater World Langkawi!!! It's as big a scam as our government wasting our precious tax dollars on a set of RM500 screwdriver! If you wanna see fishes, go to the morning wet market!
[Pictures from the trip can be seen at http://gambit3.multiply.com/photos/album/44.]
- jessism © 26122007 -
After a long afternoon at Bella Vista and failing to check in, the four of us drove to City Bayview to check ourselves in. Walking into the hotel, you can tell that the place is way much better than Bella Vista. Classier and the staff are much more polite and organized.
The first thing we did after checking in was rushing to check out our room, to see if Ms. Fan honor her words. As like she promised, our rooms had the sea view. The rooms are spacious and very very much comfortable. (Now you see why I have to honor my promise to Ms. Fan as well, for not exposing her internal dispute with Bella Vista to the general public.)
After washing up, the four of us - who are now almost dying of starvation - had a wholesome seafood dinner at a nearby shop before heading on to Eagle Bay for a long evening of "modelling" session.Eagle Bay was crowded with tourists and couples who went there for sunset-smooches. As if it was having people everywhere is not hard enough for us to take those pictures, the sun was setting like there's no tomorrow. Before we knew it, we're engulfed by the darkness so bad our camera flashes weren't even able to help. still, that doesn't stop us from
Our next task is to find a duty free shop for some serious shopping --> GET BOOZE!!!24 and I were like kids in a candy store, running around looking for all the liquor we can think of. We went from one shop to another, checking out the prices and comparing which is cheaper. Worse, we even haggled with the sellers like two desperate aunties, literally begging them to lower the prices even more than they already have. Ang Ku Kuih and Irene stayed a distance from us and just wacthed on. (Yeah.. I would pretend I didn't know me as well if I were to be in their shoes.)
At the end of that shopping spree, between the four of us, we bought close to RM1000 bucks worth of liqour and chocolates!!
As we had an early dinner (Which was at about 5-something-pm), all of us were hungry by the time we're done with our late-night shopping spree. 24 and Ang Ku Kuih offered to go buy KFC, while Irene and I sort out the stuff we bought earlier. The four of us had JD-KFC for supper in the room, horse around, and before we knew it, it was already 2am!!Don't worry, you're not going to read about every boring details on what we did during the trip. This is going to be the last posting on my Langkawi trip. All I can say is that despite the incident with the hotel, all of us had a great time!
To whoever that is going to Langkawi, just remember this:
1. Do NOT book your hotel through Air Asia!
2. Do NOT go to Underwater World Langkawi!!! It's as big a scam as our government wasting our precious tax dollars on a set of RM500 screwdriver! If you wanna see fishes, go to the morning wet market!
[Pictures from the trip can be seen at http://gambit3.multiply.com/photos/album/44.]
- jessism © 26122007 -
Monday, December 24, 2007
Langkawi (III): Hotel Woes
[Note: This posting was cut out from the previous post and reposted as an individual post due to complain from readers that the previous posting was too long to digest.]
So the girl at the reception called the "agent" and finally got hold of a Malay girl named Malar, who spoke poor English. 24 was told that we have been transferred to Hotel Helang, which is just right next to the airport. Great. So we drove all the way to Kuah town, only to find that our agent has transferred us to a hotel next to the airport without informing us! Malar couldn't give us an explanation on why the transfer was made. She was told us that we need to check in at Hotel Helang, which at that point, got 24 even more furious.
Our booking was made in early November when we planned the trip, and as our "agent", they are supposed to inform us should there be any changes in our hotel bookings. Especially when it is clearly stated that our package booking CANNOT BE CANCELLED, REFUNDED, CHANGED, EXCHANGED, how is it possible for our hotel to be changed without us knowing it?!
The commotion that the three of us were making at the counter caught the attention of the manager, who came to our help stating that he will be able to help us solve the problem, and was asked to sit and wait in the lobby's waiting area. At the time, Irene was already having a gastric attack. I ran out and bought her some biscuit, while we waited for an answer.
Half an hour later, the manager introduced us to a lady named Mashita, who claims to be the Front Desk Manager. She explained to us that our agent did in fact book the hotel with them but they later cancelled it. Again, we weren't given the reason to why our booking was cancelled. 24 was getting more and more agitated and demanded that Mashita call the agent once again and he wanted to speak to the manager of the agency.
A Ms. Fan talked to him, and 24 was told that the hotel that they have transferred us to is a 3-Star hotel which offers better facilities than the current one. But our main problem with the arrangement was: We wanted to stay close to town! Not somewhere next to the airport!
While 24 was talking with Ms. Fan on the phone, I talked to Mashita. I told her that I am a journalist and I wanted to know what is going on and I promise that I will not use her name should I decide to lodge a complaint. The minute I gave her my card, everything changed. Not for the better but for the worse. She became cocky and began to diss out dirt about our agency, and even said it many times, that it was ok for me to quote her and use her name. So here goes:
According to Mashita, that was not the first time it happened. The agency apparently had had other unsatisfied and raging customers coming to Bella Vista only to find out their booking had been cancelled and was already transferred to another hotel. Mashita also said that, they always try their best to help the walk-in customers find out from the agency where they had been transferred to and divert them there. The reason that those customers were not checked-in by Bella Vista is because the money had been wired directly to the hotel the customers had been transferred to, so (according to Mashita) as much as Bella Vista would like to help, they can't.
