TVXQ! MIROTICON IN BANGKOK

Okay, I'll just be very brief (as brief as the trip was, actually). I went on my first ever trip to Bangkok and now that I think about it, my first trip overseas with a friend. And when I said that the trip was brief, I really meant it because we were at Bangkok for barely even a day.

So, the trip officially started at 9.00 am on 28th June 2009 (28!! Jun!!) when I took a taxi to the LCCT. On the way, I had a very enlightening talk with the taxi driver who had all sorts of advice for me. He also gave me quite a mind-boggling question, which I will ponder on from time to time. I met Eela at the terminal and we checked in together.

The flight to Bangkok was uneventful (so was the flight back, hee). We slept, I played Sudoku and read Reader's Digest (July Edition). The plane safely landed at the Survanabhumi International Airport at approximately 12.45pm(Thailand time). We decided to be a bit adventurous and take the bus rather than a taxi. After I had a good first look at Bangkok, I promptly fell asleep until we were nearing Victory Monument.

We got off the bus near the BTS station. Next mode of transport: Skytrain! The BTS Skytrain is quite like Malaysia's LRT. We just had two stops though and stopped at Ratchathewi. Then, we spent almost an hour looking for our hotel, The Residence Rajtaevee. We made a wrong turn and had walk all the way back to where we started. With our bag straps digging onto our backs, we had to turn to the locals for directions. In the end, we had to take a Tuk Tuk to the hotel. And the best part is, it turned out if we had just walked a bit further up the road, we could've found the hotel ourselves. Sheeesh...

We checked in and freshened up a bit because we had to be at the Impact Arena by 5.00 pm and it was already 3.30pm. We hailed a taxi to take us to the venue but as we were nearing the area, the traffic slowed to almost a crawl. We spent most of our time in the taxi basically counting down the minutes and worriedly looking up front wondering what the traffic jam is all about.

Me with my three boys..

We made it in the nick of time and just barely got our tickets, which by the way is sooo COOL! We walked around the area, took some pictures and immediately headed to the official goods counter. But only the T-shirts and hairpins were left! So I bought the shirts for me and Kak Maya and then we joined the queue to our section. This time we had numbered seats which is a bit further up from the stage. The staff did a thorough search of our bags and they threw away all our food! And they managed to find my camera so I had to turn it in. Sob!

Taking pictures in front of the 4nologue display and the official TVXQ! merchandise booth.

The concert was AWESOME! It started at 6.00pm. I screamed until my throat was sore and DBSK haven't even came out yet. Tsk tsk.. The boys were absolutely fantastic. They started with fast songs (basically lip-synching). I can't remember the exact playlist of the concert but among the performances I adore were: Rising Sun (my fave!!), Wrong Number, Sky, It's Time For Love, Mirotic, Hug (Rock version), Balloons, Xiahtic, Checkmate (Yunho vs. Junsu!), Tonight, Hahaha Song and Insa. I absolutely LOVE the boys' ballads and their fast numbers are so very engaging that I had a very hard time deciding to see the screen or the boys themselves. Almost always my eyes would be dragged to the stage because I wanted to appreciate the overall choreography and when else can I feast my eyes on them.

I thought Junsu seems a bit out at first. But towards the end, he started to smile a lot. Yunho looked like he had tons of fun on stage and was always bending over backwards (literally) for the fans. Jaejoong was sheer visual perfection. He looks so smoldering that I find myself thinking what a pretty guy he is a few times throughout the show. Yoochun also seem like he had lots of fun and played around quite a bit. Changmin fell during the Hahaha song and kinda hurt his ankle (?) but somehow he continued the performance. For this show, they had a total of two "fake" endings where they just suddenly exit stage. But just as suddenly they would popup again. But most of us already knew, thanks to Youtube!

Aaah, isn't the Red Ocean beautiful?

