Thought about my past

As noted fb, I've been hanging out at KLCC sometime on Friday and Saturday. I think I'm going to make it a miss on Sunday. I had too much KLCC already.

Last Friday afternoon, I was surprised to hear from a long lost friend who called me on my mobile. Immediately I had flashes of memories when this friend asked me to guess who. Of course, after ten good years, I cannot remember the voice. Then suddenly, the phone exchanged hands on the other side and a familiar voice asked me a few questions:

KB: Dia ni your dorm-mate lah...
Me: Siapa?
KB: Ala, nama dia ada kene mengena dengan Nazi!
Me: Huh? Nazi? Nazirah??
KB: Betul!!!!!!!
Me: hahahahaha...

This conversation truly strikes back memory lanes. I've spent five grueling years at a boarding school. Those days, we had so many people names to memorise. No wonder we started calling each other with nicknames.

The nicknames I can remember were Nazi, Shark, KB, Eja, Shah, Shasha, Nordy, Wawa... Most of these names derived from shortening their original first names. Example, Shasha stands for Sharifah Shahrizad and Shark shortened Siti Shakira. It worked.

Of course I cannot remember all the nicknames. I myself had a nickname too. I got it in my first week of school. What a bad luck that was because I don't think my nickname was cool or sweet or normal. It just was to me, a jester, which became overwhelming popular that people picked it up so quickly and unfortunately I had to live for it my whole life. bummer... My nickname shall remain a secret. I really do not want my friends and colleagues to use that nickname on me. Not anymore. It will just be known by long lost friends who might not even remember my real name. Another bummer...

I know a lot of people had really good bonding memories of boarding school days. To me, it was a right of passage. My family, all of them, attended highly regard and respectable boarding schools. Me? I had to join an unknown boarding school with no glory history nor glam, only because I was out of alternatives. Those days, I thought getting four As was enough to get a seat. I thought wrong and I felt like the ugly duckling with a bunch of golden swans among my family members.

Of course, this school let me play chess and be captain for the school team. They too let me forget my English homeworks without punishment for three good years. I wasn't bullied. No ragging. The teachers also thought I was super good in assembling the school's vcr that they made me a Media Specialist with a uniform! haha...

However, the bad was real bad though. Since I first joined the school, the dorms were lacking water. Seriously. We had draught for five long years. damn... and to think that my school was in Kuala Lumpur, it felt like I was schooled at an ulu. I also had teachers who were anti-students. Seriously I couldn't stand these teachers. What in the world motivated them to be teachers? I don't know. It must not due to money, for sure.

There were a lot more things that I've learned and aghast through. I somehow have a love-hate relationship with a school that I'm not sure if I like much. I do feel a bit guilty feeling like this. Ah... maybe I just need a good reunion with ex-schoolmates to rekindle those good memories.

Perhaps.