I began to get more inquisitive, and at that point Mashita suddenly divert her attention to 24, who is still arguing on the phone with the agency and said that we can't use the hotel phone line anymore and gave us the number of the agency and ask us to call them ourselves.
After we took the number from Mashita, I turn to her and asked, "If they (the agency) are not able to find us a place that is close to town, would it be possible to put us up here?"
The reply we got immediately pissed me and 24 off on the spot. Mashita rudely replied to us, "Can. IF you can pay us then I'll be glad to help." Excuse me?! But do we look like a bunch of people who cannot afford a night at a cheap 2-Star hotel like yours?! Her attitude totally killed it for us. I told 24 to get a hold of Ms. Fan from the agency and I wanted to speak to her directly. When 24 called, we were told that she was engaged on the other line and she will call us back as soon as possible. At that point of time, all of us were already stressed out, hungry and pissed. It was already past 4pm and all of us still haven't taken our lunch.
10 minutes later, Ms. Fan from the agency called 24 and told him that we have been changed to yet another hotel. This time, it's City Bayview. Now I'm really pissed. They've been kicking us from one place to another for the whole afternoon! I demanded to 24 that I wanted to speak to this girl on the phone.
The minute I got hold of the phone, I could've sworn that everyone at the hotel lobby stared at me. I screamed at this Ms. Fan. You can add in every four letter words you can think of. She kept saying that she is not dumping us to hotels but giving us an "upgrade" and that they are not doing anything wrong, as they have problem locating our contact. But everytime I tried to speak, she would cut me off. So When she finally stopped talking, I said politely into the phone. "Ms. Fan, I hope you know what you're saying. Please do know that you are talking to an editor from a travel magazine. Everything you say here might just be published in our upcoming issue. If you want my name card, I have already passed one to Mashita at the hotel reception. Now, again, Ms. Fan, why were we not informed that we have been dumped to another hotel?"
The reaction I got from her later, was a total opposite of what I got earlier. She became very very extremely polite. I was told that the transfer was due to an internal problem. Ms. Fan explained that when Air Asia submit our bookings to her agency, it did not come with our contact numbers - the system could only show her our name and our credit card number, so she couldn't possibly contact us.
When I told her that Mashita from Bella Vista told us that this was not the first time the agency is giving them problems like this and seek for an explanation, Ms. Fan told me that it wasn't true and that their bookings with the hotel was changed from December onwards due to that "internal problem" that they were having. So we waited for almost 3 hours just because the hotel had an "internal problem" with our booking agent?! Correct me if I'm wrong, but we didn't pay so much money to get caught in a dispute between a hotel and a booking agent!!! It's none of our freaking business!!
Before I hung up, I gave a warning to Ms. Fan: "This will not be the last you hear form me. When I get to that hotel, it better be as you said - an upgrade. And when I open my window I better be able to see the sea." And I hung up.
I am not sure if it was my language that freaked them out, or none of them have seen me pissed prior to this, 24 and Ang Ku Kuih were both staring at me when I hung up. 24 kept telling me o calm down, Ang Ku Kuih just sat there, puzzled… and Irene, acting as if nothing happened, asked me, "So, what's the plan?"
[NOTE 2: I managed to extract more information from Ms. Fan , including those about the dispute, but as I have promised her not to publish it, I will have to honor that. The information will be sent in a complain letter to Air Asia.]
[Pictures from the trip can be seen at http://gambit3.multiply.com/photos/album/44.]
- jessism © 23122007 -
So the girl at the reception called the "agent" and finally got hold of a Malay girl named Malar, who spoke poor English. 24 was told that we have been transferred to Hotel Helang, which is just right next to the airport. Great. So we drove all the way to Kuah town, only to find that our agent has transferred us to a hotel next to the airport without informing us! Malar couldn't give us an explanation on why the transfer was made. She was told us that we need to check in at Hotel Helang, which at that point, got 24 even more furious.
Our booking was made in early November when we planned the trip, and as our "agent", they are supposed to inform us should there be any changes in our hotel bookings. Especially when it is clearly stated that our package booking CANNOT BE CANCELLED, REFUNDED, CHANGED, EXCHANGED, how is it possible for our hotel to be changed without us knowing it?!
The commotion that the three of us were making at the counter caught the attention of the manager, who came to our help stating that he will be able to help us solve the problem, and was asked to sit and wait in the lobby's waiting area. At the time, Irene was already having a gastric attack. I ran out and bought her some biscuit, while we waited for an answer.
Half an hour later, the manager introduced us to a lady named Mashita, who claims to be the Front Desk Manager. She explained to us that our agent did in fact book the hotel with them but they later cancelled it. Again, we weren't given the reason to why our booking was cancelled. 24 was getting more and more agitated and demanded that Mashita call the agent once again and he wanted to speak to the manager of the agency.
A Ms. Fan talked to him, and 24 was told that the hotel that they have transferred us to is a 3-Star hotel which offers better facilities than the current one. But our main problem with the arrangement was: We wanted to stay close to town! Not somewhere next to the airport!
