Saturday, June 30, 2007

The worst day of my life

"Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind."

Remember that line? From Lilo & Stitch?

Yeah well... I can say for most part, when it comes to the real world... it's just fictional.

Mesti korang perasan title of this entry kan?

Yeap... today was the worst day of my life.

It started early in the morning when I lost some things I loved for no other reason than they came from my own blood, sweat and tears, though some would downplay that to drama. But I suppose, the more you have, the less you appreciate the little others have and how much it means to them.

The bad day continued. All through the day into the night. I tried to make the best of it sebab nak enjoy Christina's concert, walaopon takde interview or press conference scheduled... tak pe la. It's Christina Aguilera live. And I'm there.

And I actually got to see her backstage. Some distance away and with an entourage of the meanest looking bodyguyards. Still... being near someone who I've always wanted to meet is something to be thankful for. Heh.. still bragging rights especially when I had my semi all access pass.

Dari depan pentas dekat sampai the highest point in the stadium, I found myself wandering throughout the show. I mean it was great cause she did all the faves like Fighter, Ain't No Other

Man, you name it she did it.

She closed with Beautiful, which I found myself tearing up to sebab it was such a bad day, I really needed that positivity to affirm my self worth.

And later, I took a stand, because I felt there were those I considered family, who judged me and took me for granted.

I took a stand. Alone. So much for Ohana. All the blame, none of the love which has been apparently just superficial all this while.

I can earn back and buy the things I've lost, but not the trust I freely gave. If nothing else... at least I have my pride and self respect still intact. And perhaps that's the most valuable thing I have.

Some people lord it over others... which then becomes the negative aspect of pride. I just use it to protect myself.

Won't get angry... no point. Then I'd just be like them. Just hurt. Disappointed. Frustrated. Sad.
Malas nak review panjang panjang pasal konsert. It was just plain awesome... too bad I obviously couldn't enjoy it for most parts.

It was just fantastic... plain and simple. A lot of people showed up too.. almost a full house with just a few seats empty. Bumped into my old mate Fendi who came down for the concert as I made my way from the very front depan $S348 seats (thank God for the pass) sampai all the way to the cheapass seats, not keeping still at all throughout the concert sebab aku tension dan malas duduk.

Local and regional faces spotted :
Nana, Genervie, Siti Nordiana, Dina, Ning, Nikki, Yanie, Anuar Zain, Erwin Gutawa, Gita Gutawa (dia lambai lambai panggil aku...heh!!!)... some Singaporean personalities yang aku langsung tak kenal and lots more in the crowd yang aku tak perasan kot.

Toko Besar? Erm... cam kat Jakarta da Parkson Grand Johor Baru ni.



Christina tour merchandise on sale.


My satin sticker passport around the stadium.


A Christina tour T shirt ($S35) and the coffee table photo book ($S25) of the tour.


The various passes available for the different crew, media and ushers among others.


Up front before the show.


Smack centre.


One of the real stars of the show -the equipment! Fantastic sound!


And the people handling the equpment! Amazing too for the sound they delivered.


Anuar masa baru sampai ngan manager dia Rohila. Dina is in the drame too with her manager.


The show. Awesome lighting.


Bird's eye view of the crowd. Packed!!!


So that's it...malas nak update. Will post more pics soon. Mobile phone tak dapat zoom sangat so nanti I get some more from friends in Singapore aku posting.

PS - The cast of Heroes are coming down to Singapore. Adrian Pasdar and Masi Oka are coming apparently. Yeay!!... that silver lining on a very dark cloud. People in KL jangan lupa Gwen's concert next month. Also coming, Justin Timberlake, Josh Groban... who says we get left out (though we usually are).

Friday, June 29, 2007

From Jakarta to Singapore

Nothing much to share today after the exciting few days in Jakarta. Maybe it's like that hangover after a high. When you have too much fun, somehow it takes its massive toll on you and you just get kind of woozy and like walk about in a dazed manner or so.

Semalam pas balik... saja pusing pusing dalam kereta.
Gi minum sorang...saja nak bersendirian. Wore half a smile as I went about my business on my own.

