Anyway, today I went through my things and tried to organise. As I went through my stuff, I found my memory bag. Yes, I called this bag the memory bag as this bag contains all the things that people gave me to remember them by. Some I kept from those random events and some from those events that I wanted to remember.
Andy Heng
This kabooden (however you spell it) reminded me of me and Andy’s TB-ing days. Days when we call each other up to go to town after school, days when he gets pissed off at me because I take too long to get to town which made him miss a fight. The day when we were both cracking up at Jason’s story as he was telling us how he smacked some guy with a kabooden. Days when we find ourselves being bums at Jason’s place and especially those damn old days when we called ourselves ||sm.cg|| Damn! those sweet memories.
Marie Janeen Directo
WHAT THE? Holy crap! That scared the crap out of me... Not her name and definitely not her... As I write this I was looking at the photo and if you look closer there’s a foot! *awkward pause* and within a few seconds I realised that it was my own foot *sigh* Anyway back to the subject, I found a few stuff that reminded me of the days we had together. The most important one I would say was Gilmore, the teddy bear she gave me for Christmas. This was actually a present she gave me in return a year later for the present I gave her which was Sebastian, also a teddy bear. This may sound incredibly corny but the teddy bears actually symbolises mine and her presence for one another, because despite the fact that we’re not always there for each other physically, we are still always there for each other mentally. And LOL I found the toy we bought from Hungry Jacks, the plastic wrapper still remains unopened.
Joshua Sommerville
The monkey keychain, it just reminded me of how often I was paid out by this mofo. I remember the day that he gave it to us; Nadia got the Princess Peach keychain because it meant she was the princess. Josh was Yoshi for no apparent reason, most likely because he liked the name and I’ve got Donkey Kong keychain for obvious reasons… The smokes were not particularly given to me by him, but are just a tribute, we were meant to have one last smoke before I left Adelaide but didn’t get the chance to (don’t get the wrong idea! I have not touch a single cigarette for 5 months now) It also symbolises those days in school, this chemical called nicotine served us three (meaning me, Josh and Tuan) as a stress reliever for those headfudged (one of those typical Josh words) days and also for those happy drunken nights that we all had together and also for those random days and nights that we all had (no details) without it, I wouldn’t of met a lot of great people whom I now consider family.
Linda Abouassali
Those letters that we left for each other to read about how are days have gone and just to write about the most random stuff that we can think about, it’s a small thought but from time to time it makes my day. White Chicks, our favourite movie, we constantly impersonate the actors from the movie and crack up the funniest quotes from the movie. The most popular one I would say was her mom saying “what a beautiful chocolate man!” she says it almost every shift that I had but it never grows old. And the red bracelet, that allowed people to consume alcohol during my going away party, I was proud of her as she remained patient the whole night despite all the annoyance that she had to put up with. I would say that night was one of the best nights I had in Adelaide although I hardly remember anything. I also remember those days when everything just went incredibly unpleasant and when the rest of the world walked out on me, her and her family remained to be there.
Peter Li
That turtle that he gave me randomly, apparently he made it in woodwork in Year 9 (correct me if I’m wrong) The turtle reminded me of those Friday nights which used to be a day for going to town but was replaced by going to worship. I don’t regret a single bit of making a big change to my normal Friday night routine, as this opportunity gave me a greater chance to get to know God better. I have been unfaithful to God for quite sometime and even blamed him for the unpleasant experiences that I had while I’m living in this world but going to worship gave me another chance to establish a connection with God. Friday nights just made me feel a lot better as person and also as a child of God, it gave me relief and clarity for everything that has been happening. It opened up my eyes and made me learn that God has plans for us and we just have to remain faithful. It also gave me an amazing opportunity to meet such an awesome bunch of people. I am more than grateful to Peter for introducing me to such an incredible place to spend my Friday nights. How I just wish that there’s more of that here in the Philippines because I am sure as hell that I need some great preaching to boost my motivation.