The show ended at about 8.45pm. Most of the fans were reluctant to leave their seats. But when we got outside, it was raining! And the roads up front were already about 3 inches deep in water. We spent about half an hour to get a taxi but our efforts were futile. So we took a mini-bus to the Mo Chit BTS station and then took a taxi to our hotel. It was already about 12.30am by the time we dragged our feet into our room and just fell on the bed.

We had about three hours worth of sleep because we needed to be at the airport by 5.00am. So we checked out of the hotel at 4.30am and took a taxi. We had a lot of time in our hands so we walked around a bit and settled at the Muslim prayer room. We spent about half an hour there and then proceeded to the passport control. The staff there took my toner!! Why?! I didn't do anything interesting during the flight. But I did buy a couple of AirAsia shirts and a glow-in-the-dark Transformers shirt. Because I wanted to finish all my Bahts. Hee..

You might not notice but we hadn't have a decent meal since the start of the journey. As soon as we got off the plane, we headed straight to OldTown. I had a HorFun, Kaya Toast with a cool chocolate drink. Bad move. Why? Because I had sore throat and a disappearing voice. I should not be having cold drinks.

In keeping with our theme of taking public transport, we took the Aerobus to KL Central and then parted ways at the Putra LRT. Thanks Eela!! It may seem crazy to some of you but I felt this was one thing I needed to do. We only get to do crazy things so many times in our life, right? And, if you can believe it, I spent a total of a thousand ringgit for the whole trip. Not bad right?

There you have it, the whole account. It's not really a fan account since I only mentioned the concert in three paragraphs. But the concert was one of the main point of the post, hence the bold. Hahaha.

SLEEP PARALYSIS

Have you ever woken up to find that you are unable to move your body? That it is even impossible to open your eyes let alone let out a small call for help? And then you feel like you're falling through a dark, deep expanse of space, with no sense of orientation. Sometimes you might even hear incomprehensible voices.

I have. In fact, the first time I experienced it was in November 2002. I've had several such episodes since, which initially totally freaked me out. In Malaysia, this is thought to be because a spirit (or ghost, whatever tickles your fancy) was literally on top of you, thus disabling any form of movement.

In truth, this is what scientist call sleep paralysis.

"It is a frightening form of paralysis that occurs when a person suddenly finds himself or herself unable to move for a few minutes, most often upon falling asleep or waking up. Sleep paralysis is due to an ill-timed disconnection between the brain and the body. The symptoms of sleep paralysis include sensations of noises, smells, levitation, paralysis, terror, and images of frightening intruders. Once considered very rare, about half of all people are now believed to experience sleep paralysis sometime during their life. Sleep paralysis strikes as a person is moving into or out of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, the deepest part of sleep. During REM sleep the body is largely disconnected from the brain leaving the body paralyzed. Sleep paralysis is the result of premature (or persistent) mind-body disconnection as one is about to enter into (or exit from) REM sleep. Sleep paralysis occurs most often after jet lag or periods of sleeplessness that interrupt the normal REM patterns. It affects both sexes equally and occurs at all ages but is most common in teenagers. Sleep paralysis can be familial and may be genetic (inherited) in some cases. An attack of sleep paralysis is usually harmless and self-limited. It tends to be over in a minute or two as soon as the brain and body re-establish connections and the person is able to move again. However, the memory of the terrifying sensations felt during sleep paralysis can long endure." (Medicine.net)

To sum it up, it is basically when your brain is somehow activated but your body has turned off and disconnected from the brain. I actually saw a documentary on this and was somewhat relieved. And looking back, I realized that everytime I experienced the sleep paralysis is when I was uber exhausted and mecha tired.

So, just wanted to share the scientific explanation for this phenomenon. This might bring enlightenment to some or maybe cause some form of discomfort to some, depending on how you take it. But at least, the truth is out there. Huu~

P/S-No pictures of TVXQ because I seem to can't find one where all of them were asleep. So, I present to you, Arashi!!

