I KNOW WHAT I DID LAST WEEKEND

my almost non-existent social life took the form of existence last weekend. driven from near-lethal condition of boredom on a thursday afternoon, i decided to call my boss's secretary. she is a 29 year old, single filipin* girl with good sense of humour (let's just call her J). i asked her what she was doing and she said that she was gonna go out to buy a new microphone for her karaoke machine. doesn't really sound like the most interesting thing to do... but at tht point - anything was better than staying in my room. so asked her if i could tag along. 20 minutes after that, i was already in a cab with J and her friend, K. objective - to find a microphone for her karaoke machine.

we decided (well actually THEY decided - i'm still not very familiar with the city i'm living in) to go to a departmental store located at this part of the city which i rarely go to. the place looks like jln masjid india in kl and we went to d*bai's mydin supermarket equivalent. mind you, the place was brimming of people. and 98.73% (heheh) of them are male. testosterone-charged, sexually deprived working class men. so whenever they see a member of the opposite sex, they would stop and stare (i'm not kidding). and they don't care how pretty is the girl as long as she is the girl. since i was walking with two girls that day, part of the spotlight was on me too (felt like a celebrity for a bit..heheh). i'm telling you - this place can do wonders to girls with low self-esteem :)

whilst shopping for the microphone, J told me that she was attending her cousin's birthday later that evening. and they will be karaoke at the party. my mind made a backhand flip upon hearing this (kemaruk nak karaoke) but i was a bit apprehensive about attending the party. being the highly introverted individual that i am, i'm just not comfortable being the odd one out in the party. but of course i'll be the odd one out in the party - i'll be the only non-filipin* around! so i politely declined the offer.

after getting the microphone, we decided to go to an adidas factory outlet cos i wanted to get some running shoes (yeah - i'm a cheapskate. but i prefer the term smart shopper better.. ;P). and i did get a pair (which by the way has not touched the soil even after 1 week cos i've been too preoccupied with work (read: LAZY)). and after that, we stumbled upon this optical shop that was selling designer shades at rm 100 a pair. yup - ONE-HUNDRED-FREAKIN'-RINGGIT (after conversion). the catch - you won't get the original carrying case for the shades. why ? beats me. but at a hundred a pair - who cares whether they come in the original carrying case or not!

after 10 minutes of scurrying the shelves of the whole store (yes- i am a wise AND fast shopper), i decided to get this pair of white-transparent dolce and gabbana shades. original price as peer tag - rm 665 (jangan jealous..heheh). the design actually screams PLU (well maybe not a scream.. maybe a strong whisper or a hiss) but whaddahell - a closeted plu needs to look good too sometimes right? hehehehe. whatever the case - it was a good buy. and making good buys always make me happy. i came out from the store with a pair of d&g shades in a speedo carrying case :)

and at that point of jubilation and elation, J asked me again if i wanted to join them to the birthday party. and i said yes (i was high at that time). she immediately called her cousin to inform her that i'll be coming (she actually called and said "oh btw, K is bringing a malaysian boyfriend" and giggled. i was like shit - matila aku. if there are any guys who fancies K at the party - this guy will corner me to the wall, grabs hold of my shirt and give me short, plausible warning). then i realised that i have just agreed to a night of possible awkwardness, discomfort and anxiety. crap! but it was too late to back out. so just to prepare myself, i stated asking J questions. how many people will be at the party (she said 15), what does her cousin do, is the cousin married, are there any cute guys who'll be at the party (wishful thinking.. hehhe)

so we were off to J's cousin's place. amidst all the anxiety, i was quite excited because i've never been to a filipin* house before. but before we went in, i said to J "J, if no one talks to me... please don't leave me alone at the party". she giggled. "don't worry - i won't". we rang the doorbell and J's cousin greeted us with this huge smile. god she could pass for a malay any time! but once she opened her mouth - she failed.. heheh. they immediately went on this high-speed conversation in tag*log. laju betul! as soon as i went in - i started to take off my shoes. K saw me doing this and stopped me - you don't have to do that here. she smiled. ahh..my girflfriend for the night was so sweet.

as i went into the living room, J introduced me to everyone. and i was flashing my best and friendliest smile to everyone while making a quick headcount. shit! they were already 14 people in the apartment - and there was more to come! "i'm gonna kill J for this".

we were immediately invited to help ourselves with the food after that. and J being the considerate friend/colleague that she is, asked her cousin whether there was any pork in the food. at first, her cousin had this puzzled expression on her face (maybe she was confused at J's sudden interest in pork because J doesn't eat pork). "no.. there's no pork in the food. why do you ask?". "because my friend here is a moslem and doesn't eat pork". the moment she said that, all eyes were on me (ok la ..not all. but those who heard the conversation turned to me. i guess during introduction J has left that bit of information out. ). "oh really? well dont worry. i got most of the food here from the chinese restaurant nearby". i was so thankful that she said that because the truth was - i was REALLY hungry. so after taking the food, i chose the most secluded seat available and dragged J to sit with me. she obliged.

everyone at the party was friendly. a few of them actually came to me to have a chat. i guess they find it amusing to find someone who looks like them but yet do not speak the same language nor practice the same religion. i felt a bit like a display item at the museum (but in a good way). and let me tell you - these people really know how to have fun! i don't know whether the booze played a part or not, but they were rocking and singing along for hours - NON STOP. the noise level was so high that i was constantly afraid if the police would come. i know i was going to be dead if the police had come cos i was the only moslem around and there was booze all around me. but luckily, they did not come.

one thing that i find so fascinating about them is the high five ritual. they were a lot of high-fives flying around all the time. after someone makes a joke - there'd be high-fives. after a song is over, they'de be high-fives. after a photo is snap. there'd be high-fives. so... hollywood movie-ish. and the guys would have a special handshake (which i still coudn't figure the routine out until the end of the party) and hug each other a lot (this routine i can adjust to in no time). so that night, i got hugged and touched cheeks with a few cute filipin* guys... hehehe. best best.
all in all, i think it was an enlighting experience. i realised that you can choose to be happy. it's an attitude. J's cousin and her husband does not live in a very big apartment. it's a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment with a single aircond unit (everyone was holding a paper plate on one hand fanning ourselves throughout the party). a small hall is shared for the living, dining and kitchen area. but they look contented with their life and genuinely happy. so did most of the guests there. there was so much joy, warmth, laughter and brotherhood among the guests - it was almost inspiring. if anything, i have learned three things from the party:

- happiness is an attitude
- money is not everything (actually i'm putting this to convince myself that it's not so bad if i decide to come back to m'sia sooner than intended..eheh)
- hugging (cute) filipin* men is nice ;P

DISCLAIMER: there isn't a single part of the story written that was meant to degrade / disgrace a particular nationality or individual :)