The Girl with the Goalden Boot

Wednesday, December 31, 2003

 

New Years Eve. Can you believe it, it's the last day of the year already. The last day of 2003. Kit reminded me on her radio interview just now to sum up 2003.

2003 kicked off with a party at Eilen's cousin's house – apart from Eilen, Adrian was the only person I knew. But who cares…let's party! We had fire crackers too! Adrian got drunk and ended up rolling on the grass, but he forgot about it the next morning, it was so funny!

A few days after the party, Ting and Kelly came to Sydney! That was something I had been waiting for since the last time I saw them back in Nov. 2001. Initially we were QUIET, but we became louder as days went by! During their visit, we got to know each other so much better, and we talked about everything – a trip to Nepal in the future, our Kit Cat Café, what we did when we were kids, I found out Ting eats "disguised beef" only (hahahaha!!!!!!)…etc. And then those crazy things we did – Kelly and I dancing to Kit's "ni ku", making sushi, I was trying to figure out why they took hundreds of photos of just "things with no humans", from singing at Bondi Beach to singing "Yellow Grass & Houseflies" in Melbourne (hehe!), and Ting and I competing to stay awake for the longest time in the middle of the night…hehehe! I've never had that much fun in my life before (apart from my first visit to SG in 2001), and by the end of their journey in Aust, we have become the best of friends. We became so close that I felt so empty and lonely on the afternoon they took their flight back home.

A month later, we were to meet again! I wanted to go to SG so badly, even though it was the exact same week that Kit would be in Taiwan performing in What's Love About. Ting almost went over, but in the end, she didn't. It was sad she couldn't go to TW, but I was glad she would still be in SG and we could hang out again. This trip in Feb 2003 was Kit-less in one sense, but somehow, it was still very Kit-filled! We went to all those places where Cash is King was filmed, including Loy Kee and "the bridge where Golden and Qi Ren had chicken rice"! And this was the first time I was madly hunting for clothes/accessories Kit has. :P I met Stephie, Airene and Babe for the first time, hehe! Apart from the Kit things we did (including visits to a certain place…), we were doing the things that I really should be doing back in Sydney as well, but in Sydney, I just didn't have the right company. Things like bumming around at the beach, playing basketball, shopping, eating out together, chit-chatting at cafes till late (till I didn't wanna answer my mum's phone call and didn't wanna head back to the hotel!). Even though I didn't get to see Kit, I was constantly reminded of Kit anyway, and of course, that meant it was safe to "act as Kit"…hahahaha! Thanks to everyone who took me to places, hanged out with me and put up with my craziness, and for making the trip so memorable. :)

My 2nd year of uni began in March, and finally I was able to choose the courses I enjoyed. Too bad I was lazy, and I unfortunately chose Physiology, which obviously I wasn't capable of doing. It was so terrible. Doing something you dislike or have no interest in is terrible. I liked Anatomy, but there was so much to memorise, especially the muscles. In this first semester, I was often thinking whether I was really interested in med because of the science, and not just because they were what my favourite tv shows and novels were about. All that doubt and not doing well went on until about May, when I had just failed my Physiology mid-sem exam.

Around this time, SARS came about, getting me worried about all those people I cared about in Asia and Canada. It was because of SARS I realised the importance and why I was doing medical science, and that I would be majoring in Medical Microbiology and Immunology.

And then, the war in Iraq...and all the other violence happening in other parts of the world too...

Not long after that, I had booked my ticket to Forbidden City. But back in May, I wasn't 100% sure I was allowed to watch FC. I had to make sure I passed all my courses. And that SARS would be over by Sept, and there would be no war.

Towards the end of June, I think that's when I got my act together. I mugged like nobody's biz. I had to pass my exams. I had to see Kit again. I slept an average of 4 hours per day, camped out in the lounge room, stuck 20 sheets of notes on the walls (mum thought I was on the verge of insanity…haha)…I drank Pepsi, bottle after bottle… The week after the final exams, I was so worried I thought I was gonna be sick. Luckily I had met Pamela in the second half of semester, and both of us were in the same boat together. Our results came out, Pamela passed everything (I was happy for her because unlike most of us, she didn't have a background in science), and I passed everything too, surprisingly, I got my first distinction too! During the winter break, I also got news that I passed the first paper (aural) of my musicianship diploma!