HANA YORI DANGO (SPOILERS AHEAD)

I have finished watching the Japenese version TWICE. Sad to say, I loved it more than the Korean version (although Lee Min Ho is HOOOOOTTTT). I found the Korean version a bit lost in its direction as well as draggy at times. The lead couple (LeeMinHo and GooHye Sun) also lacks chemistry compared to MatsuJun and Inoue Mao (more on that later). I have also read the whole 36+1 volume of manga. So, basically I have the general idea of the original storyline and the Japanese version followed the manga very closely with a few added liberties. The Japanese production crew even brought the original writer on board for the HanaDan Final Movie to wrap up the story and formally say our goodbyes to Tsukasa Domyouji and Tsukushi Makino. I do not however have the slightest inclination to watch the Taiwanese version.

Makino with her F4. I want my F4 too!!

I think the chemistry between MatsuJun and Mao was just mindblowing. To the extent that I wouldn't mind if they were actually dating, hee.. And Jun's portrayal of Domjouji was just completely MARVELLOUS. Haha.. (inside joke)... I've seen my share of dramas and Jun made Domjouji completely his own, in a sense that I sometimes forgot that the guy playing "Ore-sama" is Jun. Bravo to you, MatsuJun!! In my book, that is a very huge deal because I tend to connect the character to the actor, which sometimes took some of the enjoyment of the drama (or movie) away. I think I'm not making sense now... Moving on...

Having fun in New York...

Anyway, although the protagonists are what made me hooked to this drama, the tight storyline is really what made me stuck with it till the very end, so kudos to the writer. There was never a dull moment in each episode. The endings always took me by surprise because it didn't feel like 45 minutes have passed. One more kudos to the Director (Yasuharu Ishii) for the editing.

In the manga, Domyouji is actually the tallest of the F4. But still, who could've played Domyouji better than Jun?

And I love it that he rocks the perm!

The songs in the drama also fits perfectly. Especially the song "Planetarium" by Ai Otsuka. And they came at the right places throughout the drama which made it more enjoyable. I've always been a bit on the critical side when it comes to a story's background score, but HanaDan really shone in that respect. Also the songs by Arashi; WISH, Love So Sweet and One Love (my favourite Arashi song ever!) are what made me their fangirl now. I do wish to point out in a slight fangirl mode that I love Domyouji's look in the second season because he just looks every inch like Domyouji. I thought the Domyouji in the Final had a slightly rough look while in the second he was more refined. Not loving the hair from the first season although out of all the three projects, season 1 is my favourite! Having finished my overall comment of this amazing jdorama, I will now attempt to summarize the 2 dramas and 1 movie.

Hana Yori Dango Season 1

The central character in this story is Makino Tsukushi (played by Inoue Mao). She is a simple girl with a loving family that is very much short on money. I mean, they have fried chicken skins for dinner and the father dilutes his liquor so that he can enjoy one full bottle per week (!!!). Ironically, Makino is studying in Eitoku High, a school for the most elite youngsters in Japan. Brands like Gucci, trips to foreign locations and being driven around with a chaffeur were a norm for all of them. Which places Makino squarely at the very bottom of the hierarchy of Eitoku. Domyouji Tsukasa (played by Matsumoto Jun), however sits at the very pinnacle of the student body. Just his presence in the school causes a commotion of sorts and he is almost always accompanied by three of his best friends. The four of them are called F4 (Flower 4). The F4 are the most powerful (which means the richest) students in the school. They are Hanazawa Rui (Oguri Shun), Nishikado Soujiroh (Shota Matsuda) and Mimasaka Akira (Tsuyoshi Abe). Their family contributed a lot to the school whereby the school in turn gives them the freedom to do whatever they want. You'll never catch them in school uniforms and they come and go as they please.Domyouji is the leader of the group and has a flaringly violent temper. Anyone who defies or displeases him will be issued a Red Card. Once you're given a Red Card, all Eitoku students have free reign to basically make your life horrible, culminating in you being hit to a pulp by the man himself.