Popped by a club just to watch people at it, as I threw back a... erm.. Coke. Spent about half an hour looking at the shallow fun, and then decided to split sebab tak larat.

Dalam keletihan... needed to be on my own for a little while. I don't know. Wasn't really thinking.. just.. felt that loneliness isn't all that bad sometimes.

Came back.

Slept.

Not very well despite being tired out as hell. Woke up very late.. and much more tired than how

I was when I went to bed.

Body's getting old and rebelling I suppose.

Prepared to go to work.

Hectic day.

Yerlah... awal pagi esok nak ke Singapore for Christina Aguilera punya concert lak. Ni seribu satu persiapan lak kena prepare sebelom nak berlepas. Hate paperwork and shit...

Picked up Vernon's birthday present for Ning.

Finished, had a drink with abang Badrul in Bangsar nearby, joined by Aypol dan Zahid (da kurus abih adik aku nih... diet menjadi ni!) kebetulannya, and then later Muzaffar and then Vern.

Borak borak... tukar news and info sikit sikit. and then parted ways.

Sent the stuff, and then proceeded to spend a little more time with me, myself and I.
I don't know. I know it sounds silly... but something's just not right. i don't know what, and I can't put my finger on it. Mungkin ke dia?

Maybe... but whatever it is. It's bugging the shit out of me.

Had a few drinks then headed home... something's just not right.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Jakarta - Day 3

Tired as all hell. Pagi tadik sejuk sangat. It had been raining the whole morning apparently.

Had a good late breakfast cum lunch, and then gerak in the jam to Mangga Dua for some speed shopping.

Didn't do much this time around. Time constraints, pas pala sibuk pikir something so... erm... lack of focus. Still... it was fun to be here back again after the last time being end of last year or something a few months ago.

Popped into a cab after shopping sebab Cliff, driver Om Mas (or was it Jovian's auntie's) pun kena gi elsewhere, and we zoomed to the airport in worry we wouldn't make it.

Arrive one hour and fifteen minutes before flight tme, which was still ok. Vern did some last minute shopping at the airport, before we bth buggered to find a bite to eat sebab kebuluran.

Stopped at this cafe for a bite. Masa tuh ler yang dapat satu SMS yang, erm... memang ngundang airmata kegembiraan.

Well, aku da bagitau dia aku akan balik Jakarta buat kali pertama with a smile on my face, and peace in my heart. And apparently, it was a feeling that was mutual.

Memang seronok kalao jumpa kasih yang da lama terpisah... walaupun sementara. Tambah lagi bila memasing da lebih memahami everything about each other.

Tapi the last message,,, memang bagi aku nitis airmata. Nak je aku stay another day at least.
But some things are good because they're meant to be unobtainable. Plus, as they say... it's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved before.

In my case, I was lucky to meet someone yang sampai hari ni saling menyayangi ngan aku... cuma kami berjauhan and kami ditakdirkan be in two different spots on the map.

Better than some people yang aku nampak pining away, for the trappings of lust, that they so mistakenly think is love.

No matter what... I didn't lose. I won someone's heart... and that's what counts. Not having a trophy.

And maybe, just maybe, if fate allows it, we will be together in the future. Cuma.. not counting on that happening ler.

Berat nak tinggalkan Jakarta sebenarnya. Terlalu banyak kenangan yang indah aku tinggalkan kat sini.

Simple memories. Waiting in the cafe for my flight, aku masih leh terbayangkan, the first time kami jumpa di airport Soekarno Hatta... the first time I left and how it was so hard to come back to KL dan dipisahkan. The little things we did together like just a meal in Senayan. Oh well... all I know is I have a wealth of memores to fall back on.

No I'm not living in the past. It's just that, I think from this day, I will never need anyone ever again. Aku da mampu lalui kehidupan aku keseorangan. Sebab the pain of loneliness is no longer there. Not really.

Maybe dia takde sebelah aku selalu. Tapi.. I know.. aku slalu si satu sudut hatinya. I know...we both still love each other. And that's good enough for me.