While 24 was talking with Ms. Fan on the phone, I talked to Mashita. I told her that I am a journalist and I wanted to know what is going on and I promise that I will not use her name should I decide to lodge a complaint. The minute I gave her my card, everything changed. Not for the better but for the worse. She became cocky and began to diss out dirt about our agency, and even said it many times, that it was ok for me to quote her and use her name. So here goes:
According to Mashita, that was not the first time it happened. The agency apparently had had other unsatisfied and raging customers coming to Bella Vista only to find out their booking had been cancelled and was already transferred to another hotel. Mashita also said that, they always try their best to help the walk-in customers find out from the agency where they had been transferred to and divert them there. The reason that those customers were not checked-in by Bella Vista is because the money had been wired directly to the hotel the customers had been transferred to, so (according to Mashita) as much as Bella Vista would like to help, they can't.
I began to get more inquisitive, and at that point Mashita suddenly divert her attention to 24, who is still arguing on the phone with the agency and said that we can't use the hotel phone line anymore and gave us the number of the agency and ask us to call them ourselves.
After we took the number from Mashita, I turn to her and asked, "If they (the agency) are not able to find us a place that is close to town, would it be possible to put us up here?"
The reply we got immediately pissed me and 24 off on the spot. Mashita rudely replied to us, "Can. IF you can pay us then I'll be glad to help." Excuse me?! But do we look like a bunch of people who cannot afford a night at a cheap 2-Star hotel like yours?! Her attitude totally killed it for us. I told 24 to get a hold of Ms. Fan from the agency and I wanted to speak to her directly. When 24 called, we were told that she was engaged on the other line and she will call us back as soon as possible. At that point of time, all of us were already stressed out, hungry and pissed. It was already past 4pm and all of us still haven't taken our lunch.
10 minutes later, Ms. Fan from the agency called 24 and told him that we have been changed to yet another hotel. This time, it's City Bayview. Now I'm really pissed. They've been kicking us from one place to another for the whole afternoon! I demanded to 24 that I wanted to speak to this girl on the phone.
The minute I got hold of the phone, I could've sworn that everyone at the hotel lobby stared at me. I screamed at this Ms. Fan. You can add in every four letter words you can think of. She kept saying that she is not dumping us to hotels but giving us an "upgrade" and that they are not doing anything wrong, as they have problem locating our contact. But everytime I tried to speak, she would cut me off. So When she finally stopped talking, I said politely into the phone. "Ms. Fan, I hope you know what you're saying. Please do know that you are talking to an editor from a travel magazine. Everything you say here might just be published in our upcoming issue. If you want my name card, I have already passed one to Mashita at the hotel reception. Now, again, Ms. Fan, why were we not informed that we have been dumped to another hotel?"
The reaction I got from her later, was a total opposite of what I got earlier. She became very very extremely polite. I was told that the transfer was due to an internal problem. Ms. Fan explained that when Air Asia submit our bookings to her agency, it did not come with our contact numbers - the system could only show her our name and our credit card number, so she couldn't possibly contact us.
When I told her that Mashita from Bella Vista told us that this was not the first time the agency is giving them problems like this and seek for an explanation, Ms. Fan told me that it wasn't true and that their bookings with the hotel was changed from December onwards due to that "internal problem" that they were having. So we waited for almost 3 hours just because the hotel had an "internal problem" with our booking agent?! Correct me if I'm wrong, but we didn't pay so much money to get caught in a dispute between a hotel and a booking agent!!! It's none of our freaking business!!
Before I hung up, I gave a warning to Ms. Fan: "This will not be the last you hear form me. When I get to that hotel, it better be as you said - an upgrade. And when I open my window I better be able to see the sea." And I hung up.
I am not sure if it was my language that freaked them out, or none of them have seen me pissed prior to this, 24 and Ang Ku Kuih were both staring at me when I hung up. 24 kept telling me o calm down, Ang Ku Kuih just sat there, puzzled… and Irene, acting as if nothing happened, asked me, "So, what's the plan?"
[NOTE 2: I managed to extract more information from Ms. Fan , including those about the dispute, but as I have promised her not to publish it, I will have to honor that. The information will be sent in a complain letter to Air Asia.]
[Pictures from the trip can be seen at http://gambit3.multiply.com/photos/album/44.]
- jessism © 23122007 -
Langkawi (II): Day 1
Like a bunch of crazy tourists, the 4 of us started snapping pictures when we boarded and alight from the plane. The minute we got into Langkawi International Airport, Ang Ku Kuih and Irene became the craziest local tourist I've ever seen. They acted as if they've just landed in Phuket, or some exotic country - rushing to the information counter to get brochures and map, snagged up postcards and paper fans... it was crazy.
Rented ourselves a car at the airport, and since 24 is the oldest in our group, he automatically became our designated driver. Navigating ourselves to the hotel, we got lost on the way and found ourselves at Pantai Kok... which is at the opposite end of where our hotel is. Being the crazy tourists that we are, we parked, got down from the car, splashes on our sunblock and went on to the beach, bracing the afternoon sun. (It was exactly 12 noon when we got there!)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
After snapping close to 100 pictures under the scorching hot sun, we decided that it's time to get ourselves checked into the hotel and head for lunch.
Bella Vista, the hotel 24 booked together with the air tickets through Air Asia, looked literally like Disneyland! As we drove in, all of us were amazed about how cool the place looked. Feeling all hot and sweaty after hitting the beach, all of us were dying to get into our rooms and hit the shower.
