Thursday, May 1, 2008

The Sequel (KPP : 1986 # 1)

Pressure...pressure - to come up with this sequel. Hehehe!

Okay, adek-adek, kakak-kakak and abang-abang - duduk elok-elok, and I'll continue with this Hindustani epic. By the way, after campur tolak kali bahagi again, I think there'll be more than 4 sequels actually. Ya laaahh....a lot happened in that 10 years 4 months and 15 days before Ayah and I finally got married, you know...

Anyway, moving along. And brace yourselves (again!). This may be a looonnnngggg posting, depending on whether I'm up to it or not. But, whatever it is, just in case, it is strongly advised that those who want to make their coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, etc., or those who feel that they might need to go to the loo - do whatever you need to do NOW! Hahaha!

Nothing much happened after that Wak Jonggo episode, and Ayah and I continued writing to each other throughout Form 4 and 5 (and if you have read this, you would also know that Ayah would number ALL his letters to me chronologically - so romantic....and melancholic!). We continued writing, giving each other tips and encouragement for the looming SPM.

We were both shortlisted to go for the interviews carried out by JPA and Petronas for post-SPM scholarships, but, I remember telling myself not to put too high a hope to get any offers.

SPM came and went, and I went back to Taiping without having any definite plans on what I wanted or needed to do while waiting for the results. I remember NOT getting any letters from Ayah during those time, and so, I started reading all his old letters (Angau ker aper?!)

And one day, towards the end of December 1985 - a letter came for me. A letter from Petronas -

"Tahniah - dipilih untuk menerima biasiswa dari Petronas - melanjutkan pelajaran di United Kingdom - Bidang Undang-Undang - Program Oxbridge - sila lapor diri pada sekian-sekian tarikh - di KPP Seksyen 17 Shah Alam".

YESSSS!!! Syukur Alhamdulillah...

The day finally came, and I remember how chaotic the hall was during the KPP registration, and I was looking high and low for my STF friends, and was overjoyed to see Ibu, J* and Ab*d there, among others. And of course, I was also looking out for Ayah. What with his outstanding exam results throughout Form 4 and 5, he would have surely gotten the offer. But, there was a slight problem - I wasn't sure how he looked like!

Yup! All throughout 1984-85, he only gave me one measly picture of him - looking so skinny, posing maut depan a plaque in front of his school. And I had a feeling that if Ayah was looking out for me (Cheee...confident giler pulak that he would do that. Hehehe!) he would also have problems recognizing me! Reasons being -

The picture that I gave him was of a very skinny me, in a pinafore, short straight hair, with my John Lennon glasses and VERY sun-burnt. It was taken when I was in Form 4 after 4 grueling months of training under the hot sun, 8-10 hours a day EVERY DAY for the national level Merdeka Day celebration. Our school band collaborated with our rival SIGS to perform as the main showcase for Merdeka Day in KL that year, and I was involved in it.

NOPE - I was not a bandgirl. I was, what they called - a PomPom Girl...(GELAKLAH PUAS-PUAS, you all...)

Anyway, the ME who registered that day, was way fairer, uncomfortably wearing a baju kurung, with a different pair of glasses. And because of some insane moments a week before when I agreed to follow my brother's suggestion to perm my hair, my hair was permed. PERMED you all!!! Don't pray, pray! Anyway, my friends who saw me that day sakit perut gelakkan I...Never in their wildest dreams and imagination that they thought they would see me with permed hair! I was a bit of a tomboy in school, you see...So, there was quite a high probability that should Ayah be looking out for me that day, he wouldn't have recognized me.

And I didn't see Ayah that day. Frust la jugak... Hehehe!

The next day, we were all seated in the hall and were grouped according to the Programmes we were in - Oxbridge, Ivy League, A Levels and AAD. I was trying to curi-curi pandang at the other Oxbridge and Ivy League groups if I could catch a glimpse of someone looking like Ayah, but to no avail. I was saying to myself, if macam I yang ciput ni boleh masuk Oxbridge, I'm sure Ayah's place in either programme was guaranteed!

