Monday, August 25, 2008

BFF: Part I

I asked her, "What shall I blog about today?"

After some suggestions which I dismissed, she said, "Blog about me!"

And so I shall.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Stefi.


Ain't she da bomb?

It was 1998, I was 17 and she, 19. (Side note: OMFG, was it that long ago?) We were both first year freshies of the Mass Communications degree programme at KDU College. During one of the orientation sessions (I think!) we found ourselves seated next to each other. She touched me on my arm and asked if I was cold and according to her, I gave her 'the stare'.

I mean seriously - tak kenal, tiba-tiba she meraba my arm. What did she expect? A large coke and fries?

So there, in a blink of an eye, we've reached the 10-year mark of our friendship. It's a whole damn decade, and a lot of shit can happen in this time. Trying to remember it all would be insane. Plus it doesn't help that I subject myself to substances *cough* that mess with my brain cells.

Stefi has been there for me for pretty much everything.

Back then, IRC was the in-thing and I tell you - we were so damn addicted to it. We'd go to cyber-cafes late at night or early in the morning just to get online. When she eventually had a internet connection at home, we took turns sleeping, and the monitor eventually kapoot-ed. We'd meet up with friends we'd make online. And I even shook her up one morning when a particular PaperBoy ajak-ed us to go for bak kut teh at 5am in the morning.

We were fearless.

I used to rent a room in SS2, just right behind the fire station. And she was staying 10 steps away from KDU. Back then, they did not build the partition separating the 2 sides of the LDP, and I would run across the highway to get to her place. Eventually, they built a fence of sort, but we still found our way to crawl under it to get to the other side. Towards our last days at KDU, there was no way we could crawl or jump over it. I had to (finally) use the overhead bridge.

We'd walk along the LDP, from KDU to Dharoos mamak (in Damansara Utama) in the middle of the night just to eat their nasi lemak kambing. We frequented Dharoos so much that one of the fellas there enquired on our disappearance after I visited once upon returning from Australia.

Sometimes we went for classes, sometimes we didn't. When we did, we'd take ciggie breaks under the big tree at the entrance of KDU. Some familiar faces under the tree include Ken, Barry, Kelvin and our lecturer Gary.

Stefi never knew Gary was gay until we were about to leave KDU, and till this day, I wonder where she was. Heh, yes, she can be quite blur and clueless!

After 2 years in KDU, we both left for Perth. That first night at the Student Village (Flat 21) where we shared a twin-room, Ken came over and we drank vodka. You turned beetroot-red, as always, and then started giggling non-stop.

Thank god my mom had the sense to pack for me a bedsheet + comforter set, else we would have both froze on our first night in Perth. OK maybe not, since we had vodka in our tummies.

Dammit woman - I have so much to write about you that it will take a few entries!

Posted by Doreen at 2:57 pm