Jacqueline Tay
Sticker photos, crepe and pho are the sure way to spend a day with Jacqui. Those sticker photos were my first and which was the first time I have ever stepped into a sticker photo booth. Tram has tried a dozen of times to drag me into a sticker photo booth but it just does not work. You may say that Jacqui convinced me easily but that was never the case, she had to cry, whine and stomp her feet all the way from China Town, then along King William Street and through Rundle Mall but still I remained unconvinced. I sat down in front of Myer and acted as the biggest TB until she literally dragged me out of my seat all the way to Cutie and of course I was pulling her back but while she’s pulling my hand she was still constantly whining LOL ^___^” then I finally gave in and lost my sticker photo virginity *sigh* After that, I just never thought of having your photo taken by a machine was such a big deal anymore and I can not wait to have crepe and pho again with this person.
Hamish Pettigrew
The eagle necklace that he gave me before I left Adelaide; I consider it as one of the important things that I now posses and also add the fact that Eagles actually symbolises power, made it even more special. The memories that me and Hamish shared would always be remembered although majority of times we are both off our faces. And wether it’s just to have a few drinks at Torrens Park or at an Asian Karaoke Bar or even just to chill at Andy D’s house, we always manage to turn it to a pretty fucking amusing night (apologies for the swearing). Hamish’s fondness with the Asian culture, Asian friends and particularly Asian women makes him a unique Caucasian person, I even recall him saying “I maybe Caucasian but I am Asian in the heart.” This started the word Cauc-ASIAN (emphasise the word Asian). I will travel with this person to Japan someday, I just know it would happen.
Nadia Kanochkina
Those funny photos that she told me to keep in my wallet, she has a habit of making the funniest faces while being taken a photo even when taken photos for her passport, that photo above serves as a proof. I remember about two years ago after the Year 11 semi-formal we went to the beach and we took the most disgusting photo of me and her, and the fact that we were not even posing made it even worse. I also remember hanging around at a petrol station (woah! it sounded like I just paid out myself) with a couch on a trailer and looking like the biggest hobos, she was doing her own little dance and also copying Cindy’s retarded looking exercise (apparently it works but I highly doubt it) while waiting for Josh to come back with indicator lights for the trailer and for some random reason we came up with a game which involves us running from the petrol station all the way to the lights at the corner of the street, it proved to us that boredom can actually make a person do something so stupid. She then proceeds and continued to do her stupid slash retarded slash dance slash exercise. Then a group of people started rocking up with the best cars you can possibly get in Adelaide (e.g. S-15, R34 Skyline etc.) We tried not to be embarrassed as much as we can and I assumed that they were people that I did not know, and then Josh rocked up in Kylie’s old school Toyota which made it an even more embarrassing scenario. I then, realised that those people were friends from high school and that time I just wanted to bury myself right there and then. That was one of the best memories I had with Nadia.
Kate Zubrinich
The cards reminded me of lunch times at Charles Campbell were we get a group of people to play spoons. We always seemed to be the loudest group in the common room and we find ourselves literally laughing our asses off about the lamest thing that someone would say. Ones we played the usual game of spoons she fully launched into the table just to get herself a spoon, it indeed was a hilarious scenario. She was also my English Class buddy and we both consistently gave the good ol Mrs. Di Manno a whole lot of crap during class. My favourite one I would say is when she gave us a task to cut out newspaper advertisements and talk about them, we both had the exact idea of cutting out sex advertisements and place it on her table and when she came back to the class she found the ads and started saying in a very serious manner “very funny guys, very funny.” We were both looking down at our work and trying not to laugh but we unfortunately did not hold it in and found ourselves bursting into laughter. She is also the first person who I have gotten detention with for not attending class (only thing I was the only one who got the detention and she didn’t) and also for the majority of the year we both spent our English lecture in the common room instead of the actual class. Before I left Adelaide, we both promised that if we are not married by the time we are both 25 that we will marry each other in order for me to come back to Australia.