When we got there, the Bella Vista reception was a mess. There were only two staff on duty and there were loads of people there, waiting to be served. There wasn't any queue to be found. All of them were just standing there, waiting. Didn't know where to go to, I went forward to check with one of the hotel staff and I was politely told to wait my turn. BUt the question is: When is my turn? When I saw that those who showed up later than me was served, I was starting to get agitated.
24 and Ang Ku Kuih later shove their way to the front and 24 demanded to be checked in with the reason that we have been waiting for the past 20 minutes and those who came before us was already served. So the complied. Ang Ku Kuih gave her the print out and confirmation of our booking and we waited. She took out a list and crossed checked. The three of us saw it. 24's name was listed there and highlighted. We pointed it out to her. She looked at it and asked us to wait, while she went off to talk to the second girl at the counter. The two of them had a little discussion and the girl came back to us and said: "I'm sorry sir, but your booking has been cancelled."
"You have got to be joking, right?" said 24. That was exactly what came across my mind. We're on some candid camera thingy. The girl proceed to explain to us that our booking was cancelled and our agent -- the agent that Air Asia appointed to book us the hotel -- had cancelled our bookings and had transferred us to another hotel. To which? She did not know.
I was shocked. But 24 was furious. He started shouting at the girl, demanding for an explanation of how could this be happening and wanted her to find out why was our booking cancelled. The girl, I reckon, was shocked to find him screaming at her. She proceeds to tell us that she will call our agent and find out where they transferred us to. As she dialled for the agent, I took the booking prinout from her and read through the thing. On the first sheet of paper, it clearly states there that we have booked a place in Bella Vista, together with our flight number printed on it. Then the second piece of paper was a letter saying that is to RECONFIRM our booking with the hotel. So with all these, how can our bookings be cancelled?!
[Pictures from the trip can be seen at http://gambit3.multiply.com/photos/album/44.]
- jessism © 23122007 -
Rented ourselves a car at the airport, and since 24 is the oldest in our group, he automatically became our designated driver. Navigating ourselves to the hotel, we got lost on the way and found ourselves at Pantai Kok... which is at the opposite end of where our hotel is. Being the crazy tourists that we are, we parked, got down from the car, splashes on our sunblock and went on to the beach, bracing the afternoon sun. (It was exactly 12 noon when we got there!)After snapping close to 100 pictures under the scorching hot sun, we decided that it's time to get ourselves checked into the hotel and head for lunch.Bella Vista, the hotel 24 booked together with the air tickets through Air Asia, looked literally like Disneyland! As we drove in, all of us were amazed about how cool the place looked. Feeling all hot and sweaty after hitting the beach, all of us were dying to get into our rooms and hit the shower.
When we got there, the Bella Vista reception was a mess. There were only two staff on duty and there were loads of people there, waiting to be served. There wasn't any queue to be found. All of them were just standing there, waiting. Didn't know where to go to, I went forward to check with one of the hotel staff and I was politely told to wait my turn. BUt the question is: When is my turn? When I saw that those who showed up later than me was served, I was starting to get agitated.
24 and Ang Ku Kuih later shove their way to the front and 24 demanded to be checked in with the reason that we have been waiting for the past 20 minutes and those who came before us was already served. So the complied. Ang Ku Kuih gave her the print out and confirmation of our booking and we waited. She took out a list and crossed checked. The three of us saw it. 24's name was listed there and highlighted. We pointed it out to her. She looked at it and asked us to wait, while she went off to talk to the second girl at the counter. The two of them had a little discussion and the girl came back to us and said: "I'm sorry sir, but your booking has been cancelled."
"You have got to be joking, right?" said 24. That was exactly what came across my mind. We're on some candid camera thingy. The girl proceed to explain to us that our booking was cancelled and our agent -- the agent that Air Asia appointed to book us the hotel -- had cancelled our bookings and had transferred us to another hotel. To which? She did not know.
I was shocked. But 24 was furious. He started shouting at the girl, demanding for an explanation of how could this be happening and wanted her to find out why was our booking cancelled. The girl, I reckon, was shocked to find him screaming at her. She proceeds to tell us that she will call our agent and find out where they transferred us to. As she dialled for the agent, I took the booking prinout from her and read through the thing. On the first sheet of paper, it clearly states there that we have booked a place in Bella Vista, together with our flight number printed on it. Then the second piece of paper was a letter saying that is to RECONFIRM our booking with the hotel. So with all these, how can our bookings be cancelled?!
[Pictures from the trip can be seen at http://gambit3.multiply.com/photos/album/44.]
- jessism © 23122007 -
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Langkawi (I): The Trip
My memory of Langkawi was a tomb of a girl who died ages ago, a beach that looks very dirty, a place where you can pick up burnt rice, and cheap liquor. Very very cheap liquor.
The first time I went to Langkawi was when back when I was about 13 years old. It was one of those family trip which we took. I remembered that I got sea sick when I got back in the evening. My world spun, I feel like throwing up the whole night. Bad bad bad experience. So when I was invited to join the cast of "Cinta Luar Biasa" for their shooting in Langkawi, I was really sceptical. But to my surprise, the boat ride from Kuala Kedah wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Since the main purpose of the trip is to cover the event, I didn't get to see much of anything anywhere.
Going back to Langkawi again for a visit after so long, got me all excited... The night before departure, Irene and I even had a 3-hour long webcam session to show each other how much nonsense we've packed for the trip and questioned each other about what more nonsense that we can stuff into our bags. Talk about misusing modern technology.