Strange arrangement... tapi I can live with it. Who knows kalao aku jumpa someone in the future yang dapat ganti tempat dia. A few have tried... but until today, cinta aku untuknya masih teguh.
Mmm... dah ler...cukup aku meroyan. Apapon... seperti sebelom aku berlepas tuk ke Jakarta... remember my entry pasal mimpi? SIla check balik beberapa hari lalu punya posting...

Apa saja orang bilang, aku pasti... mimpi aku bukan lagi mimpi, tapi sudahpun jadi nyata. Aku cuma perlu bangun dan sadar, mimpi aku kini pasti.

In Jakarta, heard this old Anggun song, a new version of it. Fell in love with the new version. It's ironically called.. Mimpi.

Hope you guys like it as much as I do. Nak layan sat sambil ingatkan dia.

Mimpi - Anggun C Sasmi
Dalam hitam, gelap malam,
ku berdiri, melawan, sepi…
Disini, di pantai ini,
telah terkubur sejuta kenangan
Dihempas keras gelombang,
yang tertimbun batu karang,
yang tak 'kan mungkin, dapat terulang

Wajah putih, pucat pasi,
tergores, luka di hati
Matamu, membuka kisah,
kasih asmara yang telah ternoda
Hapuskan semua khayalan,
lenyapkan satu harapan
Kemana lagi, harus mencari

Kau sandarkan, sejenak beban diri
Kau taburkan, benih kasih, hanyalah emosi

[Reff:]
Melambung jauh, terbang tinggi, bersama mimpi
Terlelap dalam, lautan emosi
Setelah aku, sadar diri, kau t'lah jauh pergi
Tinggalkan mimpi, yang tiada bertepi

Kini hanya rasa rindu, merasuk di dada
Serasa sumpah melayang pergi,
terbawa arus kasih, membara

[Reff]



Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Jakarta - Day 2

Hari ni second day started a little different. Had breakfast....ok so I'm lying... it's not even brunch. More like a slightly delayed lunch.

Mana taknya kalau da membadak sampai sehari suntuk kan. If there's anything that made the Jakarta trip a tad sucky was because I couldn't seem to get enough sleep.

Still, had lunch in the hotel wih Vern, and Ning with a special guest in Erwin Gutawa yang dropped in sebab he couldn't make it the night before. Yakked a bit, as I incessantly gushed about his daughter in Gita Gutawa yang perform kat the last Anugerah Planet Muzik. Awesome! I absolutely think the world of her and I think she's on the right footing to become the next big Indonesian export if she continues with what she's doing.

Erwin was as usual all humble and quite down to earth. Amazing how someone of his position as one of the biggest producers in the region can be so non-assuming about his status. True stars...genuine from inside out.

One belief that he confirmed is that despite his fame and all, he started out self taught, being from the field of architecture originally.

Yeap, passion in one key element that makes someone who they are, and I definitely have to thank someone like Erwin for inspiring me with his improptu revelation of his past and how he gradually did what he's been doing all this time.

Honestly, aku tak pernah jumpa orang cam dia ni... well, actually, aku rasa MOST Indonesian names are humble from the start no matter how big they are.

That's how they eventually make their names a permanent fixture in the business.
Apart from the likes of Ratu (Mya Dhani jer) and Agnes Monica, who have the amazing undeniable reputations as bitches in the business.

Anyway... how sweet of Erwin to even consider having lunch with us!

Ning
had a little photoshoot with a publication, and ni lah some pics of Ning as you've never seen her before (or at least not all that often!). The attire diminta oleh the journalist herself who wanted to feature Ning, tapi all covered up.

Kalao korang nak tengok how the photo shoot worked out, korang kena carik this publication called Nurani or something like that kat sana ler.

Terkejut... then sempat pose.


With the people from Nurani (something like that lah nama piblication tuh)


Pose ayu ler tuh...

Obviously after we checked out, shopping had to be a priority!Jovian, who met up with us from the night before at the gala premiere, played tour guide, ferrying us about to go shopping. In fact, not only that, he extended his hospitality further to stay with him at the grandmother's home in central Jakarta.

