Sunday, September 2, 2007

kuching trip II

Hello and Assalamualaikum to one and all. I am back.

First of all, I thank both J and Bella for reading my blog religiously (eheh!) while I was away.

I was in Kuching again.

Wait! Wait! Before you go thinking I am raving, madly in love in with N that I would run away to Kuching again just to be with him, I would like to say... you're probably right. No, no. That was a joke, but if I could, both of you should know, I would.

The course was from the 27th - 30th. He had asked me to extend my stay till Sunday. I thought that was sweet. Don't you?

That's what I did.

He picked me up at the airport on the 27th and took me straight to the hotel at the waterfront where they had the course. Malam tu, after dinner at the hotel provided by the course organizer, I went shopping for a hiking sandal and chap stick at the plaza next door with my roommate. He had a long day we didn't go out that night. The thing is, I was not expecting to see him every night I was there anyway, but I'll give him bonus points to for making the effort.

Well, actually I have forgotten what we did most of the time when we did meet during the course, itupun masa malam, after the course was over and after dinner. Dia pun kerja and we'd have the weekend to spend together later on, as planned.

Tuesday night, after I had dinner with my roommate, he took me out to get some ayam percik on the other side of the river. When I opened the tapau'ed chicken he had bought for me in my hotel room, I found that it was one whole chicken! What's with this guy?

I had to beg my roommate to help me eat some of the chicken and we still couldn't finish it. I sumbat dalam peti sejuk je. Tak larat! Bukan tak sayang!

During lunch on Wednesday, I had some prawn salad. It was scrumptious. Then I spent the afternoon afterwards sinking deeper and deeper into what was food poisoning that I was totally unaware of.

I started feeling uneasy and achy all over my body and rather lethargic. I thought I was going to have my periods. So I brushed it off as just some unpleasant symptoms. I even text messaged him saying that I wanted to rest that evening and he doesn't have to come and get me at the hotel.

But then when I returned to my room after completing the assignment for the next day with my team mates, I started having diarrhea and threw up everything I ate like there was no tomorrow. Right after which, I started shivering uncontrollably not due to the cold temperature in the room, but more to having these things in my blood vessels trying to vi for supremacy, whatever that means.

That had scared my roommate that she had covered me with her own comforter from her bed. I shivered still. I managed to call the front desk asking for ORS but they had none. Then my room mate said she would go get some from the pharmacy from the next door plaza. I waited for her, but she never came back. I was beginning to wonder if she ever would. She didn't exactly do that. I found out later that her hubby had driven up to the front door waiting for her and she had to leave because he was late for a meeting that evening and she had to take care of their kids as planned earlier and she passed the message to my other team mate Jazzy to get me the salts. My roommate couldn't text me telling me that cuz she didn't have my number until I text her telling her that I was going to the clinic with Abang later on.

Yeah. What was supposed to be his night off from seeing me, turned into a Doctor's visit. And I was all worried that I would still be sick or in recovery for the next few days that it would totally ruin the getaway.

At the KPJ hospital, the nurse took my temperature, I had a slight fever, and took my bp, it was quite high. Then I went in to see the doctor. After some questions and a feel up my tummy, he asked if they should issue a closure for inspection on the hotel where I had the poisoning. I asked them not to, adding that I also have IBS and I get a tummy ache really easily ever since my 'red tide' episode. He thought I was nuts, but I convinced him that there is nothing to worry about because it seems that I was the only one affected by the food. Then he asked me if I wanted the jab or just the meds. I asked him which one would heal me faster. We both knew it was the jab, so I got the jab. I was feeling better afterwards. And Abang picked up the bill.

*swoon...*

In case you are thinking I am a jakun for this kind of thing, I admit, I am a jakun because I have never had anyone outside the family do anything nice for me. In my whole life. Never. So, please excuse my jakunness.

*swoon...*

Anyway, I got myself some Vitagen and 100plus and some yoghurt for him. He dropped me off at the hotel and I went to bed straight away after the meds and two bottles of vitagen of course. He didn't let me have anything to eat that night because he doesn't want me sh*tting and vomiting all night.

And thank God, I was back on my feet and raring to go the next morning. Literally. Because I woke up later than I thought I did. I forgot to set my clock to go off at 6 as usual. I was sick, you see. My roommate... she's relied on me the past 2 days, I don't know why she still relied on me that night too. So we were late. But it was okay. We were 5 minutes late for class even after breakfast! So that was not so bad.

But yes, we were late.

Anyway, I regret taking the sambal from the nasi lemak later. Haiyoh! Budak ini!Tak sabar sabar nak melantak!

Anyway, everything was a-okay later on anyways.

My teammates telah mensabotaj mak kerana sebab mak sakit kan, sepatutnya tak payah la buat presentation sebab mak dah pun buat powerpoint slides tuh. Tapi last-last, mak jugak yang kena present. Tapi takpe. Mak take hold any grudge. They were good people. No way I can feel angry with them.

