A Happy Team

    Not everyone knows that I study films. Indeed, what is it really about studying film? I think it is something like cooking, sewing, drawing, or singing. Well, I'm not explaining that, obviously. I'm still considering myself amateur in this field.
    Now, I'm holding scripts in my hand. An original set with six photo-stated copies of it. On its cover page, it writes my name. The scripts do not come easily.
    In Ipoh, there are not many printing shop. I had been searching a shop which prints, with my two friends coming along with me -Lohsi and Wanton. We had been going from Ipoh town to Ipoh Garden for about thirty minutes.
    With four people in front of me now, I give out the scripts to them. I hope they will read it, and understand it. Of course, I expect them to install an opened mind.
    "Okay, Kim. You can explain it now."
    "No. I want you to read it first."
    I'm not going to do a presentation while the script is there. I usually want my friends to have an empty mind, knowing nothing about the story, then read the script, tell me what they see.
    "E.X.T. stands for exterior. And I.N.T. stands for interior."
    Before hand, I explain some script format and how the paper works for them.
    Four of them start to read. I'm glad they really put effort to read it. Coffee gigs after a while. I think he probably reads his name and response to his role. Dove laughs out loud by then. I don't know why, only she knows why.
    "I understand the story, but ..."
    Wanton want to say something after she reads it.
    "It's a bit weird."
    Dove continues Wanton's sentence.
    I say okay. The script is divided into too many parts. In a way, the script involves too many characters. A complex story doesn't fit into nine-pages of paper.
    Before I could really explain something what I want to bring out, it is a rare concept of filming, they are taking hard time to understand. It requires motivation, sporting action, and emotional involvement. I normally use words that people do not understand so that they could keep way from giving opinion. Trick.
    It is beyond what typical Malaysian watch movies in cinema. I begin to pour out some existing example.
    "Have you watch... uhm.... Chungking Express, a Hong Kong film?"
    "No."
    "Err... Okay okay. How about Zhang Yimou's Hero?"
    "Oh. That's the story which tells many parts of a same story?"
    I'm glad. They have watched it. Then, Coffee say something.
    "That one is different. That movie has a same theme. They focus on a same thing. But yours, ..."
    Discussion is becoming more intense. For now, I understand that, we cannot argue for something we have not agree on. There are five of us here. Dove is looking at Coffee now, while Lohsi is looking at Wanton. I'm looking at four of them.
    "So, are we on? Are we going to shoot this?"
    I expect them to reply me positively. This is something I want them to do, comes from inside them that they want it, not I enforce them to do it.
    "Kim, but your script doesn't make sense."
    After I hear this, I'm glad. As far as I know, many great story like Disney's Herculues, comes from a point where it doesn't make sense. It just need something call "development."
    "The kidnap reason, is not about money. It is about keeping two people apart. Hence, the condition to pay the ransom is very different. There is no way to pay the ransom. This is how."
    I try to explain this new thing. I always hope it works, but usually I'm not the best person to explain.
    "I don't see how I can help you in this project, Kim."
    Wanton starts to be emotional.
    "How can you convince me to help you?"
    The question strikes me for a moment.
    Wanton is a girl who has a very strong personality. I do need her forte. Everyone should has a set of thinking, and voice it out. This is one of the things I like about Wanton. She doesn't afraid to voice out her opinion. I wish there are more people like her in my future group.
    I don't think I want to convince her to join me for the moment. This project aims to have fun together as friends. I'm not going to force her to have fun. If forcing is in the talk, it is fun no more then.
    After a while, I consider this is a great discussion ever. I hardly find people to talk about what I like so much, and they focus on my topic for long, very long. Four of them throw out their own input. They have very firm stand, that the script is not going to work.
    It is a great discussion, yet a great project. Indeed, I believe that a great project needs teamwork. A teamwork needs volunteering people to lead, and volunteering people to help the leader. A happy team indeed.

