Wednesday, May 7, 2008

The Sequel (KPP : 1986 # 3)

I'm not supposed to continue with this sequel now...I've just finished marking 5 Dissertations, and 58 pieces of my students' assignments (all within the last 3 days) and I have 24 more pieces of assignments and 82 pieces of exam scripts to mark for the rest of the week (and mind you each exam script contains 3 essays/answers! AAAArrrrrggggghhhh!!!) But, if I didn't take a break now and continue with this Cerita Chenta - I'm going to explode...and poor Ayah would have to pick all the bits and pieces of me nanti.... Eeeeewwwwww...GROSSSSSS!!!

So to avoid that - here's The Sequel :) Hehehehe!

So, everything was hunky dory for us - Ayah was promoted to Ivy League and I was in the Oxbridge Programme and we were surrounded by our fantastic friends. Life was more fun as skodenging was made easier, as our hostels were very near to each other in Subang Jaya. Our classes were held at Sri KL School which was about 10 minutes walk from our hostels, and the best thing was - we girls would have to pass by the guys' block on the way to class, and oh yes - our warung lepak was right in front of Ayah's room, too! (Our warung lepak was the Pawagam P.Ramlee in SJ - not sure if it's still there, though?) So, actually both Ayah and I had a field day skodenging each other in Subang Jaya! Hehehe!

And it might be hard for some of you to believe (and I'm sorry to disappoint some of you all), but the truth be told - the 5/6 months we were in Subang Jaya, Ayah and I NEVER went out together just the two of us on a proper date! Sorry, guys!!!

I remember the first time we went out together, there were TEN of us - myself and Ab*d (from Group 2), and Ayah, Ibu, Ju*a, Sh*dy, B*gg, Az*in and Aza*in (from Group 13), and J* (from Group 12) - we went out for lunch at Subang Jaya's Shakey's Pizza. And it was and had ALWAYS been like that. There would always be a friend or two (or EIGHT!) chaperoning us, and we didn't mind a bit. In fact, it was Ayah or me who would ajak our friends to join us. Strange, huh? But, somehow, we just felt right NOT to go out just the two of us then...

One of the things that I remember most about KPP Subang Jaya was of course the eve of Valentine's Day that year...Ohhhh...how can I forget that night? We girls just came back from our night class, had our teh tarik at Pawagam P.Ramlee, and had gone back to our own rooms, and I was getting ready for bed, when my dorm-mate came to me and said, "Ada orang nak jumpa downstairs". I looked at my watch and it was already 11:40p.m! "Hmmmm...who could it be?" - I wasn't expecting any visitors at that hour!

What to do? I had to change to a more decent clothes as I couldn't be going downstairs in my pyjamas, could I? So, off I went down, and just as I reached the Ground Floor, I saw Ayah. There he was - with a BIG red envelope and a single red rose in his hand!!! Caaaaiiiiirrrrrr, I tell you! I didn't want to appear too anxious, and I kept my cool. And we started chit-chatting (all those time he was holding on to the envelope and rose, and I was glancing nervously at those items in his hand!!! Hahaha! Tak malu betul...)

And at the stroke of midnight, and right on cue, Ayah wished me, "Happy Valentine's Day..." and handed me the big red envelope and the single red rose, and said, "I hope you'll like these..."

"LIKE???!!" I LOVED THEM! I just did not know how to react, and I think my face was all red then! Palpitations...palpitations!!!

And right at THAT moment, Encik Tal*a, our warden walked by and said, "BALIK BILIK!!! Dah pukul dua belas ni!!!" CHIIISSSSSS!!!! Perosak agenda betul... So, no after mid-night rendezvous for us that night. I thanked Ayah, and went back up to my room and he went back to his room. And I remember having a difficult time sleeping that night....Rasa panas seluruh badan woooo...HAHAHAHAHA!!