Dah habis course, dapat sijil penyertaan apa semua, we had lunch and we rushed back to our rooms to pack our stuff and check out. I just couldn't wait to be with Abang, really.

It was an hour earlier than I had told him, so when I called him there was no way he could get away from work, which is great because I had wanted to get something for his birthday, which was supposed to be the night before tapi sebab kena food poisoning, tak dapat la. So I messaged him that I would be at Crowne Plaza sekejap and be back at the hotel in no time. Daripada I melanguk at the lobby, baik I go get his bday prezzie, kan?

By the time I was back in the lobby, he was already in front of the entrance and calling me. So I grabbed my bag and we were on our way to the hotel he's booked me in. He saw the thing I bought and he said that they make it really good there. So I said, you like it so much? So it's yours. I handed it to him and said Happy Birthday. It was as simple as that. And I am glad that he is the type who does not bother with birthdays because I don't. Call me thoughtless, call me whatever, I just don't. A simple Happy Birthday greeting is more than enough for me.

Anyways, malam tu, apa lagi, pergi makan-makan la kan? Then he had to leave me alone sebab dia ada function kat hiw workplace, dengan beauty pageant, dengan countdown, and oh with his birthday celebration by his students and staff of course. He couldn't get away from that and I didn't expect him to. Actually tak sabar for the next morning sebenarnya.

The next morning, we went to Sebuyau. Kat mana tu? Jangan tanya la... saya tatau nyah! All I know, we took 2 ferries and a boat just to get there and along the way, there was miles and miles of greeneries and coconut palms. It was paradise. Well, if you like the view of kampung life and fresh fish right from the sea and endless tree lined road and puffs of cloud in the bright blue sky, that is where you should be headed.

he bought fish along the way and we had a lunch of fresh steamed terubuk and some other things with rice. It was great. I wish I could have shown a little more enthusiasm but I was still in recovery and no amount of acting can disguise the fact that my appetite was still not up to its normal level that day. But I did my best. :-)

Yes, one whole day just me, Abang and the open road. What is there not to love? By the end of the day, we were both pooped. We had dinner and I was off to slumber land the moment my head touched the pillow.

The next morning, he took me to breakfast. Since the day before, I asked if I could have laksa Sarawak he said we'll have that and he asked me if I can accommodate two rounds of breakfast? I had this strange eerie feeling...

Sure enough, we had the second best Laksa Sarawak in town. Including a piece of chicken feet. Oi, I eat chicken feet, okay? It's not that bad. Really. Then he took me somewhere closer to town for mee jawa pulak. Adoi ai... I tried eating it but then come on la... who was I kidding? My appetite is still not as it should be and noodles are not normally in my breakfast menus. I loved the laksa, I liked the mee jawa. But I couldn't finish the mee jawa. Probably full from the laksa. Of course lah! And he went on making me feel guilty all day. Jokingly of course. And I he's all black and blue from all that teasing. Padan muker... her her her. Whenever he starts "KIta mestilah menunjukkan kesyukuran kita dengan menghabiskan makananan kita.... " I would act like I was going to pinch him and ask him, "Are you gonna take that route or are you gonna take my word for it."

Then, since he has still got work to do, he dropped me off at the hotel and promised to pick me up again before 11 to go all over the place again. It was Saturday, he works on Saturday and he has a PLKN event to drop by too later on.

But he couldn't clear up things until 12noon when he came round and picked me up at the hotel. He took me to this area, I don't remember what's the name. The view of Serapi and Santubong was breathtaking. I wanted to cry but then nanti nampak overly-dramatic sangat. So I just snapped away and gasped and oohed and aahed all along the way. Believe me, the view was fantastic. We had lunch at this place tepi laut. Biasa je tempat tu. Macam rumah and gerai biasa. Makan masakan local. I loved the kerabu. And we had some siput bakau. It was very good. He wanted to get udang actually. Tapi semenjak dari Sebuyau lagi memang tak ada, sedangkan jarang tak ada udang ni. Now kat situ yang kat tepi laut tu pun tak ada juga. So he surmised, kalau nak beli udang tak boleh have me with him, sebab the gods of the udangs will not allow him to buy udang. Hahaha...

It rained hard while we ate and it rained still by the time we were ready to go. So he had the restaurant owner escort him to his car under the cover of an old umbrella and he drove the car to me so I won't have to walk so far to the car in the rain. *swoon*

For these few days, I have been telling him the benefits of staying in Kuching instead of moving to KK and start everything new. I don't particularly love Kuching, but I just don't see making Kota Kinabalu a home. Don't get me wrong. Kota Kinabalu is a great getaway destination. But it is concentrated and densely populated, I just think it is a bad idea, no matter how adaptable he is to his environment. Seeing that I was so keen on Kuching, it prompted him to ask me "So, you like Kuching, huh?"

