Currently playing: Emergency Exit-Beck.
It’s been yonks.
I don’t think I’ve been doing this bit of virtual space I call my own any form of justice lately. What a dismal record I have: 3 entries for this month alone! Last semester’s 3-5 posts per week either shows I had a life, having loads to jabber on about, or was lacking one, spending the better part of my time online. But whateverlah.
Zuhairy had an extra ticket to an MPO gig (can I use this word?) for last night, but I had to turn him down. Despite extra company coming along, priorities had me coming home for the weekend so it was with a heavy heart I said no. (Note to Zuh, read: HEAVY HEART tau.) He later told me it was brilliant. Talk about rubbing salt into the wounds.
So anyways, it turned out later it was a good thing I had to ditch. Spent most of Saturday doing a bit of charity work for my sister’s school, and come night, I was completely wiped out. And I mean the terlantar-atas-lantai-tak-mau-bergerak type of wiped out. It wasn’t that I wasn’t cut out for it. I have a story.
Last week was horrid. Need I list what is typical of any busy student life? Tests, assignments, presentations, meetings, a programme which I had to eventually miss out on anyway, etc. But to have it all crammed within a span of 5 days, although not alien, was still insane.
Friday night, after a test, a meeting and some heavy laundry, Ummi called to remind me about Canteen Day. Naturally she would need some help with setting up the stall and whatnot. It was especially important as Abah’s the PIBG President so we had a rep to uphold. Since it was to start early next morning and there was no way on Earth she was going to come round and fetch me from campus, I agreed to public transport.
My history with public transport actually isn’t all that bad. Of course it isn’t as impressive as Zuhairy’s (haha), but I have considerable experience…taxi is also public transport what? In that sense, I’m pretty kamcing with most KL drivers. I’ve lost count how many rides I’ve taken in one. My parents draw the line past 7pm, being a single female (circumstances-wise) and all, but I’ve snuck in a couple. So it was agreed I’d grab a bus, get to the terminal and get a taxi by 7 am-ish.
What with my alarm clock all set and ready to go and my laundry all done, I lumbered off to sleep at around 3 am. Susah pulak nak tidur malam tu. Everything was all set and planned. What I didn’t count on was the treachery of my alarm clock. It bailed on me. At 7am precisely, Ummi called. In that first instance when I woke up to the phone ringing, my brain went into overdrive and I knew I was done for. Subuh pun belum sembahyang. I answered with as much perkiness as one could muster after a 4 hour sleep, and pulled it off with great gusto. In fact, I think too much kot, because she asked suspiciously ‘Are you already on the road?’
Before I could come up with a credible answer which wouldn’t amount to a lie, Divine Intervention…well, intervened. We got disconnected somehow and the line went dead. Springing into action, the first thing I did was to turn off my phone, not wanting to risk another phone call. What ensued then was my Subuh prayers, a quick shower, stuffing items of importance into my backpack and asking Yani a favour to collect my laundry later on…all within a span of 20 minutes. I was out the door by 7.20am and by Allah’s grace managed to flag down a taxi by 7.25am at the bus stop. Finally gave Ummi a call from the taxi and assured her that yes, I was on the road…technically, it wasn’t a lie…
Cutting this short, I had a good experience. The spaghetti was sold out way before lunch time and the mee rebus did fairly well too. I learnt a great a deal, never the mind the fact that it was hampered by grogginess, exhaustion and a headache as a result of the hot and humid weather. After the setting up was done, rushed off to fetch Lutfi from the station before hurrying back. We both manned the stall until about 3.30pm. I don’t know how we did it, where all that excess energy came from, but we pulled it off well, Alhamdulillah. Ummi checked up on us once or twice, and had to make more spaghetti on demand. We radiated liveliness, I think. That was why people kept on coming over. My cheeks are still sore from smiling so much (now I know how Miss Universe contestants feel), but I know that if I was a customer and had found a sullen, grumpy-looking person behind the counter, I’d think twice about buying. Like the girl in ‘Uthman Cafe. Apparently there’s a strike by the brothers because they’ve gone and upped their prices. Untuk maklumat lanjut, bacalah blog Zuhairy.
Other lessons learnt other than good PR include cleanliness, efficiency, systematic teamwork and good promotional skills. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Brought me back to a memory of Form 3 when our class participated in our own Canteen Day. If I remember it well, Naj and I were in charge of grilling the sandwiches. Good times.
About 70% of the proceeds will go to the school.
I’ve had a fulfilling weekend. I hope you have too. =)
Enough said here.
Ps-After a reread, I realised that Zuhairy’s been a dominant name in this entry. Note: Mesti bangga kan? Haha. Thanks for the MPO invite anyways! Maybe another time, Insya Allah.