In order to avoid such ordeal, Makino always chose to remain inconspious and reigning in her anger at the blatant injustice. However, when her new friend Sakurako was to be the target of the group she just couldn't stifle the urge to protect her friend. This is where Makino's and Domyouji's paths crossed. Being the first person ever to stand up to him (and a girl to boot) Domyouji's immediately intrigued. He asked Makino out (in a hilariously cute way where he practically circled her) and they ended up locked in an elevator together. Beacuse he had been waiting for Makino for five hours in the rain, Domyouji developed a high fever and ended up collapsing on top of Makino. She gave him some medicine and they spent the night together. (I love, love, love this scene. This is also where I fell in love with the song Planetarium).

The friend who Makino stood up for actually set up the whole thing so that she could get back at Domyouji for being mean to her when they were young. She kidnapped Makino and when Domyouji came to save her, she threatened to hurt Makino if he even lifts a finger. In the end, Makino could only watch as Domyouji gets beaten up. When she realized that she had gone too far, Sakurako left them after which Domyouji confesses his feelings for Makino.

More angst ensues for the pair as Hanazawa Rui, freshly dumped by his first love starts showing interest in Makino. Domyouji then declared that Rui is to be cutoff from F4. It turned out that although Rui genuinely had feelings for Makino, he decided that she is better off with Domyouji (yeay for Domyouji but poor Rui). Now for the last and final enemy, Domyouji's Mom. Having her son date a poor common girl doesn't sit well for Mommy dearest so she hatched a plan to ruin Makino's family and all those around her as well. With the help of Domyouji's sister Tsubaki, Makino then joined the Teen of Japan competition in order to win the cash prize to help her family. She almost gave up when she couldn't cope with all the pressure and just wanted out. however, Domyouji said that it's not like her to give up and encouraged her to just be herself in the competition.

She ended up being the first runner up of the competition but at the time, Domyouji had reached an agreement with Mommy being that if Makino wins Mommy would leave them alone but Domyouji have to go study in New York in the event that she lost. Domyouji chose not to inform Makino about the bargain and left quietly to New York. He entrusted Rui to give Makino a Saturn necklace, having read that both him and Makino were from the planet Saturn, thus unequivocally making them destined in a weird sort of way. However, Makino found out from Rui about Domyouji's departure and managed to chase after the airplane right before it took off. Makino then proceeded to confess her feelings and they share a sweet kiss. this is one of the sweetest kiss scene I've ever seen. To have the sunset as a backdrop and not actually see their lips tpuching was just so magical.

Hana Yori Dango Returns Season 2

Domyouji has been in New York for a year and has since cut off all communications with Makino. After she was issued a Red Card, supposedly the work of a junior acting under Domyouji's direction, Makino heads to New York to confront Domyouji. Seeing Makino there, Domyouji falters for an instant but then acts nonchalant. He laughed their relationship off and claimed that it's nothing but childish play. Hurt, Makino returned to Japan, with every intention of getting Domyouji out of her life. As fate would have it, Mommy had different plans. She shipped Domyouji back to Japan and announced his engagement to Shigeru, the only daughter of an oil tycoon in America.

In truth, Domyouji's actions are in part because of he was under the impression that he caused the death of a colleague and burdened by the responsibility of the Domyouji Corporation's leagues of employees, he chose to sever ties with Makino. However, being so close to her, the dormant feelings reawakened with a force. When Makino collapsed after a string of part time job, Domyouji threw caution to the wind and practically ran to her, only to find himself too late as Rui was already at her side. A resigned Domyouji then told Shigeru that he will try to accept her and suggested that they date.