Chicken Wings

    Barbecue or birthday party? They have to make a choice between two of them, for their Saturday night activity. Tomorrow is the day. They are still unworried. To them, whatever will do. They do not know us. At the same time, they do not know them too.
    Today is their second day here, Ipoh. They are from everywhere, like the whole world has came to my territory. Two from Korea, three from Hong Kong, one from Vietnam, and one is local. Where else do they needed to be from? They are too familiarized to be here. I could speak my Cantonese to them. Even my broken English has become a medium for us. I remember how I used watched Hong Kong drama series when I was younger. Now, they are like people jump out from television set.
    They have been to many places yesterday. They went to my school, and even stepped into my most favorite breakfast spot for my foreign friends. They have known much more than I expect them to be. Marvelous.
    "Hi. This is ... from Korea."
    "Hi. I'm Kim, from Korea too."
    In kidding, I bluff her that we are from the same nation, while our mutual friend, Chicken introduces us to each other. I have a name which is common in Korea. I hope this joke works internationally, but usually it fails. I try to remember her Korean name, but it doesn't lock into my brain. I'm too new to hear names.
    There are few people currently. Most of them are in their own room, dressing themselves. It's too early now. I'm the earliest to reach their house. Their house is Chicken's house. They stay at Chicken's house.
    Of all the names I heard, I could only remember one name. She is Mei Ting, girl from Hong Kong. She has a wide eyes, and likes to smile. She seldom sits as far as I can remember. When Mei smiles, her eyes get wider. I don't know why. 
    They are all friends of Chicken. After few rounds of meal, and perhaps its the effect of our local white coffee, Chicken decides to go to Barbecue. Well, this activity is where I could go. If Chicken does not make this choice, then they will be disappear at the Saturday cool night ever.
    So then. We go to a super market to shop for ingredient. We drive to a place where I've never been to. Three cars are in. One large group of us attacks an unfamiliar super market. How could that be done, especially for me who doesn't know how to pick anything related to my mom's job? I used to wait for my mom while she buys any vegetables in market. This is not my forte. At a chance, I slipped out from group. I'm so tired due to shouting too much in the morning. I grab a mineral water, drink it. Then, I head to an empty seat in a cafeteria, I sleep.
   It is so quiet in the cafeteria. Though there are one family with two kiddos beside me, they aren't making much noise. I sleep like a baby.
    After waking up, I'm much refreshed. Immediately, I get myself to be in group. I look out for them.
    At this time, SMS reaches my mobile phone. It's my friend, Daniel from Sarawak, who is one of my good friends while I was studying in Sabah. He came to Ipoh, just today. He is going to eat Ngachoy Gai at night in town. Coincidentally, we are going to eat same Ngachoy Gai later. It's 7.55pm now, and Daniel informs me that he has arrived. Then, I ask myself can I reach there on time.
    Immediately I go to find the gang who are still happening in the market. I found them. They are definitely had a great time together. Looking at the trolley, they have not get anything relates to our barbeque -no chicken, no fish ball, and not butter. I summon them to get everything.
    Without much expected, they are so hype and get themselves into one team. Everyone get something. Few get some packets back. I do not know what they get, the packets look new to me. One thing is not there.
    "Chicken wings! I go and get chicken wings."
    After speaking, I turns to a corridor my self.
    One person is following me. She is Mei.
    "We go and get chicken wings."
    I was shocked. It's not common for her to follow me. I usually walk alone, and rarely people could follow my footsteps.
    "Where is chicken wings?"
    "I do not know."
    "What else you want to buy?"
    "I do not know how to cook. You know? Hong Kong girls."
    I understood. She told me, together with Yang, Korean girl that they don't cook, may be except for instant noodles and eggs. That's not bad. The frankness that she told me that.
    So, Mei and I go straight. We reach a place, should be correct. We see chickens and fishes. There are drumsticks, chicken in whole piece, fishes lying and arranged beautifully. The thing we are looking is not there.
    "Where is chicken wing?"
    "I don't know."
    I move further. There is no chicken wings. I turn back, other people are here.
    Later, Chicken came. I ask him.
    "Where is chicken wings?"
    "Oh. Seong will buy chicken wing tomorrow morning in the market."
    Then, I know we cannot get chicken wings in the super market, at least for some reason there are no chicken wings at there at night.

Where to Go

    All started with a question -Where to go? Then, everyone starts going. We spot an empty round table. In an environment of no air-conditioning, six of us starts to take our own food.
    It's a buffet. The concept is any of us could take any amount of food that is available, with no limit, paying a same price. The problem for me is that, most of the food is raw -uncooked. Therefore, we have to pour the raw food into a bowl of soup on our table, wait for the food to be cooked. Without much caring much about cooking, I take some fried rice which is ready-made.
    The conversation we have is pretty similar with old times.
    "I'm so fat. I've to get slimmer."
    "There're not much women play sport games."
    "Who said so? I've seen few women play... It's just they are... their size is... uhm... a little bigger."
    Everyone laughs.
    We have fun times together, especially seeing each' person uniqueness and way of thinking. From there we can see their experience and how they have been in their study life. We are old friends who know each other for quite some time. We studied together in a same school. Now, we are studying in not the same place.
    The night is filled with food and jokes. In a way, isn't it too empty?
    While I leave my table for, perhaps food or more ice cream, I see one young pretty teenage girl or two. After getting what I want, I go back to my seat. Perhaps its my strategic location seat. From time to time, more teenage girls pass by my table. I thought myself I was at their age too.
    My appetite is for noodles and meatballs. After few round of eating, I get myself full. I say to myself, it's enough. It's amazing how my friends are keep going eating. I warn myself not to eat too full, even though it is buffet. It's a mindset I was given.
    "You eat little, or much, you pay the same amount of money. Why not eat to the max?"
    Oh. How pathetic to pay amount of money to torture our stomach with food. Stuffing more food even though it is full, because of greed? No way.
    What I like about this shop is that the concept of cooking together. This may make the night longer and easier. Definitely the food doesn't worth our RM23. With that amount of money, I could get better quality of food and nice drink, get satisfied in an air-conditioned, well decorated restaurant. However, it is worth to get our food to be put into a same bowl, and eat.