Thanks Jovian and family for making us feel so at home and giving us a taste of the family business (they run the Beautika chain of restaurants yang serve the best Menado fare - and I mean awesome sebab we had it at lunch the next day in their home - takyah ke restaurant pun!)
We traipsed about Pasar Baru, which is a new spot where I haven't been, which sells almost everything and anything, but most especially textiles and a lot of other things at quite fair prices.

The key attraction here was the variety!

Sekali imbas, cam somewhere in Japan lak. Siap jumpa Barney and Venom outside a toy store (kesian berejam meka pakai those costumes!)



Someone after snapping the sign of Jalan Gereja Ayam (chicken church???)


The dingy parts of the market (recognise anyone in the picture?


Euro Moda pun ada. But not the best...


The scene a few hours later...


We then pushed off much later... much much later, to head back to Jovian's family to shower and freshen up before dinner in Kemang (the Hartamas of Jakarta) but because of the horrid jam (tengok pic kat atas da) tonight (every night - and day too in Jakarta) and we got stuck for ages sampai pala aku berdenyut, we just shot straight to Kemang after singgah butik Ivan Gunawan, who's like one of the biggest names in Jakarta's fashion scene sebab Andi (a friend) who joined us, and works there, wanted to pop in a while.

We took the opportunity to get a feel of what divas dress like in Jakarta, and were quite impressed with the amazing designs he had. From there, we sped to Kemang, and just about fifteen minutes past 9pm, which we promised to meet Leo at.

Ooh... we passed this bronze sculpture, yang aku da tengok berapa kali, sebab it seems a central area tuk lalu, but aku tatau ler, and never got around to asking anyone what it was. By the way, that thing you see sticking out of the statue's butt tuh kain cawat dia pakai. Easily mistaken for a tail... or so on;...

Oh by the way... you know how keta makan minyak tiap kali nak sangkut jam kan... (ni orang KL especially ke yang dok dok ke keja kat bandar paham ler), Yes, there is a miracle solution, or so if I'm led to believe.

Nowadays, we have pills for everything kan... dari sakit to contraceptives... and so on for a million and one other uses;.

Well, thanks to Jovian (or his dad actually) apparently ada pill yang khas buat keta gak. Think of it as multivitamins for the automobile. Look at the pic below for proof of the existence if such pills (dengar KL pun ada.... tapi tatau lak aku tiap kali isi minyak, you pop one into the tank nak up kan prestasi)

Fungsi nya?

So that jimat minyak and bagik keta lagik berkuasa. Does it work? Don't know...

Tapi ok ler since kat Jakarta, that is the only petrol enhancement meka leh enjoy. Kalao kita kat sini spoilt for choice ngan seribu jenis minyak introduced by entah berapa syarikat minyak, kar sana there is only one name you'll see in petrol stations.

If you've ever been to Indonesia before, you would have noticed, there is not much choice as far as petrol kiosks or gas stations are concerned.

In fact there is only ONE brand of petrol to choose from, Indonesian which is the government-owned Pertamina.

I was finally made aware of the monopoly by Jovian when I asked him after realising takde stesen minyak lain.

One thing I knew from my first trip itself, was that there are NO 7 Elevens here. Circle K is the biggest chain of 24 hour convenience stores kat sini, tapi jangan harap nak nampak meka everywhere along main roads, like in Singapore, Bangkok or even anywhere in Malaysia. They're usually off some main road and not that easy to spot.



Tapi back to Pertamina, sedih siot sebab satu company je wujud, and no competition.

Dahler susah nak jumpa stesen minyak dalam kota yang penuh sesak ngan memacam kenderaan, burok lak kedai kedai stesen minyak ni. Jangan harap ler the same level of luxury (clean toilets, convenience stores etc) sebab most of the time, it's something like four pumps,, protected from the elements by a roof, with the 'reception' under a little khemah nearby!