Another thing that I remember about Subang Jaya was our "Song Composition Club" which we would have on Tuesday nights. I remember our Club teacher, (who was also our Grammar teacher) Mr. Ana*da Ti*aka who would bring his guitar kapok, and there were about 8 or 9 of the club members at every meeting. And surprise, surprise....(not!) BOTH Ayah and I were members of that club! And the funny thing was - the members were either from Group 2 (three of us - myself, Ab*d and Wa*i) and Group 13 (Ayah, Ibu, Ju*a, B*gg, Sh*dy, Az*in and Aza*in! And also another MT friend, J* (from Group 12). So, basically that club was formed exclusively for us! Hahahaha!

I mean...I could understand why Ayah was in it laaa - he plays a few musical instruments, and he was (and is) into composing songs, and he's also quite a good singer But, moi???!!! Gosh, I was and AM the most tone-deaf person who ever walked on the face of the earth, and the berudu-berudu dewasa during their spawning/mating season pun sound so much better than me when I (TRY to) sing! Tapi, sebab nak curi peluang to spend every little time possible with Ayah, I sanggup masuk Club tu and made a fool of myself...(GOSHHHH!!! Cringe...cringe!)

There were also a few occasions when Ab*d and I were walking to class from our hostel and we would bump into Ayah, also walking to Sri KL (kekadang tu memang saja go to class time-time I knew Ayah would be leaving for his class...Heheheh!) and being the gentleman that he was (and is :)) he would teman and walk us from the Pawagam P.Ramlee junction right up to our classroom before going up to the second floor to Group 13. Sigh... :)

I remember being very happy at Subang Jaya. The time spent there was arguably one of the best times of my life. I was hopelessly falling in love...What more could I ask for?

But come March that year, it looked like everything was about to change...

Yup - the day our SPM results came out.

I remember most of us STFians took the night train from KL to JB the night before. We reached JB in the morning and went straight to school. And after meeting our teachers and juniors in school we went to the school office to collect our result slips - our hearts jumping and thumping...

And THAT morning turned out to be one of the worst days of my life...

My results was not as I (or my teachers) expected. It did not reflect the string of A's that I always got throughout my Form 4 and 5. And I just couldn't explain it...What went wrong?! On hindsight, I should bersyukur as it was NOT a bad results at all - but, it was just not good enough for the Oxbridge Programme...I JUST missed out on the single digit aggregate...And I was so, so devastated...

And it didn't help when the next morning it was all over the newspapers that Ayah was one of Malaysia's best students for SPM that year...

I was VERY happy for him, of course...but, at the same time, very, very broken with my own results...

And for the next couple of days after I went back to KL, I didn't call Ayah...and all those while, he was frantically trying to get in touch with me...And I - I just could not bring myself to face him.

And from that moment on, I was resigned to the fact that come September that year, Ayah would be flying off to the U.S of A under the Ivy League Programme, and I would be staying on in Malaysia for 2 years under the A Levels Programme...

"It just wasn't meant to be", I kept on telling myself...

To be continued...

42 comments:

MrsNordin said...

Panjang lagi cerita you ni Shana! But that's a very nice way to remember your love story. Very sweet... :)

Lepas habis mark semua papers tu, sambung balik, ok? I'm sure your kids are anxious to know as well!

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

kak shana,

first of all, its ok to delay all the sequels as your work should take priority. No doubt the story has been engaging but trust me, we can all wait. Don’t worry kak shana.

So anyway, I remember I used to hang out with the older guys under the kpp program in one of the dorms in ss15, subang jaya. Not that I was a Kpp student but since ss15 was like a playground to the subang jaya dudes, its only natural to mix around with those swarm of ‘outsiders’.

The pawagam p ramlee btw, has long gone. Errm, close to 2 decades If I’m not wrong. You’ll be surprised how ss15 has changed since you last went there. I don’t think you can recognize it at all. The buildings where the dorms were located are still there but I think it has now turned into what it was initially supposed to be; shops.

Formerly known as Superwomanwannabe! said...

I think you should buku kan lah!! I can imagine how angau you were during A LEvels...shok kan first love??