When Makino's parents had to move to the country leaving her with her brother in a dilapidated house, Domyouji instantly rented the room next door in the pretext of being independent but somehow realizing that his feelings for Makino will never go away. During one of their quarrels in her house, Makino gave Domyouji a back flip, which resulted in a huuuge hole in the floor. Now Makino is left homeless. So where else would she go but to the Domyouji mansion. Persuaded by Tsubaki, Makino agreed to stay but she wanted to work for it. And so she became Domyouji's personal maid( with some help from a senpai).

Shigeru at first was a bit ignorant about the whole Makino and Domyouji thing but she soon found out later on and even lied to Makino about the nature of their relationship. In the end, Shigeru conceeded to Makino, citing indifference to Domyouji during their actual engagement. Domyouji knew how Rui felt about Makino and got on his knees begging him to let go of Makino. It took a lot of guts for Domyouji to do that, which surprised Rui and also the rest of the F4 gang.

This provided some sort of reprieve for the couple as they enjoyed a day together. At the restaurant, Domyouji found out that Mommy had cut off all finances to him, basically leaving him penniless. Mommy not only froze his credit cards, but she basically severed all ties with Domyouji, meaning he's no longer the Domyouji Corporation heir. Guilty of causing Domyouji to be denied of his place in his family and also his luxuries, Makino bid goodbye to Domyouji and joined her family in the country.

Determined not to let her go, Domyouji followed, with a promise that they will always be together. But he fell off a boulder, hit his head and fell unconsciuos. When he woke up, Domyouji could not remember Makino to the surprise of his friends. At the hospital, he began to get close to another girl, Umi but he still had lingering feelings of the memories of Makino that he lost. In an effort to cheer Makino up, the F4 decided to treat her to an exclusive resort up in the snowy mountains. And who should Domyouji bring along? Umi!! Umi knew of Makino's relationship to Domyouji and having wanted him for herself, and somehow managed to get Makino up in the mountain when there were reports of a storm brewing in. Upon hearing that Makino might be in danger, Domyouji reacted at the speed of light and rushed out to save her.

When he finally did find her, they were both in no condition to make their way down. Since he had to get Makino dry, Domyouji took off his clothes to warm her. And he ended up with a fever. (Again!!). Makino then promptly gave him some medicine and covered him with layers of clothes. This scene is reminiscent of the elevator scene in Season 1. Being in the similar situation, revived Domyouji's memories and they ended up spending the night together (Again!!).

In the end, Domyouji proposed to Makino in front of the whole Eitoku student body and all seem to be happy.

Hana Yori Dango Final

Four years after he proposed, Domyouji finally held a press conference that he will marry Makino that spring, after her graduation from Eitoku University. Mommy who is now completely OK having Makino as her daughter-in-law and presents them with a tiara: The Smile of Venus saying that the tiara has been passed down in the Domyouji family for generations and is said to bring eternal love. However, the tiara was stolen from their hotel room, right before Domyouji's and Makino's eyes. Failing to catch the culprit they reported to the hotel management regarding to the theft but was informed that no such incidences have occured.

Following a trail that the owner of the hotel is currently in Las Vegas, both of them quietly headed to U.S. Although the owner admitted to the fact that he did cover the incident at the hotel up, he did not know where the tiara was. And then it's F4 to the rescue!! Akira found out that the tiara is being auctioned off at the black market and all four (plus Makino) of them immediately flew in the Flower4 personal jet to Hong Kong. It took a lot of cash but in the end they managed to get the tiara. Up till now, Makino's been having second thoughts to the marriage and both of them ended up fighting. On the way back to Japan, both of them fell asleep only to find themselves left on a deserted island.

Having to fend for themselves, both were a little sore with each other. Until Makino lost her saturn necklace. The lost necklace brought back a lot of memories, reminding both of them of the ordeal they had to go through in order to be together. And so, they spent their time freely in each other company, running around and generally being in lurve. When Makino asked about his dreams, Domyouji promptly pointed to her saying that it already came true. However, later when he asked the same thing to her, they were broken off by the sounds of helicopter proclaiming that they came to take them home.