Tak caya? Hah... tuh buktinya!!! That pump is one of four at this station we stopped on the way to Kemang dan yang ala ala gerai tuh ler kedai dia dan tempat bayar. Leh?

When we sampai Kemang punya area, kita berhenti beberapa toko (kedai ler) selling all sorts of funky wear. Couple of them looked very distro (independent punya pembuat baju, a trend that started in Bandung) tapi since it was getting late, most of them pun da nak tutup.
Parked, and walked our way to Food Fest, or whatever it's called, and met Leo.

Tetiba kami semua kena serbu!!! Bukan serbu apa.. kena serbu ngan all these waiters and waitresses! Leh?

Memasing offer makanan meka, campak menu pelbagai on the table.

I swear....menakutkan siot. Cam rusuhan lak!

Sampai Leo dan Jovian pun kata tak penah meka hadapi benda camni bila makan sini. Kalau beberapa orang biasalah...
Tapi this was ridiculous. Aku break out of the huddle nak amik pic of how the mob around our table looked. See?

Ni pun da kira ok... I think at the peak of it, we had about thirty people around us.

Felt that way at least. Erm... cam kena ugut lak nak makan.

The others made their order while Leo and I jalan jalan around the stalls leaving the workers to clear off their respective menus off the table.

Dinner was quite ok... with some local dishes... tapi got kind of embarrasing as someone kept on practising several words he just learnt loudly.

Brondong, leikung, seikung are fine, tapi nggak perlu ya exclaim loudly words like ngesong, ngetot, ngewong and following all that with how ending it all it. Pening ok...

Heh...after dinner, said goodbye to Leo sebab esok dia keja tak sempat see me off (jumpa kat KL masa Raya I hope)

Headed back to Jovian's family home. Met his model aunty (she's gorgeous with long legs and in modelling school) but didn't meet Om Mas, his grandma (met her at breakfast - lunch I mean cause you can guess what time we got up the next day) and his other aunty who runs Beautika.

Showered and got ready to go out. Got a special call from someone in Jakarta. Mmm... panggilan tuh, dan SMS tuh je da cukup nak make the whole trip worth it.

After everyone was all togged up, kami pun gerak ke kelab ni, called X2 in Plaza Senayan which opened quie recently on 25 March 2007.

It's still fairly a new place, tapi besar gila and it's supposed to be THE top club in Jakarta now.

Masa on the way, Andi called his friend, the PR manager there, and got us the password. Tanya password nya untuk apa.. and he said it's kind of like this code tuk tamu dan teman teman masuk without any hassle.

Tonight's password? GUCCI!

Nak gelak gak but when we finally there, sebut Gucci and kami tak perlu pun masuk the commoners line nak beratur and all. Terus masuk the guests lane and walked in,.

The club is made up of several clubs... dalam empat, each playing a different sound, with the main in Equinox playing house, Vintage playing retro club and lao Pier 9 and Ego (know one plays R&B, the other not so sure)

But I only hung out in the main room, dan the retro room. Amazing! Reminded me so much of the glory days of Boom Boom Room in Lebih Ampang.

The main room and the awesome laser display! The bar had these fibre optic chandeliers.


Above the laser show, were amazing wood carvings, making it feel almost like in a cathedral!


The upstairs area of the main room Equinox and the bar area of Vintage.


It was the walls and ceilings of Vintage that made it special. Wood carving panelling! Wow!


Close up of the ceiling...


More of Vintage and the entrance to X2.


The best club in Jakarta! WIthout a doubt. X2!

Partied the night away but left with the general population before the club closed. Had another unmentionable adventure (who would have thought Jakarta would have been so wild!!!!) We love it don't we...

Balik pun da 6.30 pagi. Erm... nak tidur...leave you guys with this Youtube clip of a part in X2.. Sapa penah jadik clubbers Boom Boom Room, check it out if you go Jakarta! By the way, aku pakai clip ni sebab aku suka lagu playing in the background, which is the Ministry of Sound mix of Destination Calabria (Destination Unknown) with the mix by Alex Gaudino featuring Crystal Waters. Excellent tune... danced it in X2 and numero uno club tune of the moment.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Jakarta - Day 1

Aduh...akibat tak tido....Zombi Kampung Pisang ler tajuknya ari ni. Kinda walking abut spaced out. Thanks to catching a cab late, caught up ngan Vern much later than expected or planned at the supposed 6am.