And suddenly, I THOUGHT I saw him (but, not sure because in my mind was the skinny mamat yang posing maut depan plaque tu! And that guy was not that skinny, and quite fair) seated within the AAD group. I said to myself - Hmmmm...it couldn't have been him, and I looked away.

The next day, we sat for our placement TOEFL exam, and I was still curi-curi pandang looking for Ayah. And again, I THOUGHT I saw him in the AAD group! And I still felt that he would either be in the Ivy League or Oxbridge Programme.

Our placement TOEFL results came out within a few days, and I was placed in Oxbridge Group 2, together with Ab*d. Nasib baik ader geng... Bebudak Oxbridge yang lain cakap berabuk you, especially those in Group 1 (Ngeri...). And when they were calling out the names of the students for the other groups, I heard Ayah's name being called. I immediately looked up, and as he was standing up and walking towards his new group, I thought he looked towards where I was sitting! He must have known where I was sitting all those while, and probably HOPING that I would look at him when his name was being called - which I did! He was placed in Group 13 (i.e Group 2 for the AAD Programme) - in the same class as Ibu!!!

And THAT was the FIRST time that I saw Ayah in the flesh... and I liked what I saw - so different from that skinny mamat posing maut in front of the plaque pic...

When lunchtime came, Ab*d and I walked towards the dining hall to join the rest of the gang. There were seven of us who ALWAYS walked, ate, solat together during our KPP time - myself, Ab*d, Ibu, J*, J*ra, Gy**e and Sh*tot. The rest of the gang were already waiting for us in the dining hall, and as we were walking towards them, I saw Ibu holding a piece of neatly folded paper, and she was grinning at me.

And she said, "Shana....I have a message for you...(chuckle, chuckle, giggle, giggle...) Hehehehe!"

Me : Message?! (Cheeewaahhh... buat-buat terkejut la pulak!)

Ibu : Yup - from Haizal...

And neatly written on the folded message was my name, and the number "1".

And THAT was the first of the hundreds of messages Ayah wrote to me while we were in KPP...



...To be continued...

50 comments:

IBU said...

Dear Pom Pom Girl,

Sila betulkan pengiraan anda.

SPM tawoon bila? Therefore the scholarship offer must have reached you at the end of Dec 1985, i.e. before results were announced.

Kalau Dec 1986 ... errr.... re-sit exam ker aper?

wanshana said...

Dear Ibu @ Ketua Pos Cawangan KPP Shah Alam circa 1986...

Hahahaha! Tershashul. You're right - December 1985, before results were announced. Dah betulkan dah pun!

Thanks! :)

Formerly known as Superwomanwannabe! said...

Shana

Alamak how bedebar debar! Same place at the same time, but dont know how the other look like!! Suspense betol!!! Dia betul takda pandang orang lain ek??

Formerly known as Superwomanwannabe! said...

will check this post tomorrow as well!

Anonymous said...

salam kak shana ...

pom pom girl?!

wei ... why you omit that from the story you told me la?!! kalau kak ina tau sure gelak sakan minah tu! *wink*

hehehe ... am trying to imagine you as a pom pom girl ni ... hmmm ... now i know where hasya get her great gymnastics moves!

* jangan mareee ye ... *

Anonymous said...

Kak Shaaaanaaaaaa,

Uhm....you really have a knack keeping us in suspenselah!!! How cruel.....where can stop where you just stopped.....not fair to make us wait sooooo loooong!

Hehehehehe! I know I'm impatient!
I'll wait.....for the mystery to unfold!!

Murni

aiz said...

saya tengah tersenguh bodoh right now!!!!! cepat cepat!!!! lepas tu..... CEPATTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!

wanshana said...

Superwomanwannabe,

Hehehe! Kalau YOU berdebar-debar, just imagine how I felt masa tu - tak senang duduk, you!