In Japan, they were informed that the tiara was a fake and that everyhting was a test to see whether they can still be together even in the hardest of times. They passed with colors flying literally everywhere (!!). And what should come after that? An F4 produced wedding for Makino and Domyouji!! (I cried when they said their vows. Like, finally!!). The epilogue showed everybody continuing their lives after the wedding and some surprise for Domyouji (one of my most favourite scenes in the whole HanaDan story).

The final scene shows a picture of five of them. First in real life and slowly transitioned to manga form signalling the completion of not only the movie but also the manga. It was definitely bittersweet seeing them in manga form as the adventures we took with them has truly been precious and unforgettable. Thank you Yoko Kamio for your lovely story.

So, there it is, my attempt to summarize the whole HanaDan experience. There were other side story arcs that I didn't mention such as Tsusumu's first confession and the whole Soujiroh thing in the second installment. I also didn't mention Yuuki, Makino's best friend and Nishida, Domyouji's butler. So, sorry for that. This was what I could do with the time that I had. I also limited my caps a bit, you might find them a bit Jun-centric but hey, it's MY blog right? In hindsight I would've liked to see Domyouji taking care of sick Makino in the Final just to balance the whole Makino taking care of Domyouji in the first two dramas. Especially with them being on a deserted island. Such wasted opportunity. I was also a bit disappointed that Tsubaki wasn't at their wedding since she played a HUGE part in their love story. Also, the summary for the dramas are longer than the Final because there were like 9 -11 episodes while the movie was only like, 2 hours...

RELAY FOR LIFE KL 2009

Waaah, just got back from MSN Bukit Jalil for the RELAY FOR LIFE (RFL) KL 2009. Me and the two other Aimi Hs' (Huda and Husna) together with Dini were volunteers for the National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM). Incidentally, NCSM is the organizer for the event, the third year they're organizing the Relay.

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30th May 2009

Aunty Dalila brought us to the stadium at about 3.00pm and after we dropped off our stuff at our tent, we promptly got to work setting up the NCSM Marquee. Basically we beautified the exhibition table, the registration counter and also the merchandise corner. But we did manage to sneak off for a while to get the whole feel of the place. There were booths from the sponsors, a celebrity corner, and also a small Milo kiosk somewhat hidden at the back.

I missed the start of the first lap (started at 6.00pm) because I was getting some food to eat and the guys at the burger place was taking forever to cook the special beef burger. I just heard the commotion and managed to see only glimpses of the event. The first lap was lead by the survivors followed by the VIPs (or was it the other way round?) and everybody else soon followed. The general idea of the relay is that there MUST always be someone on the track from 6.00 pm to 10.00 am the next day. So, you can register in groups and take turns in running (or walking) around the track for that 16 hours. Technically, nobody was allowed to sleep that day (and night), so games and stage events were organized to make the hours pass by quickly.

After the initial flurry of activities died down, we did one lap around the track and then went back to work manning the registration counter for the games. We managed to get a few pictures taken with Hans Isaac at the celebrity corner where you have to pay RM1 for each picture taken with a celebrity. Other celebrities there include Jehan Miskin and Yasmin Yusuf. However, I think they were just there until about 10 that night.

The Luminaria blackout session was one of the highlights of the event. Basically we purchased paper bags and decorate it with messages of hope or of remembrance to lost ones. The paper bags are placed all around the track and then a candle is lit up inside the bag. Initially we wanted to decorate our luminarias but the counter was sooo full of people, we got a little bit discouraged. But then I managed to squeeze in between some people and quickly drew on some things since the session was starting in five minutes. I totally had no idea what to write, so you be the judge.. Hahaha..