The next day, Irene and I got to KL Sentral the earliest. While waiting for 24 and Ang Ku Kuih to arrive, we concluded that they must've overslept. Although 24 denied it, the both of us are still sticking to that conclusion of ours.
Taking the Airbus to LCCT, 24 and Irene are busy chatting themselves away while Ang Ku Kuih and I tried our best to catch some Zs. In other words: Not much. Reaching LCCT, the first sign of a long began. The minute we got off the Airbus, 24 headed straight to the nearest ditch in an attempt to puke. (Probably due to the lack of sleep, as he was rushing to get his work done prior to the trip.) Then during check in, another incident happened. I have taken Air Asia flights long enough to know that we don't really need to have a booking number to check ourselves in. All they needed is an ID. On that particular day, the guy at the check-in counter could not find Irene and my name in his computer and actually asked for our booking number and print out!!! Since 24 was the one who did the booking for us, I told him that I don't have it. Luckily, Ang Ku Kuih printed out a copy for us! With that, we got our boarding passes and we're ready for some breakfast.
Seeing that we still have 45 minutes before the time printed on boarding passes, we went to McD for a quick breakfast. Taking our own sweet time and all. Time flies. Before we knew it, we only have 5 minutes left before the stated time. As we make our way to the departure hall, and busy chatting away, we heard a familiar name came over the speakers: "..and Ms. Irene Ooi. Please proceed to Gate 14 as soon as possible." They’re announcing our names!! The first thing that acme to mind was: OH SHIT!!! The plane is about to leave without us!!! Our face went pale as we ran like hell towards the departure gate. Everyone had already boarded the plane and was just waiting for us. From the corner of my eyes, I swear I saw that the other passengers were starring angrily at us for causing a delay to the flight.
We sighed of relieve. We've made it onto the plane, yay~! But little did we know that this is just the beginning of a very rough day.
[Pictures from the trip can be seen at http://gambit3.multiply.com/photos/album/44.]
- jessism © 18122007 -
The first time I went to Langkawi was when back when I was about 13 years old. It was one of those family trip which we took. I remembered that I got sea sick when I got back in the evening. My world spun, I feel like throwing up the whole night. Bad bad bad experience. So when I was invited to join the cast of "Cinta Luar Biasa" for their shooting in Langkawi, I was really sceptical. But to my surprise, the boat ride from Kuala Kedah wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Since the main purpose of the trip is to cover the event, I didn't get to see much of anything anywhere.
Going back to Langkawi again for a visit after so long, got me all excited... The night before departure, Irene and I even had a 3-hour long webcam session to show each other how much nonsense we've packed for the trip and questioned each other about what more nonsense that we can stuff into our bags. Talk about misusing modern technology.
The next day, Irene and I got to KL Sentral the earliest. While waiting for 24 and Ang Ku Kuih to arrive, we concluded that they must've overslept. Although 24 denied it, the both of us are still sticking to that conclusion of ours.
Taking the Airbus to LCCT, 24 and Irene are busy chatting themselves away while Ang Ku Kuih and I tried our best to catch some Zs. In other words: Not much. Reaching LCCT, the first sign of a long began. The minute we got off the Airbus, 24 headed straight to the nearest ditch in an attempt to puke. (Probably due to the lack of sleep, as he was rushing to get his work done prior to the trip.) Then during check in, another incident happened. I have taken Air Asia flights long enough to know that we don't really need to have a booking number to check ourselves in. All they needed is an ID. On that particular day, the guy at the check-in counter could not find Irene and my name in his computer and actually asked for our booking number and print out!!! Since 24 was the one who did the booking for us, I told him that I don't have it. Luckily, Ang Ku Kuih printed out a copy for us! With that, we got our boarding passes and we're ready for some breakfast.
Seeing that we still have 45 minutes before the time printed on boarding passes, we went to McD for a quick breakfast. Taking our own sweet time and all. Time flies. Before we knew it, we only have 5 minutes left before the stated time. As we make our way to the departure hall, and busy chatting away, we heard a familiar name came over the speakers: "..and Ms. Irene Ooi. Please proceed to Gate 14 as soon as possible." They’re announcing our names!! The first thing that acme to mind was: OH SHIT!!! The plane is about to leave without us!!! Our face went pale as we ran like hell towards the departure gate. Everyone had already boarded the plane and was just waiting for us. From the corner of my eyes, I swear I saw that the other passengers were starring angrily at us for causing a delay to the flight.
We sighed of relieve. We've made it onto the plane, yay~! But little did we know that this is just the beginning of a very rough day.
[Pictures from the trip can be seen at http://gambit3.multiply.com/photos/album/44.]
- jessism © 18122007 -
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
The Cut (2)
It took me so long to finally raise up enough courage to let someone cut my hair short again after so many years, and this is what I get.
I was more sad than pissed. My long hair is now gone and there is nothing I can do to get it back. And it's gonna take me more than a year to get back the length I wanted. But that's not what bothers me the most. What bothers me most is the fact that I have to put up with this messed up hairdo. I knew that I have to do something about it. As I have to work at the World AIDS Day Carnival again the next day, I text Irene to see if she had an extra cap that I could borrow to cover up the mess. When she asked, I told her what happened.
Later that evening, Irene came by. I showed her what happened and she told me not to worry, as there are still ways of saving it, and promised me to take me to another salon to get it fixed.