Instead 6.45am je sampai nak pick up dia. Ning yang da tunggu kat KL Sentral for the past half hour, was not in the least amused.

"She's not a morning person," said Vern. Erm...I doubt any of us are.

"Miss Baizura's principle is... she is never late. People can be early...but she's never late."

Erm... something I live by gituh!!!

Still, she wasn't the least cranky and was perfectly Miss Congeniality after lavishing praise on her finely manicured nails (yerlah...cantik airbrush technique)

Got to the airport fine and checked in.

Ramai da kat sana, cume beberapa orang missing in action lagik sebab lambat bangun. Yeay!!! Not the last...

Sentap tol kat check in, takde exit seat sebab fully booked flight and most of the good seats snapped up.

Keji... but seb baik kakak kat counter tuh baik gila. So after checking in and all, headed for a bite.

What is the choice of menu?

Nasi lemak... a must kata orang tu yang repeat performance tartan jacket dia. Yerlah... janji melantak kan. Aduh...ngantuk.

At this point, my speech da unintelligible da... cakap berterabur for some reason.

We were joined by Adam dan Balqish shortly but since they already had breakfast, they just sat and watched us wolf down everything. Got on the flight, had a short snooze, and then joined kak Jah dari Utusan dan Serimah dari Berita Harian yang dok area exit seat sebab ada tempat kosong!!! (keji akak tuh kata full!!!)

Didn't get to enjoy a more comfy sleep sebab sibuk gossip lak dan erm... bertukar pendapat yang bernas isu Nani dan seorang yang begitu merupakan pejuang moral standards of the community gituh.

Actually tak bertukar pun pendapat...sama je... he's an asshole!

So one hour and fourty minutes later, I'm reliving nostalgia as we touch down at Soekarno Hatta airport.

Ern,... so many memories here, walaupon been here only a handful of times. Still remember first time jejak sini. Oh well...

Oh by the way, if you're interested to know, eased through al checkpoints easily despite having my lighter belt on me. Heh...just a little bit of PR can go a long way (walaupon Vern dan Ning pecah lobang ngadu kat immigration kata aku bak bom! - so very the keji ok!!!)

Seb baik propah dan mandrem aku lebih berhasil.

Anyway, luggage collection was the first task...and here are a few shots of everyone merrily gabbing away (bitching more like it) while keeping an eye out for their belongings as hey tapped away at the keypad of their handphones nak alert yang tersayang da sampai.



The airport still looks the same old, almost broken down antiquity it was, with a nice homely feel. Nothing's changed much since I was last here last year.

Got into our designated vehicle...naik limo ok! Heh....leh? Erm...banyak leg room ler at least katanya. Sempat si Kiss dan si Vern posing pelbagai.

Matlah... propah katanya kang... tapi the confort was much needed cause of the traffic that awaited us.

Kami dok kat Grand Hyatt Jakarta, which is in the central region, so it would take us, on average that is... about 40 minutes.

Tapi, sebab by the time kami sampai dalam 11 pagi, da nak masuk lunch hour, bersedia lah keindahan kesesakan jalan Jakarta katanya! In the end, it took us almost three hours before we finally arrived at the hotel. Sekit tengok aku nak tidur kat dalam keta. Hish... damn!

Dahler baru nak bebetol KO nih....

Sampai lagik satu hal nak check in berzaman lak tunggu. So gi lounge dulu, dan lepak. Since the hotel is connected with Plaza Indonesia, lari gi cari prepaid started pack nak calling calling with a local number, sebab tak kuasa nak abihkan duit nak roaming semua.

Joined everyone for a drink before we all gerak ke Sari Ratu kat Plaza Indonesia nak gi melantak sebab semua da rasa lapar da.