Tram Le
That day that I randomly went pass her work at Tea Tree Plaza (If you guys did not know, she literally gets paid for being a bum in TTP) she gave me a Dog Tag as a very late birthday present (Take note, she was the last person who greeted me happy birthday and was also the last person who gave me a birthday present) well it was meant to be something that I get from the shop for free but we had a deal that it was a birthday present instead. I stayed in the shop for a bit as she was incredibly bored, we started having price tag fights and started sticking it onto each other then we started writing random stuff to each other, that’s when that cardboard writing above takes place. I don’t remember what I wrote but I assume it would be something like ding dong kid and as you can see she wrote you’re gay! =P tramhamjam. The small photo was from the OLSH graduation, it was held at the Hilton Hotel. This event gave me the opportunity to meet a few other OLSHIES, after the graduation we headed to Buddha Bar, assuming that Kylie got everything organised turns out that it was a big flop as there were a few underage people which includes me and we could not get in so we headed to the Korean Bar in Hindley Street instead. I will always remember Tram and her singing… more specifically screaming her head off in the microphone. Spending time with Tram and her group always turns out great, I sometimes wonder why but Victoria came up with the best answer and apparently it’s because of Tommy’s presence and it is indeed.
Johnnie Cavero
Those footlocker tags reminded me of shitloads of Filipino Christmas Parties we attended last year. We both worked for a Filipino lady to do farm work at a rose farm in Gawler, the job was tough which made me and him give up after two days (technically he gave up after a day and a half). A week later we were both invited to a party that my boss organised, it was a good party in a Filipino way (meaning there’s lots of food), we both also got paid on that day so we decided to bum around in Elizabeth Shopping Centre, we checked out Foot Locker and I ended up buying two pairs of Converse for $170 (pretty cheap I thought until someone told me that I can get them for $50 a pair *deep sigh*) Anyways while the sales person was busy trying to find my size of shoes, Johnnie was also busy ganking footlocker tags (how lame) but yeah to face the fact that his dad and my dad are best friends, made our friendship even stronger.
Cher-lynne Wee & Sarah Krasnov
Both special and unique in their individual ways, it was a shame I only spent a bit of time with them but in that bit of time, I’ve gotten to know them both. It felt like I’ve known them for a long time and I found a lot from them. Before I left Cherie gave me a bunch of songs and here I am listening to each one everyday. She also gave me a keychain that has a very significant meaning, four coins that says: Jesus, Power, Life and Chance and each word don’t need any explanation, each one says enough. Before I left Sarah and Cherie gave me that blue smiling person with an Australian flag in it which in both hands holds a piece of paper. I did not read the note until I got to Malaysia and both letters were short but sweet indeed. They both are just two of the awesome people that I have gotten to know better through worship and each time I hear the song Mr. Brightside, it just reminds me of Cherie and those random karaoke nights which only involves four people. In that short span of time that I’ve gotten to know them both, we have formed an extraordinary bond in which I would look forward to have again until that day arrives.
Lynette Abouassali, Sezgi Erken, Baz Abouassali & the Najjars Café crew
The bracelet she gave me just reminded me of everything that happened while I was working at Najjars Café. She almost stood up as my own mother, well she acted like one and I treated her like one, I have so much respect for her and I look up to everything that she does in life. Most events that I organised (Random dinner nights, Going away party and Farewell Dinner) involve the café and of course the Lyn, Sez and Baz had been more than willing to help me in anyway that they could, and they did in every way. I am very happy and grateful that they were there in my life because without them I wouldn’t be motivated to do anything at all. These guys also organised numerous events (Dinner in China Town, Lunch in Hahndorf, Staff/ Going away party) which I never had any clue of. Linda and Baz are very lucky to have Lynette as a mother and I was lucky enough to have them in my life as well
Victoria Kyriakopolous, Vy Nguyen, Tommy Dinh, Tran Htran, Nguyen Tran Vy, Tanie & Kylie Tach & Chierkh Ly
You have not seen random yet if you have not met this bunch of people. Is Sudoku toilet paper random or what?? What about a book mark that says Adelaide, Australia but out the back says Made in the Philippines? I would say it is random indeed. Each time I spend a night with these guys, everything just turns out right and we all go home happy. Wether it’s just to sing at a karaoke bar, eat AB, have dinner or have a massive cruise around the hills. This group always just finds something to do and I do appreciate every single moment that we have all spent together.