However, one evening while checking my mailbox, I found 3 emails from someone I'd never expected to, well, find me or my email address. It was from this experience this year that I matured and began to understand the consequences of my words and actions. Back then, I would just write/say things, and they would come out too quickly, and in the wrong manner. It hurt people. But from this experience, esp. the fact that I had hurt someone that was a complete stranger in my life, I really learnt from my mistakes. Case, thanks for being so forgiving and understanding. I know you don't write often, but thanks for those long emails you wrote when you had the time to. :)

Through Case, I learnt more about dance music and have recently begun to appreciate it a whole lot more. I mean, it's completely different to the kind of music I've been trained in for the past 15 years, and it's interesting to learn about it all. Of course, I also gained more of an insight into the real Kit because of Case. Thanks mate. Hope to keep in touch.

Sometime during 2003, a little girl (ok, she's not so little, but I was always the youngest in anything or any group I belonged to until she came along!) by the name of Joanna appeared. One day, I received this email from her, because she happened to search for "dorothy kit chan" on google, and whoa…it's as if she's my double or something! As we got to know each other more and more, I realise she's going through exactly what I was going through in 2001. The whole excitement about this spunky doc with a great voice…hahaha… Not many people are crazy about Dorothy, because most people get to know Kit because of her music. Anyway, I told her all about KCC and it was my first success in finding a new member! Hehe! And then she began receiving her packages of albums and books (just like I did), and read everything that exists on the net about Kit, tore out articles from old magazines, and of course, the ever-so-long wait to meet Kit for the first time. I hope she'll get to see Kit really soon, because that is one amazing experience for a little girl, I tell ya!

Apart from our almost-neverending conversations on Kit (and the crazy Kit things we do!), our next great love is ballet. Although I know Jo loves ballet so much more than I do (cos she doesn't really like piano as much), it's really exciting to finally come across someone who appreciates this art form, and knows what I'm talking about when I say plies or jetes or rond de jambe a terre…hehe! And then, she lives like a block from my cousin in Vancouver! The world is becoming closer and closer…

Semester 2 began, and Pamela and I chose all the timeslots together, so we had many classes together. By this time, I had booked my ticket to go to SG in Sept to watch FC, so I was all pumped up and ready for class. Indeed I was…I worked so hard in those weeks leading to FC and I was so kiasu getting from one place to another…hahaha… Up to the point where people thought I was one of those "smart people who had a high distinction average"…argh…like real man O_o Hahaha!!!

So, the last case of SARS had gone and war was over. The Aust. economy grew stronger (more recently, hitting around the 75 US cents mark). Things were only going to improve from this point on.

September had come. It was Sept 4th, a Thursday, that's when I had 2 lab classes in one day, plus lectures. A 9-5 day. My attention span = 0. I just couldn't concentrate. I was probably pouring the wrong chemicals into the wrong test tube and had my mind in lala-land, thinking, "sh*t, I'm watching Kit tomorrow…"

Friday Sept. 5, I woke up at 6am. At the crack of dawn. All ready and packed. Skipping Friday's classes just to take the early morning flight, to reach SG in plenty of time before FC's first show of the season. It was just so exciting!!! I can't believe what I was doing. Seriously…being allowed to skip class, take a trip overseas for a weekend just to see Kit. Which kind of parent would allow that? My kind. Probably because I paid for the air ticket and all the expenses for the trip with my piano-teaching-money. I stopped shopping in April, brought food from home to uni since the start of the year, just to save up for this. Kit, that's why I'm so thin, because I wanted to watch you perform! :P I wanted to come so badly!

This weekend has got to be the best weekend of my life so far. It was my first time watching Kit perform "live", something I had dreamed of for 2.5 years. Back then, I would always say, "I've met her, talked to her on the phone, got her autograph, watched her film Cash is King, but yet, I have never seen her sing/perform live – the simplest of all things that I had accomplished." Forbidden City was magical. It was. (It's better than The Lion King. I mean it.) And of course, after the performance, when a bunch of us ran to the stage door to wait for our beloved Empress Kit…and when she finally arrived through the doors, all pretty and pink… What was to come touched me so much, even to this day. Kit and I hadn't seen each other since Nov. 2001, and that was the only time we saw each other. Briefly, I must add. I was so worried that what my mother said was true, that I was just one of many people out there who loved Kit, and she had no reason to especially make the effort to remember me. Like, out of sight out of mind kinda thing. I even told Ting my fears about this.

