CHAPTER 50: Living in Arena Green

"Minum MILO anda jadi sihat dan kuat!" - MILO

On the eve of 22^nd March 2006, I ventured into Arena Green for the first time……………..well, not exactly the first time. Been inside the apartment’s compound before, just that I’ve neva been inside the apartments before. So here’s a tale of me…….being in Arena Green (one night only)……..

The purpose was to study FCM together with Shoun, as the first test of the subject was to be done the next day. So, the night before the 22^nd, packed up all the necessary stuff & equipments that I would have to bring to Shoun’s place in case I had decided to sleep over at his crib.
So, the next day (spending a full Wednesday at APIIT), came to the (definitive) conclusion that I had to stay at his place that night, as I don’t have enough knowledge of Probability, Matrices and Geometry in my brain, so the combined workforce with Shoun was necessary.
Stayed at APIIT until like 9pm. During the evening, 5 to 8 like that, me, Shoun and Harvin were at the central syndicate room on level 2. Studied FCM, but majority was that we didn’t study FCM during the mentioned period. Instead, berbual-bual.
Talk different kinds of stuff. But the main talking point was, of course, the female sex. All sort of crapped we talked, like finding the right girl to marry, girls when they go clubbing, checking that girl, this girl (that woman….), and etc. (like how JAG puts it).
Time passed by (seemed slowly and creakingly simultaneously), Harvin had to go back. Me and Shoun also made our way back, but before Arena Green there was the food at the food place near the Stadium. Shoun had Nasi dgn Ayam Masak Merah. Me, I had Nasi Goreng Pattaya.
After finishing them, we head to the apartments.
Heading into Arena Green, had trouble finding the parking space that Shoun said I could take (his apartment’s car park lot allocated to him by his rental owner). I think I round the parking lot two times. Shoun himself wasn’t sure where was it, so he called u his girlfriend, later called up Stephanie. During this time of calling, as I parked for a while near the parking lots, we saw Asmadie.
At first, I thought that he looked like Asmadie. Then it was really him! Even Shoun had the same confusion (haha). Chatted with him. Later Shoun received the reply, where the parking space was and which one was it. Tengok-tengok, lah, dekat je (near the parking entrance).
Before heading up, dropped by at the 24-7 American franchised monopolized shop 7-11. Bought some food for the night (and milk for breakfast the morning after). As we were on our way back to Shoun’s side (Block B), we saw who was Ryan Ooi (one of our intakes’ classmate) jogging around the track of Arena Green’s open space, AT AROUND 10 PM AT NIGHT. What the hell, and some more the next day we all gonna do the FCM test! A little shook of disbelieve from me and Shoun. Anyway, we also saw and met up with Si Chai, Ricky Su and Narendran (all studying FCM).

So that was the part regarding being in the apartments “ground floor” (get what I mean). So on to the part when I’m inside the apartment itself…….The lifts of this apartment has a small size. To describe them adjectively, then it is that they give you a claustrophobic feeling, they are dull and they looked and feels like fragile. There’s the usual case of graffiti included on some of the lifts’ walls. Among them was a head and face of some kind of cartoonish character that is a cross between an old witch and, Cleopatra and Homer Simpson and the other one was scribbling written “main buntut awek.”. Reached the intended floor.

My first thought of when I entered his place was “ man, this place is small! The living room itself is small!”. Smaller than the ones at Vista, for sure.
As I entered, met up with the other inhabitants of that apartment lot, Myat Min and Shoun’s gal Lydia. Their reaction was first towards my bag. It seemed too cumbersome for them and they were sort of shocked by it. I myself was baffled by their own reactions since I’m only bringing one bag but I had to fit everything inside it (sleeping bag, small pillow included), so it had to look big and filled big.
Anyway, I made my way to Stephanie’s room (as she had not moved in yet), the room where I would spent my solitary but maiden night at this heap called Arena Green. Still empty.
Her room had it’s own bathroom (unlike Myat Min and Shoun’s rooms). But crap thing was there was no pipe for the toilet. Hard to clean up after sh-t. Lucky that a small pale was bought from home. Opening the windows, could see the view of the Bukit Jalil stadium. My mind then lingered how the atmosphere this apartment would have when that stadium hosts some BIG, LOUD events (the usual case of course being Malaysian Cup).
Shoun himself came to spend the night in Steph’s room, so to study together. As usual, a slow start in comprehending all the formulas, all the explanation, all the past year’s exam questions. Then somehow, me and Shoun found ourselves talking again. The conversation was diverse as usual. Among them was imagining each of the lecturers of APIIT that we knew being drunk and high, talking about religion, talking about prophecies of Islam (explaining my understanding to Shoun).
It was a (quite) cold, moist, silent night. Dozed off around 4am, Shoun later.

>>>>>>>Fast forward to the coming day, once after the test finished at 7:10 pm (amidst a feeling of strenuousness from every student, but that’s another story), Shoun and I found ourselves again at the same food place, the same makcik, the same food and the same drinks.
Later, went back to Arena Green. Packed up my things, as I was going home. But before Went home, watched “Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle” alongside Shoun and Lydia (to release FCM tension). Freakin’ hilarious. After watching it, I promised to myself that I will post a post regarding that movie on this blog (haha).
Went back at 11, reached home at 11:30.

So, ………..that was the tale……….…”Living in Arena Green”……………………………………………(is there a sequel after this?.......)………….