After our shift was over at the carnival, we went to a salon in Section 17. I told the guy who attended to me that someone screwed up my hair and asked if there is anything he could do to fix it. Checking through the cut I got the day before, the guy told me that he could fix it BUT he's gonna have to cut my hair shorter than it already is and asked if I am ok with it. Although I said yes, my heart sank. I would now need more time to get my hair back.
The guy was really nice, and did I mention cute?? Hahaha...
Before he started working on my hair, he tried his best to comfort me. Assuring me that he knows what he was doing. Me being all down low and mean, I kinda snapped back at him and said: "I heard the same lines yesterday and looked what happened?" He gave me a smile and asked me to trust him. He was all nice and sweet, confidant and comforting at the same time throughout the whole process. No, I did not fell in love with him just like that, but I have to admit that at that point, I really wished that if only my next boyfriend was someone like him. Haha...
At the end of the day, although I hated the fact that I am now going to be stuck with having short hair for the next two years, I was grateful that he managed to save my hair from looking all messed up. At the checkout counter, I saw his name written on the receipt. So here goes: Shawn, if you're reading this, thank you very much! I'm sorry I snapped at you. And if you so happen to be gay, single and available... call me? Hahahaha....
- jessism © 04122007 -
I was more sad than pissed. My long hair is now gone and there is nothing I can do to get it back. And it's gonna take me more than a year to get back the length I wanted. But that's not what bothers me the most. What bothers me most is the fact that I have to put up with this messed up hairdo. I knew that I have to do something about it. As I have to work at the World AIDS Day Carnival again the next day, I text Irene to see if she had an extra cap that I could borrow to cover up the mess. When she asked, I told her what happened.
Later that evening, Irene came by. I showed her what happened and she told me not to worry, as there are still ways of saving it, and promised me to take me to another salon to get it fixed.
After our shift was over at the carnival, we went to a salon in Section 17. I told the guy who attended to me that someone screwed up my hair and asked if there is anything he could do to fix it. Checking through the cut I got the day before, the guy told me that he could fix it BUT he's gonna have to cut my hair shorter than it already is and asked if I am ok with it. Although I said yes, my heart sank. I would now need more time to get my hair back.
The guy was really nice, and did I mention cute?? Hahaha...
Before he started working on my hair, he tried his best to comfort me. Assuring me that he knows what he was doing. Me being all down low and mean, I kinda snapped back at him and said: "I heard the same lines yesterday and looked what happened?" He gave me a smile and asked me to trust him. He was all nice and sweet, confidant and comforting at the same time throughout the whole process. No, I did not fell in love with him just like that, but I have to admit that at that point, I really wished that if only my next boyfriend was someone like him. Haha...
At the end of the day, although I hated the fact that I am now going to be stuck with having short hair for the next two years, I was grateful that he managed to save my hair from looking all messed up. At the checkout counter, I saw his name written on the receipt. So here goes: Shawn, if you're reading this, thank you very much! I'm sorry I snapped at you. And if you so happen to be gay, single and available... call me? Hahahaha....
- jessism © 04122007 -
Monday, December 10, 2007
The Cut (1)
I have never liked getting my hair cut. I guess it's one of those thing that was in me ever since I was a kid. For me, a trip to the barber was harder than a trip to the dentist, which is why, I never like going to places I have never been to to get a haircut. You'll never know if the person can deliver what you wanted, or give you something dodgy. In my case, it was both.
No thanks to the ever increasingly hot weather, I forced myself to get a haircut on Saturday. As 24 was busy with work, he hasn't the time to bring me to his stylist, so I was forced to go to one around my apartment.
Taking more than enough deep breaths to calm myself down, I finally rose up enough courage to walk into a salon. I told the guy who attended to me that I wanted to have my hair cut to shoulder length. And so it began.
As he cuts, i could sense that something was not right. The amount of hair on the floor doesn't exactly match what I asked for. So I thought to myself, maybe my hair at the back was longer than I thought it to be. Then came the lady boss, walking over to give her two cents worth. She told me that I should cut my hair shorter, cos long hair = more shedding. As I was really shedding like a cat lately, and thinking that she knows what she's saying, I told her to go for it. So she took over and started cutting.
Looking into the mirror, I can see that my hair was getting shorter and shorter. Half way through, she told me that she wanted to change how I part my hair and started to work on it. The guy who did my hair earlier can already tell that I was unhappy. The lady boss started telling me that it's ok to feel weird with short hair after having long hair for so long, assuring me that all will be fine. But something inside tells me that something was wrong somewhere.
Before I knew it, the cut was over. I didn't like what I saw in the mirror. The job was badly done and you can tell that the sides are uneven. When I pointed it out to her, she told me that it was because of the rebonding I did previously and there is nothing she could do about it. After cutting away half the length of my hair, she's now telling me that there's nothing she could do?! She proceeds to take out the hairdryer and started to blow and style my hair and utter that magic phrase: "See, it doesn't look all that bad."
I wanted to burn down her shop at that point.
The minute I got home, I went straight into the washroom, was out all the styling-agent she gave me and checked her work in front of the mirror. The sides are really uneven, the back was uneven, my hair was in a mess that I can not imagine. The worse part was: she had the back cut so short, there is no way another person can fix it unless my hair grows back overnight.
