Gallivants around KL

So, part of the reason why I wasn't in much mood to write was that there were sooo many things to do in KL after the exams! Let's recap:

Thursday:
Right after the last OSCE (clinical-oriented exam) I got myself online to empty my overladen hotmail account and read some blogs. Elena has a great write-up on the exams - go read! Then went shopping in Midvalley, before going to Bandar Utama (BU) for SH's birthday party. It was jam time then, but as providence would have it, while we were trying a new route from Midvalley to BU we met JH who was a regular on that route. So we ended up having a guide, and a good one too! I think SJ and J and I might owe him a meal somewhere though... :> Dinner was at Eurodeli with its steaks, sausages and pork specialties. Nice ambience and nice food. We were definitely the rowdiest bunch there, which was to be expected since we all had to unwind from the stresses of exams. And yet traces of the exam were to be found in all our conversations - we discussed questions, complained about the examiners and simulated patients, worried about our results... and while the cake was being presented someone asked SC to "inspect the cake" and SC replied: "there are no obvious discolourations on the cake" a la OSCE. Definitely overstressed.

After that, the only people I could muster up to go "lounging" with me, C and YP, left to go to Kit Kat Lounge in Sheraton KL. I drove YP's Getz (a smooth ride that one) and got ourselves a little lost first before arriving at the said place. Unbeknownst to us, the lounge was closed for renovations and we knew nowhere else to go for good jazz music. We ended up in Midvalley for the midnight show. C finally got her wish to watch "Meet the Fockers". I can't believe they trained an innocent kid to do all those crazy things!!! Polluters of a child's mind! *sigh* And all the blatant in-your-face jokes... "Meet the Parents" was better and more refined, if you could call it refined in any way. All the same, it was good for a post-exam destressor.

Friday:
FUTSAL! 1/2 a day later than the guys we hit the court and find that we are seriously out of shape, I more than others. While KL, YK, P, SJ, SN, E and the rest could still run around chasing the ball I was out after one particular strenuous chase and spent the rest of the time goal-keeping, or at least trying to. After that it was off to 1 Utama for a shopping trip. No, not that kind of shopping, though I did go into some clothes shops. I spent most of my time (4 hours) in the humongous two-storey MPH that is situated there, finding books to spend my vouchers on. Boy did I have fun! As I walked in I made a beeline for the fiction shelves and by the time I had perused the 3rd shelf I had a handful of books already. Thank goodness a sales assistant came up to me with a basket for the books. I finished the ground floor fiction and fantasy sections with the basket brimful of books, and went up to the 2nd floor for Christian and handicraft books. I spent the rest of my time there choosing which from my basket to buy, and finally settled on these:

1. The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason
2. Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder
3. Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Packhurst
4. Equal Rites, a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett
5. A - Z of Embroidery Stitches
6. The Official Scrabble Player Dictionary

Thanks again to those who gave me the vouchers. I had a great time choosing the books! :)
After that was the 1st CG meeting for 2005. Found out that we're now called "Love". Weird. There were the usual jibes about being called "Grace" instead.

Saturday:
Finally ate the famous Indian rojak and cendol in SS15 with Kat. It was raining, so there were less people in the line, but we couldn't stand around to eat. Kat then suddenly had a craving for tomyam chau fan so we went there too. Yum yum!
The night was Shal's. Went to watch "Ocean's 12" before having her birthday dinner at Chilli's, where she always had wanted to go before. After that, we wanted to go to Bangsar to welcome her real birthday, but the clock turned to 12 midnight while we three housemates were in my car finding parking so SJ and I sang "Happy Birthday" for her in the car.

Sunday:
Sunday service was good, with Unc. T preaching. But ultimately the highlight of the day was this:

Hannah and Hanna. When YK proposed a trip to see this play I said yes only because it was a play and I wanted something to do and look forward to. But after watching it, I'm really really really glad I did. (Thanks YK.) It was superbly done - from the characters, the choice of clothing, the backdrops, to the songs, the emotions, the words and the issues addressed. The lines, movements, and songs were very well synchronised and even with the unfamiliar accents and sometimes unfamiliar jokes and terms, it was easy to understand. Even with the faked accent was Hanna able to sound lovely while singing harmony with Hannah. It's rare that you get to see good plays like these which make you feel myriad emotions, and I'm lucky to have caught this one. My only bone of contention would be the rather abrupt ending which to me was somewhat uncomprehendable, so it was nice to have a question&answer session with the scriptwriter and the two actresses, where we discussed the ending and other aspects of the play.

Later, when we were walking around, S and I saw a small little boy of about 5 playing drums for the weekly jazz session. Imagine: a tiny 5-year-old whose feet don't touch the bass drum pedal, playing jazz beats complete with fill-ins and variations, keeping in time with the bassist, guitarist and singer. Talent at work. We just stood there and ooh-ed and aah-ed in awe of this little boy.

That night, a group of us decided to try the "lounging" thing again. Staying clear of Kit Kat Lounge, we club-hopped and hotel-hopped but to no avail. The 6 of us finally went to Steven's Corner for mamak. At least we had Michael Buble (cue S and YK!) in the car to croon for us.

Monday:
Monday was visa day for me. I had to brave the jam twice: once in the morning to make the visas, and once again in the evening to collect them. But it was a good experience to know how to apply for visas; if only the High Commission of India would put up more signs to explain the process to the masses.

Dinner was at Ming Tien Taman Megah with BP and WL. A veritable "pig" dinner with numerous courses and of course, dessert. Put in good company and I wouldn't have it any better. My last time seeing these two for the next year anyway, so time well spent.

Tuesday:
Flew home! And here I am writing this in the comforts of my own home. I think I'll hold exam blogging till after results come out.