But kan Shana...sure frust tonggeng minah dan mamat yang lain...!! Hi HI!

kudo said...

macam japanese drama.

can't wait!

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry Kak Shana!! You sounded so busy with work.....sorry for the added pressure to continue with your love story. Hope tak salah mark papers your students!!Hehehehe!!

#3 is a bit sad for me, especially at the end.....but of course we know the ending, happily ever after. I bet when you got your results, your world seemed to be crumbling. There was so much to think about. Dealing with the results, missing out on Oxbridge, not being with Ayah, etc. That is a lot of stress!!!

Big sigh!!! I wonder what happened next??? Hint, hint!!

Murni

Unknown said...

wushhh wushhh....awatnya pi stop tang suspence tu....adeshhh!!
so what happened? did he go to u s and a? where were u? wush wush wush....palpitations nih tunggu sambungan! hehehe

so sweet nya that episod kad merah bersama setangkai rose!!

panasss satu badan hehehehe.

next time I give a rose to dear wife, kena ambil suhu badan. jika tak panas, takde kesan la ek....

cepat sambung ye puan....

ps: apa the young dr haizal tulis dalam kad dalam sampul merah tu? *grins with anticipation to know*

idham

Unknown said...

hahhaha...masa zaman KPP tu...bila nampak mamat yang kita suka tu..satu hari dok senyummmm aje...kalau tak nampak pun nampak bumbung hostel pun jadi le....hehehe

Unknown said...

And you are not alone.I too nak explode marking assignments.

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

Amboi...dah sequel # 3 of KPP still no alone-alone dating ke?

Salute both of you for your forbearance.

mr engineer said...

I think the only people in that "Song Composition Club" who were musically inclined were only Haizal and W*fi. The rest couldn't even carry a decent tune! OKlah...maybe Ibu...

Helena said...

alamak.... sedeynya....

you ni pandai berceritala.... cant wait for the next sequel....

wanshana said...

MrsNordin,

Memang panjang bebeno cerita we all ni. Ater....cerita 10 tahun 4 bulan 15 hari punya pasal... Hehehe!

I will definitely come up with the sequel once I finish marking, insya Allah.

And yes - every time the kids see me in the study room, they would ask, "Is that the new posting on your love story?" Hahaha!

wanshana said...

Kerp,

No worries. I badly needed the break anyway. And posting this entry was the best de-stresser thingy for me :)

Ayah and I went back to the old place about 10-15 years back, and yes - it has changed alright. I think the Pawagam building was still there then, but a bit rundown. And our hostels were already converted to offices. Sedih la jugak...

But, everytime we all lalu Sri KL and Shakey's Pizza tu - nostalgia lah jugak... Hehehe!

wanshana said...

Superwomanwannabe,

Memang syiok...Hehehe!

But, I tak angau masa A Levels because... Jeng!Jeng!Jeng!

About other Minah and Mamat tonggeng tu, tak tau lah pulak we all. I only had eyes on him, and he - me...(I hoped!)

wanshana said...

Mahariz,

Hait!!! :)

Btw, Haizal tengah giler play the song Mira-ei (?) on the piano from Final Fantasy now - day in day out!

Sekali sekala okay la, gang... tapi kalau dah selalu sangat, adoi... dalam tido pun the song keeps playing in my head!)

wanshana said...

Murni,

No worries - that was a good break for me actually :)

Yes, it was a pretty sad and depressing period for me masa tu. Tak tertanggung rasanya! :(

Janji - habis mark all the papers, I'll post the sequel :)

wanshana said...

Pak Payne,

Wuusssshhh...wuuusssshhh! Hahaha!

Kena stop tang tu, sebab kalau dak - tak tidoq malam la chek...

Yes, that was one of the sweetest moment for me - that VD eve.

"...next time nak kena ambil suhu badan..." HAHAHAHAHA! Biar betul! Nanti Kak Lil panggil ambulance kang!

What was inside the card? Well, all I remember was that it had the most beautiful poem in it...And sorry to disappoint - there was no "I Love You" in it...Hehehe!

