Blackbird says...

SU : Guessing Game

Well ... E mentioned something in one of her mails about the way we met up with each other on the day. I guess I should elaborate some more for those who had missed the EOTY (event of the year) ....

I really hadn't the vaguest idea who to expect at Marrybrown's ... I only had the idea that someone in a yellow shirt will be waiting for me there. Since I had to get the zaas ... I would be the last one there. So I thought that it wouldn't be that hard ... boy was I in for a surprise!

Anyway... here I was at last standing in front of Marrybown's with a stack of zaas in my hand but no yellow shirt in sight. At the time I notice 2 people also just lingering in the general vicinity. We kinda looked at each other and just stood there not saying a word. If you know Marrybrown's at Kota Raya ... then you would know that the place was not that big! So here we are ... the 3 of us just being cool and not trying not to stare at each other.

I guess that I must have stood there for about 5 minutes when I suddenly realised that there was another person who joined the group. Sure enough it was E in her obviously striking yellow shirt. I kept my cool ... trying to look about for another yellow shirted person trying to look out for a guy with pizzas. This is all the while with me having the pizzas in plain sight! So we kinda looked at each other ... trying act cool.

I was already feeling self-conscious at the time as it was not easy to tote a stack of pizzas around in KL and not feel like you have to deliver them to somewhere else. Finally I decided to just throw caution to the wind and try to ask if they were waiting for me. And so a simple "Are you with the FBs?" broke the stalemate and we were merrily on our way

... BTW it was me, Kes and KF who had been trying not to stare at each other the whole time! Just imagine ... we were the only ones standing in the same place at the same time as promised and yet we didn't say a word ! Good thing, E didn't decide to wear something less striking or we would be staring at each other the whole day!

SU : The trip to the site

Taxi was easy enough to get ... quite a surprise for once! At first the driver didn't know where Bird Park was ... he said there was an Orchid Park and a Butterfly Park at the Lake but not a bird park. But when I mentioned that it should be near Panggung Aniversary ... he said it was better know as the Bird Place not Park ... don't ask me why this made more sense to him.

The trip there was not that long and we didn't really stay silent long ... KF, Kes and E was chatting up a storm in the back while I was sitting up in front.

When we got to the Bird Place ... we started looking for the others. The place didn't seem to be like what Spar described so we all worried that we would have the wrong place ... I mean the Lake Gardens was really a big place. We were looking around for the signs and the ballons that Spar said she would leave behind to show the way.

It turned out that we found only one balloon ... the others were taken away by somebody else ... ooo boy would we be in trouble! Thank goodness that we had other signs to follow ....Bats made these signs with quotes like "Abandon All Hope" etc. So we kinda followed the arrows hoping that there were not turned the other way around and we were walking the wrong way!

All the while we were thinking that we actually needed to have a permit to post these signs on public property. I don't remember who (E?) but someone said that even if we kena saman (ticketed) for defacement of public property, Spar will take care of it for us! So there we were, the four of us following a trail of signs (Thank the stars it was not a trail of breadcrumbs!), really hoping that we are not heading the wrong way and ready to look innocent at the first sign of the police!

Finally we reached the agreed site ... and there was everyone waiting! Then the party really started ...

SU : The Gathering

Wow ... right from the start we talked our heads off. Everybody was taking measure of how close everybody was to what they imagine them to be. We had these nice "dog tags" and badges to wear so that we know what to call each other. I have mine glued next to the monitor now to remind me of the day. We all spread out the food and did we have food to go around. It was more than enough to feed a whole village!

After introductions we all jumped head first into the chow ... I thought that Kes's patato salad (more cili!) was the best ... it went well with everything that we had! Way to go Kes!

Photos ... I think I had more photos taken on that one day than I have the last 2 years combined! We had photos of FBs devouring food, FBs clowning around, FBs doing a great impression of Forest Gump running (you know who you are) and FBs doing a scene out of a Hindi movie (tell me that we got that shot!). I mean here we are surrounded by trees and small hills ... it takes a little imagination to picture a Hindi movie where the hero runs after the heroine while all the while singing at the top of their lungs (although it was the other way around that day! <Ducks from incoming fire - not that duck!> ;). Another minute we might have dancers poping out from the tree doing their dance number and the heroine rolling down the hill (a must in Hindi movies)!

One special photo op that I like was the 8. Well ... we sort of lucked out having the gathering near a pebble path that actually was an "8". Hopefully that picture turn out well so that we can put that up in the page! "Ducks fly together ... birds flock together" eh Bats ...

SU : Yakety yak ...

Boy can we talk shop in RL or what ... we all were talking non stop (except when we have our mouths full with food!) about everything under the sun. From the correct pronounciation of Homer Simpson's "Doh" (still can't do that), who has a crush on who, a techie discussion of the intricacies of multitasking that went over everyones head, Starship Troopers, sci-fi and star signs, trying to guess each others age, Mr. Achky Breaky Heart, Burgi (thank god not in a G-string ... shudders) and many more.

Some responses from Spar & E's postings (they were the only ones I have now) ...

1. Blacky is 0.001% royalty! ;)
You forgot this.. he can swallow green meanies without choking! LOL

-- Enough to be a royal pain in the you know where ... well thats what my family says. And try to pronounce LL with a mouth full of green meanies and not choke! BTW the green meanies were very addictive ... I have a jar full of them now next to my table!

2. Falcon has a really cool Dad!! :D
--Yeah ... way to go Old Falcon!

3. Bats can really quote S:AAB lines verbatim!
--Gives me a whole new meaning when I hear the song "Fanatik" from KRU! (Sorry Bats ... really I get an image of you when I hear the song now ... hmm was that eyes being gouged out by Bats?)

>4. Kes makes beautiful potato salad!
--Gee ... eating a work of art! Hmm ... Kes ... did you see where Mr Potato Head go? Kes?

5. KF does really have a bloodthirsty streak in all his quietness!
--Yeah ... its always the quiet ones! Two words ... Jeffry Dahmer... boy do I have a death wish tonight!

6. Garry's threats scare you even more in RL than they do online! :)
-- Ditto ...

7. Gossy will only save you when you are not breathing. :D
--she'll ask you if you're choking first ... if you answer yes she'll chuck you aside after giving you a slap (you're not suppose to be able to talk if you're chocking!) ... MEDIC!

8. E doesn't piroutte. :(
-- Nor would she do tumbles or cartwheels :(

9. Per isn't the oldest after all! ;)
--Hah ... its up to you guys to guess who is ... I'm not telling!

10. Spar's hair is not red!
--Yep ... I finally able to get that Lucy Ball image out of my head.....

11. We all like sci-fi.
-- Among other things ....

12. We had LOADS to eat!
-- The other things that I mentioned in #11 .. man can we eat!

13. We had some crazy moments.
--See above response

14. We talked enough to last us for a long while and...
--Hey ... we still have lots to yak about!

>15. ... The time went by way too fast. :(
-- Too true ... too true .... exit stage left (Hamlet not Snagglepuss kay!)

Yeah ... hopefully those who didn't make it this time around would get the chance to go next year.

Semper Fi!

Blackbird
88th Firebirds


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