Ramai yang kempunan nak merasa nasi padang original, so that was the closest you could get to an authentic place where we were, without having to endure another damned traffic jam.

Awmigawd...one thing I have to say is... if you thought the food was good, here's the irony of it all.

Sari Ratu here, tak sesedap Sari Ratu kat KL. Leh? Pelik ke haper... but honestly, it wasn't really all that great so didn't eat much. Perhaps it was because I wasn't all that hungry tapi aku makan sikit je.

The fun part was watching them pile food on the table. And I mean PILE as pinggan dan piring semua stacked on each other. Erm...camna nak makan camnih...
Amik ko!!!

Banyaknya makanan! Gembiranya Ning dan Awal!
Ning sempat posing lagik tuh! Anita nak order apa agik. Terpegun si Kiss dan Que!

After we finished, walked off the food by doing one quick round about Plaza Indonesia. Sale merata, tapi sebab it was all branded stuff, tak minat sangat.

Lagikpon sale tak sale, pening pala nak kira ratusan ribu dan jutaan rupiah pelbagai.
Eventually checked into the room with Vern, yang jadik roomie aku. Seb baik leh masuk punya geng... kalao kongsi yang kepala bosan...mampos aku!!! Actually memang pakat dok sebilik baru leh wat onar kang... heh!!! Gituh!!!

After all, takkan nak stick group trip je kan? Nak shopping pelbagai, leh calling calling kengkawan di Jakarta yang ada driver. Tapi kalao nak angkut semua skali mati lah kan!
Managed to catch some sleep for just over an hour before preparing for the gala premiere kat Club XXI, the classier branch of Club 21's theatre.

The Indonesian media were there in full force, dapat ler artis kita rasa camna press conference yang mana media ni, erm... kurang sopan banding ngan kami kami kat sini.

Heh... kalao kat tanahair mesti da naik angin ngan soalan soalan direct dan panas da.

Tapi I take it as a good lesson to remind everyone that Press kita ni masih beradab walaopon ada fanatik yang think otherwise.

Beberapa local artis ada including Ayu Ashari, ratu sinetron Indonesia. Serempak ngan manager Bunga Citra Lestari dan sembang jap... Kris Dayanti singgah sat tapi aku tengah sibuk ke sana sini layan kengkawan didn't notice when she popped in.

Erwin Gutawa yang nak join ngan bini dia tak dapat hadir...

There were some local actors and models there, tapi lain tak kenal langsung. But bestnya tuk aku... ada kengkawan aku dari Jakarta.

Yeap, my best friend, soul mate and Indonesian twin, Leo was there ngan girlfriend dia, and also younger sister and boyfriend dia skali.

Seronok jumpa dia pas tiga tahun tak bertemu!!!

Sempat ler brush up sesikit Bahasa Indonesia aku yang tunggang langgang tengok je sajak aku bertajuk Mimpi kat bawah tuh you get what I mean) Tu lah akibatnya karat lama tak pakai da, nak kena refresher course.

So picked up some extra lines with Leo and Co.

Erm... I think I still sound silly, but it's nice to have Indonesian friends yang leh ajar the right way of pronouncing words and also how not to sound like a total wannabe moron by overdoing the 'dong' part - never use it anyway).

In return, taught them the use of 'lah'. Leh? Something we take so for granted, meka suka sangat... sebab meka tak paham kenapa tiap ayat kami nak guna lah..lah.. lah... heh.

Stuck with Leo and family for most of the earlier part of the night, sebab I already watched the film. Besides, meka nih tamu aku, so kena jaga ler.

Beso siot panggung dia.

It was totally humongous! According to Leo, the cinema used to be the biggest, with the most seating capacity ever in Indonesia.

Tapi apparently skang ada yang lain yang lebih besar. You got to be joking!!!!

Honestly, this cinema would put to shame the TGVs and GSCs back home in terms of the number of seats as well as the overall comfort factor.

People started filing in, I think the capacity was several hundred. Not sure.. just know the place looked damn huge!