- jessim © 03122007 -
No thanks to the ever increasingly hot weather, I forced myself to get a haircut on Saturday. As 24 was busy with work, he hasn't the time to bring me to his stylist, so I was forced to go to one around my apartment.
Taking more than enough deep breaths to calm myself down, I finally rose up enough courage to walk into a salon. I told the guy who attended to me that I wanted to have my hair cut to shoulder length. And so it began.
As he cuts, i could sense that something was not right. The amount of hair on the floor doesn't exactly match what I asked for. So I thought to myself, maybe my hair at the back was longer than I thought it to be. Then came the lady boss, walking over to give her two cents worth. She told me that I should cut my hair shorter, cos long hair = more shedding. As I was really shedding like a cat lately, and thinking that she knows what she's saying, I told her to go for it. So she took over and started cutting.
Looking into the mirror, I can see that my hair was getting shorter and shorter. Half way through, she told me that she wanted to change how I part my hair and started to work on it. The guy who did my hair earlier can already tell that I was unhappy. The lady boss started telling me that it's ok to feel weird with short hair after having long hair for so long, assuring me that all will be fine. But something inside tells me that something was wrong somewhere.
Before I knew it, the cut was over. I didn't like what I saw in the mirror. The job was badly done and you can tell that the sides are uneven. When I pointed it out to her, she told me that it was because of the rebonding I did previously and there is nothing she could do about it. After cutting away half the length of my hair, she's now telling me that there's nothing she could do?! She proceeds to take out the hairdryer and started to blow and style my hair and utter that magic phrase: "See, it doesn't look all that bad."
I wanted to burn down her shop at that point.
The minute I got home, I went straight into the washroom, was out all the styling-agent she gave me and checked her work in front of the mirror. The sides are really uneven, the back was uneven, my hair was in a mess that I can not imagine. The worse part was: she had the back cut so short, there is no way another person can fix it unless my hair grows back overnight.
- jessim © 03122007 -
Friday, December 07, 2007
The One With The 8-Hour Concert
Yes, you read it right. No, I'm not making this up. Irene and I went to an 8-hour standing concert.
.jpg)
The decision to go to the concert came about the night before the concert. Myels called and asked if I wanted two passes to Live & Loud's "Chinese All Star Concert", which features a long list of top Chinese performaers. Hearing His name in the list, I knew I have to be there! So I called Irene up and we decided that we would sit through a few of the performances and just go home after seeing who we wanted to see perform.
Irene and I got there around 3.30pm and there was already a crowd waiting at the entrance.Pushing Shoving Making our way further to the front, we waited for almost an hour before the gates opened! At the time, Irene and I were already sweaty and ready to go after seeing the first performance.
Arriving at the venue, we saw that the concert ground was actually a huge field with a giant stage. No chair. Just a field. But that wasn't the worse. Knowing that we would have to wait under the hot sun and all, both of us decided that we should get ourselves something that is a must for a weather like this: ice-cream! When we reached the stalls, we were disappointed. NO ice-cream. We got too early and there is literally NOTHING on sale yet. Crap!
Anyway, we got into the field, chose a shaded spot, and sat down. Second row from the stage. (The first time having the opportunity to sit so close to a concert stage after the Energy concert!!) As we waited, the sun began to set and the light slowly came our way. It was inevitable that the both of us will be baked soon. With our wishful thinking, we prayed hard that the sun wouldn't notice us and would just give us a pass. Well, guess what? The sun saw us and proceeds to bake us alive for the next 90 minutes.
.jpg)
The concert started around 5.30pm. The first singer was a girl from China. Though we don't remember her name, she gave us something to remember her by: her voice. Irene and I were really impressed by her voice... that is, until she sang her last song. As the music started playing, we could hear that her minus one CD was skipping, we even joked that she should change the CD. Then it happened, half way through the song, the CD skipped again and guess what? Unlucky for her, we discovered that she was actually lip synching all the while!!! Our rating for her went straight down the drain.
We proceed to sit through the next few performances until we got pissed of being blocked by the person in front of us, which was about the time that some local Chinese male artist appeared to hype up the crowd around 7 something. Both Irene and I kept asking each other who the heck the performers on stage were and we would just repeat the name that the announcer gave to each other. Even the person in front of us, who heard us, started to laugh at us.
On the big screen, we can see that the crowd continues to build up and suddenly I saw him. On the big screen, there he was with someone else. Though I kinda expected him to be there, I never expected to see him there, especially with that person. I was disappointed. But what can I say?
Both of us were getting hungrier by the minute. I told Irene that we should leave after He performs and she agreed. Finally, at 8pm, He appeared on stage. You have no idea how hard I screamed! Haha... Irene turned to me and said: "Finally! Someone I know! Now I can tell the person beside me who this is!"
While Irene is busy introducing Kenny Kwan to the girl beside her, jess ignored them and proceeds to record his lover's performance down in video!
Can't believe he's still as cute and gorgeous as I last saw him a few months back. Ahhhhhh.... -*melts*-
After his performance, as the crowd screams their call for "encore", I told Irene that I've died, went to heaven and back. Now that someone we don't know is performing, we can leave. But both of us knew that after five hours of waiting and getting baked alive, it would be stupid to leave now. Since it is stated on the ticket that the show would end at 11pm, which is just two and a half away, we decided to stick around until the end of the show. As we got closer to the end, the more reluctant we feel to leave. Soon, Michael Wong appeared on stage, then his ex-partner Victor, then Fish Leong, Zhang Zhen Yue and then she appeared: Zhang Hui Mei!