It was strange la jugak bila fikirkan balik coz selama we corresponded 84-85, both of us only gave ONE measly picture of ourselves to the other, and both pics were not flattering at all, I tell you!

I think I remember telling myself when I chose that pic of mine to send to him, "I'll just send him this toye pic of mine and see whether he's the type who goes for looks or not..."

(Chewaaahhhh...awal-awal dah main psycho dah...Hahahaha!)

wanshana said...

Salam Motley,

It isn't something about me which I would tell everybody, my friend. In fact it is something I'm trying hard to forget! Hahahaha!

But, I have to say that it was a very interesting experience being a PomPom girl ;)

I can just imagine Ina tergolek-golek gelakkan I....

wanshana said...

Murni,

I know. I'm a sadist. Hahaha!

If I didn't stop there, tak tido satu malam lah I nanti! Panjang tau cerita KPP ni. I had to kerat-kerat it accordingly.

Sorry...Hehehe!

wanshana said...

Aiz,

Hahahaha! Sorry to have left the story there.

Errr...you kena tunggu sekurang-kurangnya 2-3 hari lagi kot. Kerja menimbun la dek, oiii... Sanggup tak? :)

Mior Azhar said...

Shana,
Nampak gayanya I dah tertinggal keretapi banyak hari dah.... work is simply crazy.
Anyway, reading your entry was just the right thing to do... it took the tired mind away from work for a a while. Delightful ... but this is not going to be Hikayat 1001 satu malam right? Kang asyik tertunggu2 jer

aiz said...

cepat lah..... saya tgh larut nihhhhhhh!!!!!!!

afsi said...

Dear 'Saudari' WS & 'Saudara' H

The longer the stories goes, the more exciting it gets. However, reading your masterpiece saga, cant stop reflecting back on those days.

I can never reach the level of 'drama' that you guys went through. Was really a shy boy back then.

You guys ni kira amongst budak budak pandai la.. yg dpt offer before result. Moi? dpt pergi lepas result jer, kurang bijak katakan.... dah lah pulak tu, class dlm area asrama perempuan dkt KPP tu...:)

Nasib baik tak ada episod naik sampan kat Tasik Shah Alam.... or am I wrong?

Cheers

afsi said...

Dear WS & H

lupalak nak tanya....

H dulu kat Sekolah Melayu main ragbi tak?

wanshana said...

Mior,

No problem...Kalau tertinggal keretapi, can still catch up lagi ni. Belum jauh ketinggalan. Ni baru Part 4 of Cerita Chenta...Ada lagi lebih kurang 6-7 Bab lagi ni!!! Hehehe!

Ala-ala Hikayat 1001 Malam sikit-sikit la ni, tapi, ada definite happy ending, insya Allah. So, don't worry!

Glad that the postings were able to de-stress you somewhat.

Take it easy with work.

wanshana said...

Aiz,

Hahaha! Okaylah I'll try to come up with something soon.

In the mean time, go get yourself 2 big boxes of Krispy Kreme :)!

wanshana said...

Afsi,

I pun heran how I could remember most of the details in Cerita Chenta Ayah and I ni. I guess everything about the relationship was bit by bit becoming significant to me then.

Budak pandai?!! Hmmm...Saudara HHK, memang budak pandai. Me - ada musykil sket. Hehehe!

Naik sampan kat Tasik Shah Alam?!! Mintak maap! Tolong sket!

(But, errrr....Tasik Subang Jaya ada kot?! Hahahaha!! Ni pun nak kena verify - tak ingat pulak kesahihannya)

Kelas dalam area girls' hostel? Was this in Kelana Jaya (A Levels Programme)?

And yes - Saudara HHK played rugby masa kat Sekolah Melayu KK, but only U-15. After that, health circumstances prevented him from playing in the senior team.

afsi said...

Dear WS

It was in Shah Alam Sek 18, A Levels punya class was in the girls apartment area.