As it turned out, I proved my mother wrong. We proved my mother wrong! To this day, I still can't quite believe the way she "skipped" (ok, she didn't skip like a kangaroo or anything, but it was this gentle brisk walk, it wasn't like an ordinary trudging over to my direction…) towards me singing out "Loretta!!!". Then she came towards me with open arms, and we hugged each other! :) Like friends separated for a decade being reunited once more! I have never felt as welcomed or appreciated in my life. Not even relatives do that kinda thing. Kit is very special indeed. She's the biggest sweetie! :) Sometimes I wish I could answer "yes" when people look at the photo of us in the wallet and ask, "is that your cousin?" But then again, it wouldn't be so special if she was simply my cousin who I could meet with just a phone call. Just leave things the way God made them, and never take anything or anybody who comes into your life for granted. They come into your life for a reason. :)

After that weekend, I was feeling so awful. Because I was so touched. It felt as if Kit loved me more than my dad or my bro did. It sure felt like it. The way I was appreciated simply because I was there to show my support for her. How many weekends are as amazing as this one? I suffered withdrawal symptoms. Bad ones. I would cry everytime I listened to Why Dream of Love. I didn't dare listen to the FC soundtrack for about a month. I would sit in lecture theatres and hear music or see scenes from FC. It was kinda scary. I couldn't concentrate for about a month. That's when I started getting behind in my work again. Sigh. But at the end of October, I realised I couldn't go on like this. God had given the precious gift of finally watching Kit perform, I should continue to work hard towards the next time I'd see her again.

My final exams – I couldn't believe it! 2 distinctions! I said goodbye to the "pass" that I kept getting before! All that goes to show when you have something to work towards, you will put in the effort. My results also prove that seeing Kit didn't distract me and affect my studies, rather, it was a form of motivation.

During the year, I met new peeps – Simon (a crazy Aaron Kwok fan, but told me he bought Kit's canto compilation and that Kit rocked in Snow Wolf Lake!), Helen (who loves watching musicals and stage works), Florence (a potential Kitcatten and didn't bring her Kit albums to Sydney because her mum in HK is a fan!), Stephen, Shirley…

Leanna (one of my best friends from high school) and I were to have many classes together again! The last time we had that many classes together was year 10, in 1999, and then we took different subjects for senior high. We even took the same train home!

Elaine was a childhood friend I met from church, but somehow we lost contact when she moved up north. During the first biochem tutorial in sem 2, when our tutor went through the roll, I recognised her name. And she recognised mine! Haha…it's funny we didn't recognise each other's face! But I thought it was marvellous the way we got to meet each other once again after so long!

I met Liming for the first time, while sitting next to her when watching FC. We just happened to get along quite well! :) Perhaps she found it amusing to see me so focused when I was watching Kit on stage, and shared in my excitement after seeing Kit…hehehe…dunno? Hope to see ya online more often!

And of course, Pamela. We just clicked, I guess? Hehe… Or maybe we had the same likes and dislikes, and I reminded her a lot about SG. I practised my Singlish with her, we discovered putting pepper on fries was delicious by mistake, we pointed out the ah bengs around uni (haha!), we knew each other's phobias, we had these jokes between us (like the obiang sweater this certain lecturer kept wearing)…we had so much fun and laughed until we had a stomachache almost everyday! We went around shopping for anything, from buying socks at Paddy's Market to looking for the Burberry dress at David Jones! She told her mum about why I went to SG in Sept for such a short time (because I had stuff to pass to her mum, and her mum had stuff to pass to her), and dunno how, her mum wants to take me as her 3rd daughter?! Hahaha!!!

Well, 2003, what a year. The highs and lows. Man...

May you all have a happy new year! Just under 4 hours to go in my part of the world...hehe...

Lola Nadal 7:36 PM