I guessed those three little words were sacred to us and we used it sparingly back then, and we were waiting for the right moment... :)

wanshana said...

Suria,

Betul tu! Nampak bumbung hostel pun jadi laaa...Hahaha!

No joke, kan - marking assignments and exam scripts ni? Just to share with you, I was so worked up the other day, reading a student's assignmnet. I could not make out heads or tails of what was written, and I had to read it 5-6 times just to find anything at all that made sense, just to help her.

Out of exasperation, I wrote on the cover of her assignment, "ARE YOU ON DRUGS????!!!", and I gave her 29/100. Itu pun markah kesian... Sigh...

Good luck with your markings! :)

wanshana said...

Madam Tai Tai,

Frankly speaking, we were quite amazed with ourselves, too!

"POWER" punya willpower...Hehehe!

wanshana said...

Mr. Engineer,

I think you're right there...and of course - Ju*a :)

Yang lain-lain tu saja buang masa, and got prawns behind rocks one...

wanshana said...

Helena,

I memang Tukang (Meng)Karut pun...Hehehe!

"SEDEH" was a gross understatement of my state of mind then... :(

Unknown said...

"Are you on drug"!!...hahahah that a good one.Me and roomates laugh so loud .

We have so many on drugs here that we need to make a rubber stamp with the word "are you on drug" on it!!

ms hart said...

Wanshana, can't afford not to leave some prints - too much memories you are reminding me here!! No, no...not memories of cherita chenta...me no chenta-chenta...he he he...Just that, your hostel became our hostel the very next year - IIU matric centre!! Aiyo..that Pawagam P Ramlee...that Shakey's Pizza...and there was the sort of 'town centre' nearby where 7-E was!! Eeee...nostalgia!! The way you wrote about meeting him downstairs, at the corridor..eee...I can still imagine those love-birds during our time there...macam tu lah diorang berjumpa-jumpaan!!! And, being in KPP (SA) before that (psst..menghabiskan duit gomen, pas tu rasa nak belajar kat local U pulak...I was the last student to leave KPP then!!), Mr Ananda Tilaka was my teacher too laahhh!!

Ok, ok, before I get too carried away with all the nostalgia, I'd better go. Thanks for sharing, Wanshana!!

Kmar said...

Shana,

Romantik habis especially bab bunga ros tu!!!... I bet mesti malam tu terasa macam dalam mimpi... :))

Btw, berapa kali you cium that bunga ros? .. ha.ha.ha..

Sambung cerita... jangan tak sambung... !!

wanshana said...

Suria,

Serious...The sort of answers some of the students gave tu kan, macam either they were high on drugs during my lectures and tutorials or they were hallucinating during their exams or while doing their assignments! Penat lah otak ni...

Hmmmm....suatu idea yang bagus - buat rubber-stamp "ARE YOU ON DRUGS???!!!" Hahaha!

wanshana said...

ms hart,

Thank you for visiting and reminiscing with me, and a few other former KPPians here :) Waaahhhh!!! Ramai sungguh yang ada nostalgic moments during KPP years, ya?

Oh yes, how could I forget that 7-Eleven? Memang tempat persinggahan wajib after class tu! And there were also some Warung TomYam near there - tempat we all bersahur kalau tak tahan makan nasik kawah kat hostel.

And Mr. Tilaka!! He was such a nice and soft-spoken teacher, kan? (and pssssttt... I was his pet student then. Heheheh!)

Thanks again, ms hart. Do come again :)

wanshana said...

Kmar,

Itu lah dia, Saudara HHK yang 'lomantik'... Banyak lagi sebenarnya benda-benda 'lomantik' which he did in later years. Depending on when I'm ending these sequels, I might cerita-ceriti "benda-benda tak larat" which he did over the years...Hehehe!

The rose? I think lunyai kot the next morning coz' bawak tido sekali... Hahahaha! No lah, I think I buat pressed flower, kot? Dah tak ingat dah.

IBU said...