Rugby U15, then I'm sure I've played against him before...:) During MSSPk & KRM U-15 10 aside in Padang Kelab?

jabishah said...

Wansyana.. oops Kak Wansyana,
I was way in std 5 when you sat for your SPM ;-)

Keep them posting. Best je senyum sorang2 ni. HB is away, syok lah skt berangan kesah2 dolu.

ps- I was once a pom pom girl too. Worse, not to a schoolband but the cheerleaders. At least, when ppl were bored with the band they took a peep at you. Ni nak challenge dgn cheerleaders pakai short skirts terlompat-lompat buat formation... langsung lah x nmpk we all yg pakai turquoise school shorts tu!

Take care!

Anonymous said...

BWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAH MOMMY POMPOM GIRL! :D
HAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHA !

okay I'm done :)
Soooo, how was it like being a cheerleader? Best? I can imagine Ayah being in the crowd during one of your performances and mata dia terbeliak like this : O.O

Waiting for the upcoming sequels!

Much love,
hannasuhailabintihaizal

wanshana said...

afsi,

A Levels Section 18? Then you must know my friend Y*s then?!

I will let Ayah respond to your Rugby days queries. I would not have any idea at all about that :)

wanshana said...

Jabishah,

I say, you've made me feel old la pulak...Hahaha!

Training for the National Merdeka celebration was no joke. There were hundreds of us (bandgirls and PomPom girls from both schools) having to memorize and synchronize steps for different kinds of formation, following the different songs played by the band, etc.

Nasib baik la tak ada part yang melompat-lompat or buat splits ker aper! By the end of it, all of us were so sunburnt...

Which school did you go to? I think during those time tak banyak schools which had cheerleaders, etc. Were you schooling in CBN? BBGS? Sri Aman?

wanshana said...

HANNA,

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

again, its amazing that from a mere letter of mistaken identity content to come as far as this (which eventually went all the way). your love story is so romantic it can be re-wrtten into a novel. God i just love happy ending. every sequal tu kasi panjang2 la lagi kak shana...

*do you still keep the gambar of that 'mamat yang posing maut'? asking you to scan it down would be a little too much, as he may never forgive you for that. but i'd say...scan it down!!!!! hehehehe...

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

one more thing, why should we laugh about you being a cheerleader? during my time, they were hunk-magnet, and i could only admire them from afar. such a loser i was.

wanshana said...

Kerp,

Sequel nak kasi panjang-panjang?

Hmmmm...masalahnya - sebab hikayat ini sememangnya terlalu panjang, and banyak babak-babak yang mencemaskan (Chewah!) I have to make sure I end each sequel with a cliff-hanging moment every time!

So, sesiapa yang ada sakit jantung or darah tinggi, dinasihatkan supaya makan segala ubat-ubatan yang perlu sebelum membaca hikayat ini...Hehehe!

As for the "mamat posing maut" pic, unfortunately I don't know where it is now. It must be in one of the boxes in the storeroom at my parents.

But, maybe Ayah had A FEW copies of that pic? (Ye laaaaahhhh...posing maut lah katakan - mesti he ordered kurang-kurangnya 7 copies! Hahaha!). Anyway, if ada, WAJIB I scan!

As for me being a PomPom girl - it was just THAT : a PomPom girl, which is not really in the same league as a cheerleader.

If cheerleaders are "hunk-magnets", PomPom girls (at least the kind I was) are scrap-metal magnets aje...Hahaha!

Take care, Kerp :)

Anonymous said...

Afsi... I did play in the MSSPk U-15 against KE and ST*R. I think masa tu kat padang Anderson (I may be wrong here). I have a feeling that u were probably in the year above (Jasni's batch). Anyway, my friends of the same year from ur alma mater are Shuk, Alimin, Azizul Khamis and Nazir, to name a few.