Anyhoo... yakked on as everyone filled the seats. The cast for Diva, including Ning herself, Jeremy, Awal, Que, Kiss, Jessica dari Dealova) all took seats behind us.in the last row, which was actually the best seats in the house as they were just above eye level.

We were the second row, which was quite good too, with me on the aisle seat so aku leh lari kejap kejap tuk cigarette break lah... toilet break lah... snack break lah...

Heh...

Couldn't bitch about the movie much sebab director nya si Sharad Sharan dok ngam ngam belakang kita, so Leo and I kena pasang special sgns and references to get across what we wanted to say without them understanding. Aduh... the movie definitely became more enjoyable after that.

Tapi yang besh nya apa tau... aku da ngantuk sangat... mid way through the film, aku tertidur!!!
I noticed myself dozing off tapi ingat leh control; Next thing you knew, Leo sibuk siku aku kejutkan sebab dia kata aku da mula berdengkur! Aiyo!! Malu nya!!!

He said he immediately kejutkan aku the moment I snored, but he said it was really, really LOUD!

Erm....malu jap as he laughed at me. Heh... tu lah. Moral of the story, get enough sleep kalao nak feeling layan premiere movie supaya tak termalu sendiri. Especially when it's a crappy movie. Oops!

Anyway, pas abih movie, sempat photo opportunity. This one's for you Leo.

Sebenarnya, Ning memang one of Leo's favourite Malaysian artistes, selain Siti dan Sheila. Yang lain dia tak kenal sangat sebab kalao aku recommend, dia dengar je dia kata suara suara biasa.

Tiga nama tu la bagi dia unik.

Kira leh bangga la ngan three names tuh sebab orang seberang pun minat banget kan. Anyhoo, Leo had to work the next day, so kuar ngan member lain, balik hotel, melantak sebelom sneaked out to party.

Destination aku : Nu-China! Small club, kat area ala Bangsar nih. Great music, tapi mak aih, pompuan kat sini nari atas speaker erm... dengan adengan yang... erm.

Oh well.

Abih je took a midnight stroll.

Merasalah ke Tugu Monas!

Monas meaning Monumen Nasional get it? Mo-Nas? Very typical of Indonesian language to cut everything short. Cam bahasa adik adik kat KL gak.

Merasalah lalu tuk usha what used to be a cruising area tapi no one about. Sesuai ngan the architecture yang melambangkan masculinity and feminism selain fertility gituh!

Well, it was almost 4am on a normal day.
But just like tourists, sleep is second to partuing, so with some friends headed to part-ty some more. Horror tul lalu this area, I know you won't believe it, where we passed DOZENS of gerai selling Viagra! Heh... matilah katanya! Kalah Bangkok camni!

Anyway, Jakarta is so freaking scary at night, sebab everyone looks so shady!

Still, I knew I was in safe hands with friends who is a local expert nak bak jalan.

Next stop : Stadium.

Bukan stadium bolasepak ke apa...Stadium ni ala ala disco. It's supposed to be a one stop place for cafe, pub, disco, karaoke and live music, among others.

Tak berani aku amik pic langsung.

Tapi tempat ni memang havoc. Hari biasa masuk pree, tapi dengar kalao ujung minggu people pay through the nose to get in.

You think KL raves are wild?

My friend told me that here, it goes on for days!

The weekend party begins Friday night at 10pm and ends at 2pm Monday afternoon!!! Matilah party tiga hari katanya.... tripping abih ler.


Sebab everyone sana tripping gila abih...aku takut lak nak snappy pics. Yerlah, masuk je bahagian disco da kena tarik ngan pusher, mana tak risaunya.

So tatap je la how gorgeous this club is.

Memang ala Backroom dulu, or closer still to Movement kat KL zaman zaman kegemilangan clubbing extreme di KL dulu (don't we all just miss those days)

Venue dia walaopon dalam bangunan, mak aih punya besar! Seriously! Music pun not bad, and not crap fengtau la walaopon standard music cucuk langit gak.

Mmm... takleh enjoy sangat, and after about an hour, headed home to sleep...need it really bad!!