"Yeah, it's not bad..." His next question made me laugh.

"How many do you have?" Aku mati -matilah ingat he was talking about Kuching the city. So I went on explaining to him about the type of cat I have and I only have one, very quiet, independent and mind-reading cat.

Then we swung by the PLKN camp for him to see the Camp Commandant, tapi he was nowhere to be seen. So after a few minutes, we left anyway. Then he took me to town to get some Sarawak t-shirts. I don't remember why, I sulked. I said, in my gentlest tone of voice, Takpelah... tak payah pergi tempat tu, I'll find something at the airport tomorrow morning, and I turned away all along the drive. I wanted to convince him I was really okay about not getting stuff for my friends tu. But I felt my spirit leaving me when he half-refused me that time. Like he didn't want to take me to that market. He didn't say much, but he said, it's okay, we're here, and besides, there would be nothing much to buy at the airport nanti. It was raining hard again. He parked the car, got out, opened an umbrella came to my side and waited for me to come out and handed me the umbrella while he put on his baseball cap. You see, he hates the rain because he gets sick very easily when he is exposed to the rain. But wanting to teach me positive thinking, he'd always say, rain is good, it clears up the haze. I could sense that he was eager to get me back to my hotel so he could clear up work and lock up and spend the rest of the day with me. But since I was sulking, he braved the rain and took me to the market anyway. I felt guilty for being so sensitive. He walked quickly, I had to speed up my pace to keep up with him. He was not mad at me, he was just trying not to be in the rain too long.

I got my stuff and was happy again. No, I am not the type yang merajuk panjang-panjang. I didn't even want him to know I was sulking that time, but maybe the tone of voice and the body language was too loud for a man of his calibre not to notice. And he handled it wery well. Just right.

On the way back to the hotel and when I was in a better mood than before, Broery's Jangan Ada Dusta came on the radio, and he dedicated that song to me. I wanted so much to shed tears... tapi I simply turned away and just listened to every word from the song.

That's Abang. He may be old and hard to read his expression, he does not do the PDA thing and he hides me from everyone. I understand that he has a hard time expressing his feelings, except for the times when we held hands in the car. But whenever there is a good song, he'd ask me to listen and dedicate it to me. I guess that is his way of telling me how much he cares about me without having to say it himself. That would suffice, for now. He can't even say he loves or misses me. We'll find a way.

Then he dropped me off at the hotel went back to his office to clear up and lock up and came back an hour later with pizza. Yeah, finally we get to spend some time together just the two of us. Finally there was no scenery or people to distract me from the questions that I have been dying to ask him. Esok pagi dah nak balik, he said. This is the last chance we have to spend together... he's so sweet. We talked and ate and talked and ate. But then it was already 8. The news was on.

He said if he wants to be on time to get me to the airport the next day, he'd have to leave then and get enough rest. He's had a full week so far.

This morning, I woke up at 4.15am to get ready to fly back home. He called me at 5am to tell me that he is awake which means I don't have to get a cab to the airport. He picked me up at the hotel at exactly 5.40am, as he said he would the night before. Once I checked myself in, he quickly took me downstairs and to the ground floor where there is an open restaurant and proceeded to buy me breakfast of nasi goreng with two chunks of chicken curry. It's the Kuching airport and it was 6am. If he had more time and it was a little later than that, he could have been more original.

I picked my way through the meal and he finally said, you don't have to force yourself. Just leave it and you can have a better meal in Miri later. Does he sound kesian or what?

Tadi I sampai Miri airport, I didn't have that lunch he's asked me to have. Didn't have the appetite. He's not there with me.

But then, as soon as I got to Lawas, just to cleanse myself of his aura and of being with him these six days, and get my sense of being to back being alone again (don't worry, he's the only person in my heart for a long time now) not in the safety of him being by my side, I took Z to Sipitang and had a hearty late lunch of Beef Fried Rice and Sup Tulang. Ha... siapa kata mak takde selera, nyah?

I have photos of course, but I lost my card reader. So that will have to wait.

For Bella and J, nanti I balas your comments, k? I wanna get some rest myself. Esok dah sekolah. Sedih sebab we're apart again.

He wants to start the paperwork for our wedding. That's sweet. But then if he knew I haven't gone for the wedding course the way he's asked me to, is he gonna be disappointed in me? I'll go. Soon.

Malam ni, have to start getting used to not seeing him in the morning when he swings by like he always does the past few days. Gosh, why does he have such effect on me?

I miss him. I miss him so very much... :-(

2 comments:

Anatel Ameen said...

Seronok baca entry kali ini. I am happy for you. Hope everything ended up PERFECTLY. Aku tunggu jemputan...

Narcissca Ariadne Alvarez said...

You know you'll be among the first to know...