Here, I would like everyone to get acquainted with some of the people around me that contributed a significant amount in moulding my (weird) nature, putting things mildly, that is.
MELISSA LING
Ah… my first victim…and what an appetite I have worked up. Looks can be deceiving, and often misleading, so the saying goes. Well, that saying certainly applies in this case. Her acclaimed ability to churn out 'classic' sarcastic remarks and her mischievous character is certainly not synchronized with her gentle conduct, angelic smile and soft, gentle vocal chords to match. ( I know you hate being described as gentle, meli, but "bo pian" =) Call a spade a spade, they say.
Yet, I must add, beneath that thick cloak of sarcasm lies a heart of gold…or maybe silver. Whatever. Kind and charitable, her ambition, as this sometimes-nutty friend of mine puts it in my much-abused autograph, is to scale the peaks of Tanjung Batu, I quote : "Mendaki bkt. Tg. Batu." No one has figured out why, but you can be sure her cerebrum remains off-limits to the public.
I would like to continue and say that Meli is romantically linked with so-and-so, but I do treasure life you see, especially mine, and I do not consider it a pleasure to be maimed by Melissa. Nor by anyone else for that matter.
Meli remains, well, infatuated with cats. Yes, more specifically, two feline(s) by the name of Snowy and Leo; both are Siamese, despite their obvious differences in character. All five of us have been "victimized" by the ferocious Leo, and we have yet to lodge a police report. =)
SYLVIA CHIENG
Now we move on to Sylvia, a girl who is bound to inflict tons of laughter on everyone around her. Having overdosed on Gila-gila, Ujang and Lanun, she possesses the gift to gab and "buat lawak" as she calls it, all with unconstraint ease. Thus, this subject is always seen with a frivolous smile plastered on her face, come rain or shine. In addition, Sylvia also showers a considerable amount of love onto her pet fish(es), considering the absence of a male companion. (read : she's single)
Heh, I still remember the time when a few of us slightly demented beings gathered together in her house to complete a project. Alas, our attention soon wandered, and how in the world we ended up cleaning Sylvia's fish tank is not within my comprehension, even until today. However, I can still recall the horror on everyone's face as I, being the pioneer-of-sorts, gallantly (hehe) fished out, so to speak, a dead fish. Yes, a very dead fish from a pool of very dead, filthy water. A gruesome sight, no doubt. After we recovered from the hysteria (okay, so I exaggerated a teeny-weeny bit), plucky Sylvia then summoned up enough courage to bury the now-defunct fish, letting that cold-blooded aquatic animal rest in piece(s).
To conclude, Sylvia's interest in biology has also led us to believe that she has a rare kind of talent to perform a certain kind of surgery which I am not at liberty to disclose.
GORDON SIM
This prehistoric mammal is unique, being able to make ironic observations of life with a straight face, though sometimes accompanied by a sardonic smile smudged on his caveman face. Although antique, this mean soldier has braved rubbish bins, science books, group work, and an endless list of errands we specifically directed him to carry out. As such, he has been awarded the highest rank in khadam-dom, that is, the position of Ketua Khadam Negara, a post previously held by Chin. Thank you, Gordon, for your willingness to lend a helping hand, especially for the "rubbish bins" throughout the year. Or maybe just for the rubbish bins =)
An aspiring rocket scientist , Gordon processes memory in an unusual way, as witnessed by the weird and thoroughly mind-provoking (at times) or down right inane questions or problems he might initiate.
CHIN YIING LEONG
Ah, Chin, fondly referred to as our (meaning me, Melissa and Sylvia) "little sista". This human (I hope=) specimen tends to laugh uncontrollably when subjected to even the slightest of humorous remarks. This property of Chin serves us well, for it not only exercises his facial muscles, the continuous string of laughter tends to disrupt the p&p process, killing the bulk of our monotonous school time in a less painful way.
Chin's Archilles' heel. Chin has this phobia of insects, and although we try not to take advantage of it, the opposite tends to happen more often than not. (hehe=) We have entered him in the Teenager's Book Of Records as to date, he has only worn jeans ONCE in his entire life…..HORROR of all HORRORS!! Heck, (forgivable though, since) he did look mighty uncomfortable and peculiar in them, so I guess it's back to his usual attire……
W.B. Yeats
Well, what can I say? Five of us amusingly eccentric and somewhat irrational people spent many if our most memorable( I said memorable-this implies almost everything, including the heart-wrenchin', nail-bitin', tear-flowin', back stabbin' *okay-lah, maybe not so..* parts, yeah, especially those) times together;
lending each other a helping hand, being there when we needed each other (in more ways than one; witness the "rubbish-throwing" sequence that repeats itself week after week…), sharing our joy(s), the ups and downs *gee, I can almost hear Daniel going "part and parcel of life, dear" and getting all giggly. * …
then there's the part where we ridicule one another, "bestowing" silly but nevertheless most fitting, I have to say, nicknames on each other +others , pulverizing **** ppl, playing tricks, getting together, hatching plans that were horribly devastating in consequence, and…. and I think it befitting that I stop here before things start to get ugly.
you know, it's times like this that I really admire Bak's flair for total annihilation…
UPDATES
Both Meli and Sylvia have been kept busy with all sorts of outlandish activities. Sylvia was caught up in advertising a new anti-dandruff shampoo (refer to mansang 97) while Meli decided to polish her culinary skills, majoring in mee siam (refer to mansang 98).