Monday 10 September 2007

Kenduri Part 2

Bangun je hari kedua, aku ingatkan nak lepak tak buat apa-apa but at 8am, Ayah reminded me that we're going to the hotel for a rehearsal and to prepare the hall for dinner. I took on the task of preparing the bunga telur mini baskets together with my cousins and sister while Nadir (adik Adela the bride) prepared the bunga manggar, hotel version.

After the bunga telur were all ready (setakat letak pot-pourri dengan telur je, the basket was already decorated), we went on to place the eggs on all tables for guests. Since we had more eggs than tables, the remaining eggs (about 100+ of them!) were arranged in boxes and stored under the temporary stage. Khalisah and Asila Fatinah had to rehearse as a bridesmaid and flower girl respectively, half way through the bunga telur preparation. I wasn't involved in any discussions but Ayah had a lot to say to the hotel management that at the end of our simple morning, they served us a plate of sandwiches and 4 pitchers of various drinks, hehe..

We went to Gurney Plaza for lunch, Nda Aouya said the yong tau foo was fabulous. Had soya bean drink. Lepas makan tu, Mama decided to get replacement shoes for Asila Fatinah since her original intended shoes seemed very uncomfortable to wear. Cari punya cari, the shoes that fit Mama's taste weren't available in Asila Fatinah's size and the pair that Asila Fatinah fancied were! So the sales guy brought out the pair, Asila Fatinah tested and loved it! To add to the story, the shoes were really not similar to the ones Siti (my much much younger cousin) has so Mama bought a similar pair for her. Siti's in standard 5 but is just about the size of Asila Fatinah.. Delayed growth, I think.

Then, went on to get stockings for the 2 little ones and a handbag to match Mama's dress for that night. Mama was surprised to see it costing less than 200, probably being used to the scare she gets window shopping through accessories in Dubai :)

It was kinda late (time wise) when we completed the shopping that we didn't have time to rest. Got home, showered and dressed, ready for the night's do. Returned to the hotel by 7:00pm and went about with my duties which included making sure that the "kertuk" team gets dinner before all guests arrive, making sure that the 'waiting room' for the bride and groom were well hidden and to receive guests who are relatives from our side of the family.

The hotel sucked, in more ways than one. NEVER hold your functions at G Hotel should you need to have anything in Penang. They have substandard red carpet such that the carpet folds and create waves even before all guests arrive, the dining team took a long time to bring out the dishes, and they're VERY VERY "kupik". That's Kelantanese for scrooge. Kita mintak air kosong segelas, dia kata nak charge. Kita mintak itu sikit, nak charge, ini sikit nak charge. Tapi bila karpet tu beralun, kita suruh dia betulkan, dia kata, "biasalah, kalau dah ramai orang lalu, memang beralun karpet tu." So I thought: Kalau betul la karpet tu jadi macam tu, as people with knowledge and experience, they should remedy the situation pronto! Instead of stating the obvious.

But the function (to the eyes of guests) went on very well, apart from the VERY late arrival of food. Aku ingatkan nak melantak abis-abisan tapi bila server dia pun buat hal, terus hilang mood nak makan. The hotel F&B Manager gave most of his permanent staff off-days for the Merdeka Holiday and instead took replacement Bangladeshis. Those Banglas not only do they not know how to serve properly, they don't have the adab and they're pretty much irresponsible. Ayah mintak senduk untuk senduk nasi, Bangla tu boleh kata, "This is not my table, other person serving this table" Ayah pun mengamuk la! Kalau dia kata "Hold on Sir, I'll get it for you" pun dah ok..

Lepas abis dinner tu, while the guests were dispersing, I packed the gifts into the car to be brought back to Bukit Jambul, Nda Aouya's house. Nasib baik boleh habis semua in 1 trip. I had the assistance of Hidayat - Cumin (pronounced Chu-Meen, my aunty)'s eldest son and also Siti's brother - to shuttle the gifts from the car into the house. Headed back to Hotel G to fetch Mama, Ayah, Khalisah, Siti and Ayah Aa (my mother's brother) then went back to Bukit Jambul. Slept that night almost like a log. I missed Cumin and Ayah Ding when they came in the morning to say their goodbyes before heading for Kelantan and PJ respectively but I got to make egg sandwich for Asila Fatinah.

On the way back, as we were crossing the Penang Bridge, Asila Fatinah took in awe, the majesty of the bridge and thanked everyone in the car for the trip. She said her thanks to Mama for etc.. etc.. (tak ingat!) then Khalisah then Ayah and then to me. I asked her, why thank you to me? She said.. For.. err.. (and this really did happen, she had to look for something to be thankful of!) and she thanked me for the egg sandwich I made her that morning! Hehe..

Such a dear..

We got stuck in traffic OTW back and took a diversion into Slim River and then Batang Kali, Ulu Yam, Selayang, before entering MRR2 via Batu Caves. It was a long drive back and I was really thankful and relieved on arrival. Rested that night for a long time, waking up the next day for breakfast at about 10 or 11am.

Thus endeth my wedding story part 2. Got part 3 but again, that'll be in a new posting! :D

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

u wrote...

"Siti's in standard 5 but is just about the size of Asila Fatinah.. Delayed growth, I think."

hehehe! tak baik ar u nie!