There was one minute of silence for the survivors and also for those who lost their battle with cancer. Then a little girl took to the stage. She is a brain tumor survivor. And she's only 10. I almost got teary eyed watching her give the speech. After they lit up all the luminarias, the survivors started walking around the track holding a candle each, followed by the others including us... Dayang got there and also another one of Husna's friends.. (Where are MY friends? Huu~) Huda got back home not long after that due to a harmless accident.

The games were to take place after 11pm so that the participants will be kept busy through out the entire night. There were also some activities going on at the stage. Whilst the Scavenger Hunt was on its way, all of us sitting at the registration counter were asked some unusual questions like; How many languages do you know? How do you say one phrase in different languages? Can we have your signature? Can we take a picture of you dancing with us? Weird.. But they were soo fun!! Especially the dancing part...

At one point, there was Joget Pahang at the stage. But just as we got there, the song ended. We immediately demanded an encore. And guess what? The MC agreed!! Yeay!! So we danced again to Joget Pahang (while keeping the tracks clear for the runners). There was also one session for aerobics going on at 11.00am. But because we were getting ready for the pillow fight, I only managed to do some steps.

Talking about the pillow fight, that could possibly be one of the highlights of MY experience there. We were separated into two teams and each of us was given a pillow. The objective is: to keep hitting your opponent. So, all we did was fling the pillow around, laughing until our stomachs were cramped until finally the furor died down. It turned out, there were actually no winners for the game, but it was fun nonetheless.

The actual pillow used in the game

31st May 2009

At about 1.00am, we decided to freshen up and perform our prayers somewhere inside the complex. What was suposed to be little nap, turned out to be a full-fledged sleep fest. A very cold sleep fest, that is. Because we didn't have any piece of blanket or any type of covering with us...!! We woke at about 6.30 am and quickly performed Subuh. When we got back to the field, the place was just stirring back to life. Me and Huda took another lap around the field and we stopped by the Milo, Nesvita and Fitnesse kiosks for breakfast.

We started to clear the registration counter. And then things kicked into full gear when we were selling the merchandise. NCSM sells stuff like T-shirts, tank tops, dog tags, SPORK (Spoon+Fork+Knife), necklaces and wristbands. We were screaming and kinda chasing people down to buy the merchandise. We bought some for ourselves too!!!

All the while, they were still doing activities at the stage. I particularly enjoyed the Chicken Dance (we literally walked around the track while doing the dance!) and Poco Poco. Couldn't really enjoy the other things going on like Line Dancing, Yoga and Qi Gong because I was working. Anyway, we saw Vanida Imran and Shidi with their kids. So we took some pictures with them. Then they shopped a bit for the last remaining stocks at the Marquee.

Finally, the last lap was at 10.00am. We got to hold the banner!! Yeay!! We walked+jogged+ran+screamed and laughed all along the way. That always equals to FUN!! After we took pictures with the other volunteers, we quickly packed up and headed home.

It turned out, Cik Ros was already there with some of her kids. So we kinda hung out and gossiped with them, all sweaty and smelly. Then, just as soon as they walked out the door, all three of us promptly fell asleep.

That evening, whilst watching Channel V, there was some sort of a marathon for TVXQ (and Tohoshinki's) music videos. So I was kinda excited by that. Couldn't keep my eyes off the TV for a good 45 minutes.

We had a family dinner at Cozy House Great Eastern Mall to celebrate Husna's birthday. One her friends and Ayang joined us. I just had Black Pepper Soba and Hot Lemon Tea.

The RFL KL 2009 was definitely FUN!! (As if you haven't figured that out yet from the numerous funs I've had). But it also taught me that the human spirit is something truly amazing and even the smallest shred of hope can bring life to the weariest of soul. I feel proud that such an event is being organized and even prouder that my family, friends and myself were given the opportunity to be part of it. If God permits, I'm definitely signing up again for next year. Hopefully with more friends and family members...

EDIT: Some sharp eyed acquaintances of mine spotted this in the Metro Harian paper. Can you find happy Me in it? Hint: I'm in the top left picture.