Been having a bit of a lapse after the recent spurt (relatively speaking). Without further ado, here goes the blank-filling:
Wednesday, April 21st: Stayed at home...which turned out to be a very good thing, as it rained heavily for most of the day and it severely messed up traffic. I heard tales of people being stuck on the road until past midnight. Really bad.
Thursday, April 22nd: Fitri had to check out this horse stable somewhere near my house for work, so I offered to take her there, even though I wasn't too familiar with the area. Turns out it wasn't that far, around five minutes if you know where you're going. But the thought of renting a pony on a frequent basis hasn't crossed my mind yet.
Friday, April 23rd: Home. Nothing unusual today, which is usually the case.
Saturday, April 24th: Another instance of it pouring down like a mutha. Was going to play football but I got to Al-Azhar late. Ah, well; had a birthday (Rika's) to attend anyway, so at least I didn't stink up the joint when I got there. Was initially concerned because the event clashed with the broadcast of Manchester United versus Liverpool, but luckily there was a TV, so I watched the game in between bites of tenderloin steak. Mmmm. Anyway, Liverpool won (finally!) by means of a successful penalty (finally!), and it was scored by Danny Murphy - my favourite player and constant thorn in M.U.'s side for the past few years - to boot. Happy day.
Sunday, April 25th: Press conference for
Maksim, that Croatian piano dude. Managed to score his autograph through unusual means: so this guy asked about some quotation written in large letters on Maksim's album sleeve. Thing is, this guy's English was so bad that Maksim nor Melanie Subono (acting as translator) could make out what he was saying. I was sitting near the front and had just looked through the freebie tape I got at the registration desk, so I knew what he was talking about. So I handed my cassette sleeve for Maksim to peruse...and I suddenly had the idea that I might as well have him sign it while it was up there. So I made a signing gesture to Melanie, and fortunately she got the hint and had him sign it. It's funny how things go your way when you don't really give it much thought.
Monday, April 26th: At home, and had the idea of sorting out the many envelopes containing freebie tapes and the accompanying press releases. It's quite mind-boggling what one can accumulate over three years. And out of the many albums I've received, I think I can count on one hand the ones I've actually sat down and listened to. Got a lot of catching up to do...
Tuesday, April 27th: Left for class in the morning...only to find out that class had been cancelled due to the lecturer's illness. Gah. Hung around campus for a bit, before heading to the Tennis Indoor Stadium, venue of the Maksim gig, to pick up my press ID. And here's when I had a near-death experience: I took the toll road from T.B. Simatupang to Gatot Subroto. I was supposed to get out at Komdak but didn't know that; I thought my exit the one after. So I passed by Komdak, looking at the deluge of traffic and being thankful that that wasn't my exit. As it turns out, my exit was way past where I originally thought it would be, so I had to get out at the one heading to Slipi. As I approached the Slipi exit, there was a truck and its trailer in front of me. Thinking that the exit was still far ahead, I moved to overtake the truck. As it turns out, the exit was closer than I thought, and there was no way I could make it if I slowed down to let the truck past. So in a fit of daring (or stupidity, depending on how you see it), I took a deep breath, swerved the wheel to the left and cut off the truck almost at a 90 degree angle, and headed towards the exit...where there was a car just in front of me, which I almost hit from its side...and I, in turn, could've been hit from the side by the truck, which was honking furiously. But luckily, I managed to pull it off, and continued the journey in cruise control, letting the adrenaline settle. Definitely ranks up with the craziest things I've ever done.
The gig was pretty good; I'd only heard the tape one and a half times beforehand and thought it was going to be a snooze. But no, it was quite engaging, seeing the guy's fingers flit across the keys. So it was a good show...but still, my craving for rock remains unfulfilled. Bah.
Wednesday, April 28th: Ah sod it, I'm sleepy. To be continued...