Hanna... Jangan main2. Mommy ni multi-talented tau... Can u imagine her doing a somersault and landing with a split and then shouting.."Give me an 'S'...Give me a 'T'...Give me an 'F'...Yeaahhh!"??? Hahahaha.. :D

Kerp... that photo? U gotta be kidding! Even I would not recognise myself in it! Or rather...refuse to recognise myself!!! ;p

I think the next chapter is arguably the most interesting in the relationship...the era of messaging. Nope..not via sms (mana ada handphone lagi zaman purba kala tu!) but by old fashion, handwritten ones...Hehehe :)

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

kak shana,

aiyooo...i dont have sakit jantung nor darah tinggi, but neither i have the patience!

doc,

it would be interesting to get to see your picture without any facial hair...kahkah...

hey, nice to hear from you!

Anonymous said...

Hahahaha....Kerp! Picture without any facial hair? Which planet lah u think I come from? U think I also shaved my eyebrows ka? Hahahaha... :D

Anonymous said...

Hanna... Jangan main2. Mommy ni multi-talented tau... Can u imagine her doing a somersault and landing with a split and then shouting.."Give me an 'S'...Give me a 'T'...Give me an 'F'...Yeaahhh!"??? Hahahaha.. :D



HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA!

wanshana said...

Kerp,

Cuba-cubalah bersabar, ya...Hehehe!

By the way, with or without facial hair, Ayah is still a hunk (to me lah, kan... :)) except, of course, if he shaves off his eye brows la kot?!

(Eeewwwww....Nyaaaaaa?!)

Ayah said...

rahim razalidah tipon ke? katanya dia tengah cari good script for his next movie.. hehe..

ayah : AAD 86 ye? IU la kan?

wanshana said...

My dear Ayah (Saudara HHK) & Hanna,

Amboi...Gelak sakan ya si Ayah dengan anak nombor 1 ni, ya?! You all think Mommy cannot do all the somersaults and splits kaaa???

You all think Hasya is so flexible and agile because she got it from Ayah ke?!!

Aiyoooo....Sorry la, gang. Tidak lain tidak bukan - her elastic blood comes from me laaa...

I can 'pretzel' myself, you know...

wanshana said...

Ayah @ 11:03 a.m :)

I say...Rahim Razali belum phone lagi laaa!

Yusof Haslam indicated that he was interested, but I said "No" - takut nanti jadi cerita ala-ala Gerak Khas, and abis tu Ayah punya character jadi seorang Pegawai Polis yang SANGKA diri teramatlah macho dan hensem...

Oh tidaaaakkkk!!!

wanshana said...

And Ayah @ 11:03 a.m,

Masa tu was for the Intensive English Course ajer - belum 'streamed' into the specific U Programmes yet.

Actually, technically - he was not in the IU or any of the other AAD Programmes.

And why was that?

Hmmmmm....Tunggu jawapannya di dalam sequel yang akan datang... ;)

Keanorlinsya said...

aumty shanaaaa!!
u got me hooked!
dah lah im a hopeless romantic.
and i sooooo dont need these kind of love story skarang nih. pressure! hahahahahahahahahaha...

u wait till i graduate, gonna venture into producing and produce a play or a book or a movie of ur love story. hihihi cita-cita tinggi.

btw, im in my semester break. just received my exam result. alhamdulillah, i manage to pass all subjects wit gpa pointer 3.8.
cheeeh, nk bangga sedikit.

salam to ayah and ur family!!!
your, kea (who just started blogging again)

wanshana said...

KEA!!!!

So good to see you here again!!! And great to know that you've started blogging again. It has been a while, dear. Have missed you ;)

And congratulations on that excellent gpa 3.8! Aunty tumpang bangga and happy for you :) Keep it up, okay? Better still - aim for 4 flat next sem.

So, this semester break, you're letting loose totally after a grueling semester at uni, eh? Have fun.

I've got you hooked? Hahaha! It's just one of those hard-to-believe-it's-real love stories. No MSG added :)

Don't turn that dial - another sequel coming soon!

Take care!