Squeezing our way to the front row, Irene and I were literally screaming our lungs out. She's hot, sexy and on-my-god those legs!!! Woof!!! Drop dead gorgeous! (Don't get the wrong idea people, I'm still as gay as ever!) The crowd began to jump and dance along. The whole field suddenly became a pool filled with screaming and dancing fans. The crowd response was so great that the sound of screaming fans was so loud that at times, you can't even hear what A*Mei was singing. A*Mei even mentioned it on stage afew times, that the crowd was actually singing louder than her.
When she left the stage, the crowd was still standing their groud screaming for an encore. No one left. Everyone just stood there shouting until the announcer finally announced that the concert is over and everyone should leave. It was slightly past 12am.
Although the both of us starved through the evening, we decided that it was well worth starving ourselves for. One would never expect that two people with the patience that last as long as the speed of lightning would be able to endure an 81/2-hour long gig! Kudos to ourselves! We broke a new record! Hahaha...
- jessism © 071222007 -
The decision to go to the concert came about the night before the concert. Myels called and asked if I wanted two passes to Live & Loud's "Chinese All Star Concert", which features a long list of top Chinese performaers. Hearing His name in the list, I knew I have to be there! So I called Irene up and we decided that we would sit through a few of the performances and just go home after seeing who we wanted to see perform.
Irene and I got there around 3.30pm and there was already a crowd waiting at the entrance.
Arriving at the venue, we saw that the concert ground was actually a huge field with a giant stage. No chair. Just a field. But that wasn't the worse. Knowing that we would have to wait under the hot sun and all, both of us decided that we should get ourselves something that is a must for a weather like this: ice-cream! When we reached the stalls, we were disappointed. NO ice-cream. We got too early and there is literally NOTHING on sale yet. Crap!
Anyway, we got into the field, chose a shaded spot, and sat down. Second row from the stage. (The first time having the opportunity to sit so close to a concert stage after the Energy concert!!) As we waited, the sun began to set and the light slowly came our way. It was inevitable that the both of us will be baked soon. With our wishful thinking, we prayed hard that the sun wouldn't notice us and would just give us a pass. Well, guess what? The sun saw us and proceeds to bake us alive for the next 90 minutes.
The concert started around 5.30pm. The first singer was a girl from China. Though we don't remember her name, she gave us something to remember her by: her voice. Irene and I were really impressed by her voice... that is, until she sang her last song. As the music started playing, we could hear that her minus one CD was skipping, we even joked that she should change the CD. Then it happened, half way through the song, the CD skipped again and guess what? Unlucky for her, we discovered that she was actually lip synching all the while!!! Our rating for her went straight down the drain.
We proceed to sit through the next few performances until we got pissed of being blocked by the person in front of us, which was about the time that some local Chinese male artist appeared to hype up the crowd around 7 something. Both Irene and I kept asking each other who the heck the performers on stage were and we would just repeat the name that the announcer gave to each other. Even the person in front of us, who heard us, started to laugh at us.
On the big screen, we can see that the crowd continues to build up and suddenly I saw him. On the big screen, there he was with someone else. Though I kinda expected him to be there, I never expected to see him there, especially with that person. I was disappointed. But what can I say?
Both of us were getting hungrier by the minute. I told Irene that we should leave after He performs and she agreed. Finally, at 8pm, He appeared on stage. You have no idea how hard I screamed! Haha... Irene turned to me and said: "Finally! Someone I know! Now I can tell the person beside me who this is!"
While Irene is busy introducing Kenny Kwan to the girl beside her, jess ignored them and proceeds to record his lover's performance down in video!
Can't believe he's still as cute and gorgeous as I last saw him a few months back. Ahhhhhh.... -*melts*-After his performance, as the crowd screams their call for "encore", I told Irene that I've died, went to heaven and back. Now that someone we don't know is performing, we can leave. But both of us knew that after five hours of waiting and getting baked alive, it would be stupid to leave now. Since it is stated on the ticket that the show would end at 11pm, which is just two and a half away, we decided to stick around until the end of the show. As we got closer to the end, the more reluctant we feel to leave. Soon, Michael Wong appeared on stage, then his ex-partner Victor, then Fish Leong, Zhang Zhen Yue and then she appeared: Zhang Hui Mei!
Squeezing our way to the front row, Irene and I were literally screaming our lungs out. She's hot, sexy and on-my-god those legs!!! Woof!!! Drop dead gorgeous! (Don't get the wrong idea people, I'm still as gay as ever!) The crowd began to jump and dance along. The whole field suddenly became a pool filled with screaming and dancing fans. The crowd response was so great that the sound of screaming fans was so loud that at times, you can't even hear what A*Mei was singing. A*Mei even mentioned it on stage afew times, that the crowd was actually singing louder than her.When she left the stage, the crowd was still standing their groud screaming for an encore. No one left. Everyone just stood there shouting until the announcer finally announced that the concert is over and everyone should leave. It was slightly past 12am.
Although the both of us starved through the evening, we decided that it was well worth starving ourselves for. One would never expect that two people with the patience that last as long as the speed of lightning would be able to endure an 81/2-hour long gig! Kudos to ourselves! We broke a new record! Hahaha...
- jessism © 071222007 -
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