Shana/Mr Engineer,

Got Song Composition Club meh??!!! How come I cannot remember. Everything oso cannot remember! I masuk sbb atas paksaan kawan2 who needed the talian hayat kot eh? B*gg & Azr*n tu perasan pandai nyanyi. HAHAHAHA......

But that pawagam P.Ramlee can still remember, selalu picnic with J*r*'s mom ...syiok ohhh tumpang makan. And that 7 Eleven ... the roti with raisins!!!

Shana, I tgk bumbung hostel mmg nampak bumbung jer... pathetic! Hahaha...

wanshana said...

Ibu,

What la you?!!! Everything oso memory card sudah jammed!! But, how come itu roti raisins you boleh ingat aarrr?!!

Eh, Azr*n terrer nyanyi apa?! Siap buat falsetto Bee Gees lagi dengan Ayah, boleh?! Hahahaha!

Anyway, Sunday at Ab*d's, insya Allah kita korek lagi cerita lama, wokey? :)

Peringatan : Sediakan tisu - untuk ketawa sampai keluar air mata...

Anonymous said...

Yes, Mommy...KPP life was one of the sweetest and most memorable moments in our lives. What I learned then had nothing to do with what was structured and laid out by the KPP authorities for us...but more about the 'birds and the bees'! ;p (I think we would have scored highly had there been an exam on this!)

I remember that VD eve. I was a bunch of nerves that night. At that point, I was so determined to see her and pass her the card and rose. I knew then that if she were to accept them then it was going to take our friendship to another level. Honestly, I didn't know what her response would be. It was a risk, yes...but I was willing to take it...

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would pop out of my chest and roll on the floor! My hands and knees shook so violently I thought there was a major earthquake! I had cold sweats. My visions blurred. I almost turned back. But I'm glad I didn't...

And that night...I didn't sleep well too. I was thinking about that brief moment...and I was wondering if she was feeling what I was feeling...

That night it certainly felt hot...very very hot!

Hahahahaha... :D

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Doc,

I can imagine your situation back then. It was a risk worth taken, nothing-to-lose everything-to-gain, make-or-break kind of situation.

Eh, when you said you almost turned back, the latest digi ad comes to mind…that poor boy freaked out and ran a thousand mile leaving the gift behind when the girl walked out the door to greet him. but as fate would have it, your courage stood out or things could have possibly turned out differently.

And hey guys, sorry to disappoint you all but the Shakey’s that has been pretty much in this cerita chenta is history now, taken over by, guess what,…..domino’s…

D.N.A.S said...

I pun tak dapat single digit for SPM. Frust menonggeng sampai seminggu.

I think guys of this cyber era should learn from Mr Ayah. Girls will be girls and Vcard accompanied with roses will surely make us cair punya.... It's simple, but a lot of courage is needed. hehehe

wanshana said...

Kerp,

Really?! Alahai...sedehnyer...

We sempat bawak our daughters there sekali ajer. Hilman was not yet born masa tu. Baru nak berangan going down memory lane kat Subang Jaya with all of them soon... :(

wanshana said...

D.N.A.S,

SPM was such a big deal, kan? Macam our whole life depended on it! In a way, I guess it did (does...)

Not getting a single digit aggregate (especially if sipi-sipi aje) memang macam tak boleh ampunkan diri sendiri! Anyway, we turned out okay, what? ;)

I think being a romantic is something which we could not learn or teach...It's either you are one, or not at all.

As for Ayah, he was born a hopeless romantic... Hehehe!

Anonymous said...

Wanshana,

I remember in one of your postings/comments on how Ayah's Mom used to chased him around the house for not getting 100% for his test/exam. I guess, due to this kind of upbringing by parents, he has managed to be one of the best students for the 1986's SPM. And again, maybe, perhaps, he was brought up surrounded by his Mom's and late dad's love and affection to the extent that the condusive environmenthad somehow or rather shaped him to be a romantic guy that he is. If these are the case, my hearties congratulations for his Mom and his late dad.