Keanorlinsya said...

itulaaah, a let down!
i was aiming for 4 flat sbb it was possible. so close! ishk!
and the irony of it, i got a B for computer class. paadahal hari2 menghadap computer. hihihihi
tak kow tim dgn lecturer, she caught me chatting in class..among all of them lah.

Unknown said...

wan shana...:-)

hepp hepp hoooray!!! say the cheerleaders, and the pom pom girls wiggle this and wiggle that, as that cheer their team on...

enter frame : and there was wan shana!! aarghh, the image was blur....fade away...and camera focus on that handsome young man combing his hair in a dormitary in sekolah melayu KK....Enter frame Mr HHK...hehehe

waduhhhh hebat sekali cerita ini!!

seterusnya....
sambung please.

wanshana said...

Kea,

It's okay...Not too late to make up for lost grades now, right? ;)

All the best, and aunty do'akan Kea excel in your studies and in whatever you do. Amin. Insya Allah.

wanshana said...

Pak Payne!

HAHAHAHAHA! Kelakar!

Nak kena cari actor and actress to play the main characters ni... Have to carry out nationwide audition macam Akademi Fantasia kot? Hehehe!

Anyway, dah sambung cerita dah pun! Enjoy... :D

MA said...

Oh wow..very very interesting.

1985 I dah grad dari ITM. Kalau tak selalu gak tengok budak2 KPP dok berendut kat Seksyen 2 Shah Alam. hehe...


So sweet la your love story.

wanshana said...

MA,

Thank you :)

Errrr...yang berendut kat Section 2 tu - bukan kami, ya....

Kami berendut kat Subang Jaya...Hehehe!

;)

Helena said...

beshla baca love story you..... *wink*

sambungla lagi....

wanshana said...

Helena,

Insya Allah akan sambung :)

Anonymous said...

Salam Shana

A friend kata in her email '..bacala blog ni...pasal kisah cinta kat kpp...' Tak tersangka pulak the kisah cinta belongs to my ex-housemate!! :-) Keep them coming!!!

wanshana said...

Salam Anonymous @1:46a.m,

I'm guessing it's you, Tulip - my Stroud Green/Finsbury Park housemate? Betul kah? :)

How are you, my friend? Good to be in touch with you again. It has been a looooooonnngg time since we last saw each other! Waaaa...segan dengan you sekarang - BIG TIME Federal Counsel maaaa!!!

I've never told you cerita chenta between Haizal and I, right? You only knew, time holidays ajer, dia tercanguk kat depan pintu rumah we all...Hahahaha!

Hey, do keep in touch!

Take care.

(Or is it Ami/Farriz from my Cardiff days??!!)

Anonymous said...

Salam Shana,

Alamak! Sorry to disappoint you tapi all your guesses were wrong lah! I'm the Cardiff housemate kat Western Avenue - remember the 3-bedroom semi we shared? My hubby is saudara HHK's school mate. Have I given you enough clues yet?

Baca cerita chenta you buat I teringat the visits that Topaz made to Cardiff ;-)

Stay in touch! Funny how our paths tak cross all this while (when you were in Newcastle / when we are back in KL for holidays). So far I jumpa Ab*d je bila balik KL.

Wassalam

wanshana said...

OZA!!!!

Gosh!!! So sorry...Somehow I remember you addressed me as "Kak Shana" back then, so when you addressed me as "Shana" here, didn't think it was you! HAHAHAHAHA!!! Gosh...it's my age laaaahhh :)

Great to see you here, dear. You guys are still in Croydon? When's the next trip back to Malaysia? Must make a point to meet up nanti, okay?

Was at Ab*d's and Ra*f's house yesterday - their son's bday do. Where do you normally see them? Our house is just about 10 minutes away from theirs - and if your parents are still in TTDI, we're just about 15 minutes away!

Anyway, I think you know more or less the cerita hindustan between Haizal and I during our Cardiff days, kaaannn? :)

Take care, dear...and do convey our salam to Khal*l, please.