Desislava Gancheva & Michelle Williams
The book Desi gave me before I left Adelaide “Happiness” is a nice book and the title itself already gives you an idea about what the book is all about. The book is full of optimism and happiness which I would love to have right now. It reminded me of those days when we go hiking up in Morialta Falls and those days when we go to Desi’s house to cook and make sushi. Also the days in high school during Physics when they’re both doing incredibly well and on my part were on the verge of failure but despite that we made a strong friendship with our teacher and all have shared a good year which will never be forgotten.
Shelley Maher & Lee Pham
The serviettes we used to kill boredom with and named it “Shelley and Vincent’s Day” and her saying “I am going to draw you a pictcha!” was very cute indeed. It usually takes part when we both finished our shifts at Najjars Café and also after the Aroma Fresh Coffee Course where you dreaded to go to. I also remember the time when we went to Fantastic Furniture and you started singing the advertisement song non-stop and when we also went to Wok-In-A-Box and ended up missing atleast quarter of an hours worth of our coffee course. I will remember the day that we all got slaughtered while working during mother’s day (we all wanted to be dead during that day). Bruce, I was going to give you that hug you’ve always wanted if you arrived on time at the airport but too bad, you missed out XD next time? I remember those days after our Sunday shifts and we go eat Pho and we went for a cruise in Windy Point. The MR2 cruise was a complete failure and that guy’s way of talking just did my head in but the thing that I would always remember is the day we all jumped off the plane only to realise that it wasn’t even as scary compared to what happened on the way back to the café when we almost died because of a near car accident. If you guys ask, I do feel like Ying Chow.
Ana Preka & Rajna Parenta
I remember going to Maccas, Subway, Hungry Jacks or KFC every lunch time without being caught by the teacher. I remember having random conversations with Ana during supervised studies in the library where we both just gets constantly get told off by the librarian for being loud. The hilarious impersonations that we make of Black Americans, I love it when you say “HELL NO!” it makes me crack up. The day before formal when we talked about wearing purple, I and Ana did wear purple but Rajna ended up with black. Also the day before muck up day, we chased up a few teachers to finish off our last minute Summative work and we went to Home Ec. and I stole that rat so that I’d remember that day. During muck up day when we dressed up as army people and we bought water pistols and started spraying it everywhere. I really do miss those days.
Kelly O’Neil
Revelry-Kings of Leon is the song that reminds me of her, we had many good memories together especially A-team days and Wednesdays at the UniBAR and buying and wearing the purple top and having an argument that it’s fluoro not pastel (I still think it’s fluoro by the way). Having dinner at Ky Chow and she wanted to order Salt and Pepper Squid and thought that it was Asian enough but out of curiosity we ended up having Drunken Chicken instead. We also had those drunken Saturday night phone conversations and random text messages, my going away party where we were both extremely intoxicated. And lastly the Year 12 formal where she made it very special and where she looked beautiful, and indeed she always looks beautiful. I miss her, I always will.
3,798 words, 6 Microsoft Word pages and 5 hours later I finally finished this blog. I still have a lot of time to kill until I finally reach the day that I become reunited with all these people. I can not wait for that day to arrive but by that time a lot of things would be changed but one thing’s for sure, that our memories would stay the same, would remain untouched and unchanged and will always be remembered.
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