Grandmama.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

kak shana,

i have loads and loads of memory too as subang jaya is concerned but the thought of going back there and go through the traffic congestion, going down memory lane suddenly seems like not a good idea.

IBU said...

Haizal !

HAHAHAHAHAHAH ...

Kalu your heart roll out la that time, naya..... belum "certified" lagi to handle "jantung hati". hehehe...

wanshana said...

Dear Grandmama,

Thank you for hopping by :)

Wow! You still remember that comment? I think Ayah posted it - as a reminder and advice to our daughter Hanna. Wow (again!)!That was quite some time ago!

My MIL is indeed a very strict disciplinarian, but at the same time a very loving mother and mother-in-law, and grandmother. Semua her anak-anak, syukur alhamdulilah "menjadi".

I had the privilege of knowing my Arwah father-in-law who passed away 2 years after Ayah and I got married. And yes - he was a very loving husband and father. And yes, my parents-in-law were one of the most loving couples I've ever known... and I guess, that's one of the reasons why Ayah is what and who he is :)

And I hope and pray that Ayah and I would be able to provide the same conducive environment for our kids, insya Allah.

Take care, Grandmama. Do visit again :)

wanshana said...

Kerp,

I guess you're right... No point going down such a dusty and congested memory lane, huh?

What's important is that everything is still fresh in my heart and in my mind. Unlike the Subang Jaya we once knew, THAT will not change, insya Allah.

Have a great weekend, Kerp!

wanshana said...

Ibu,

By the end of that year - Haizal dah fully certified and fully qualified in handling my heart... ;) Dapat 1st Class lagi...Hehehe!

Anonymous said...

Mommayy,

I don't understand la all these Ivy League Oxford Programme segala league programme ni o.o

What's the difference? And apa AAD? sigh* i feel so blur :s

Ish ish ish apa skodeng-skodeng ni?!

Life was more fun as skodenging was made easier, as our hostels were very near to each other in Subang Jaya. Our classes were held at Sri KL School which was about 10 minutes walk from our hostels, and the best thing was - we girls would have to pass by the guys' block on the way to class, and oh yes - our warung lepak was right in front of Ayah's room, too!

Interesting...
Hahaha best laaa

Much love,
hannasuhailabintihaizal

wanshana said...

Hanna,

Hahahahaha!

Now, you don't go and get any "smart" ideas from Cerita Chenta Mommy and Ayah, okay? Boys and girls were very different back then, and we were VERY responsible.

We know we can trust you, insya Allah. It's the boys out there that we're worried about.

Don't go out looking for love. Love will knock on your door, if it's meant to be...Just remember that.

And I pray and hope that you will share your love story with me, every step of the way, just like I'm sharing my love story with you now, okay?

Okay, all these "league" thingy, for your benefit and for those who are not familiar with KPP Programmes -

Oxbridge :

A Programme whereby, right after SPM, BEFORE results were out, the students would go for a 6 months English Course, and thereafter would go to do their A Levels in the UK - in Public Schools (which are actually PRIVATE boarding schools) or independent colleges.

And after A Levels, they were expected to qualify to further their studies at Oxford or Cambridge Uni, or other top British universities.

(I think it was called the BTU Programme after that - British Top Universities)

Ivy League :

Same as Oxbridge, just that they are expected to qualify and further their studies at Top AMERICAN Universities - Yale, Harvard, Princeton, MIT, etc.

AAD and A Levels :

There were two groups for both Programmes - one which would get their offers before SPM results were out, and another group which would get offers after their SPM results were out.

Everbody would have to go through their 6 months English Course first.

Those under the AAD Programme would have to do their first two years of college in Malaysia, before flying off to the US to continue with their studies there.

Those under the A Level Programme would have to do their A Levels in Malaysia before flying off to the UK to continue their studies there.

Clear?!

But, unfortunately, I think they don't have the AAD and A Level Programmes anymore.

So, you have no choice but to get 22 As for your SPM and be chosen for the Ivy League or Oxbridge Programme...

:)