I hope my other friends who have left Malaysia will not beat me up just because they didn’t get a farewell post from me as well.
I’m doing this because I somewhat promised Barry that I’ll send him off at the airport tomorrow and at the same time told him that I might not make it. 🙁 Too early in the morning for me.
Another friend leaves Malaysia. Bye bye Barry!
I doubt he’ll ever read this post but I know his sister and his girlfriend will! Pass on the good word ya, Aud and Suet!
I know I’ve repeated this story a million times on my blog, but since this post is supposed to feature Barry, I might as well talk about him in great detail.
We go a loooooooong way back.
I was a nerdy standard 5 prefect with gold-rimmed glasses and pigtails and sitting in the corner of the class back in 1997. In the middle of teaching me cool terms like “chun” and “wah lau wei”, my best friend Foo Siew Li said, “Eh, who do you have a crush on ar?”
And I shook my head shyly and said, “No one..”. But the truth was that I would readily marry any boy who was taller than me. So I had like ten over crushes at once. Hahaha. It sucked to be one of the tallest girls around.
At that moment, this boy with floppy hair walked into my class to see my teacher. He had gold rimmed glasses as well. Floppy hair as in Nick Carter floppy centre parted hair. I just took a look at him. He seemed like he was taller than me.
Foo Siew Li squealed, “oOOoooOo…you like Barry Ooi!!!”
“Who is Barry Ooi?!” I asked, perplexed.
“That guy lah! Hor hor, Lai Pei Shan loves Barry Ooi. ooooooo..” she sang.
And with that, she recruited Jocelyn(Toh) and (Selva) Kamini to tease me together-gether. They’d conteng my name and his on our class blackboard to piss me off.
I found myself joining the same choral speaking team with this whoever-he-is Barry Ooi.
Since I was a shy little girl, I only heard his voice when the teacher made us read our scripts.
There was a line that went, “Blow wind blow. Blow, blow, blow.”
The last three words were to be receited by three boys. The highest pitch belonged to Chester Choo, the medium pitch belonged to Lum Wai Keng and the lowest pitch belonged to Barry. Whahahaha. How my heart flipped when I heard his broken voice. I’ve never heard a broken voice before. At least in my primary school.
Once glance, and another and another and another… and soon I had a full blown crush on him. LOL.
We were put in the same standard 6 class and I couldn’t believe my luck.
During Parent-Teacher Day, I’d sit in the front of the class waiting for my parents and Barry’s parents( hahaha. Aud, get your mum to read this and see if she remembers a nerdy little girl interupting conversations) to come to see the teacher.
Since the register book was right in front of my nose, I took a peek and memorised Barry’s address. I was delighted to find out that he stayed in the same residential area as I did. This served to be quite useful for my evening bicycle rides.
His parents arrived and I soaked in whatever information I could get off Barry’s life.
I NEVER spoke a word to him throughout standard 6.
My standard 6 diary had a couple of entries that went, “Dear Diary, today Barry was sweeping the floor near my chair. I am so lucky.”
We did speak. Abit.
One time when we had a class party and played musical chairs and we sat on the same chair. He then said, “Blah lah you,” and shoo-ed me off the chair. I was heartbroken.
Another time was when I asked him to sign an autograph for me on my class photo. And he didn’t ask me to sign his.
The third time was when I asked him on the last day of school, “Which school are you going to?” and he replied boredly, “SMK Subang Utama.”
LOL. Yeah, we only spoke a grand total of three times back in standard 6. I was too uncool to be anywhere near him and his friends(Kevin(Emo Lengchai of Lengchai Gang fame), Kenneth Lim, Lim Sze Wern, Jolynn Goh, Darshini, Jade Ho etc etc.). I wasn’t very aware of the existence of the OTHER “coOol peOpLe” lin the next class like that pretty girl called Ang Su-Chien, and that tall prefect girl called Lim Su-Hsien, and that nice prefect called Chew Li Peng and that other girl..oh what’s her name again, …*snaps finger*…quite tall also one, OH YEA. Chin Mun Teng. Those cool people plus the cool people in my class could go out to that VERY happening place called Sunway Pyramid to OHMIGOD, catch movies on weekends and WAHHHH can go skating too~~~!!
Hahahahhaa. And see who are my best friends now? *hugs chien, hsien, li peng and munteng* This must mean I am now quite cool also. Kakakakkaa. 😛
Anyway, back to the Barry stories.
After obtaining his house address, I’d cycle pass his house. Stupid Barry was a playstation geek. So all my efforts were in vain. Not to mention the blooooody steep road outside his house that I would have to peddle UP again if I wanted to try my luck just ONCE more to see if he was home.
I even got his ICQ number from Zachary and how my heart sang with joy when he authorized me. Hahahahha. I emailed him. His reply came, “What are you trying to do? Stalk me?”
*Piang* (sound of my heart breaking)
So I took the next easy step. I befriended his sister who was a form1 student studying in my future school. Hehehe. Sorry Audrey. I was NOT making use of you. But see?? How many years of friendship do we have already? Awww.;)
I remember she’d tell me nice tidbits about him like him taking his mother’s purple nail polish and painting his big toe with it. Then Audrey and their mum told Barry that it was permanent and that these things can never be removed. She found Barry scratching vigorously at his big toe in one corner.
Came form1 and I soon forgot about the existence of Barry Ooi because god damn there were so many boys in form2, form3, form4 and form5 who were taller than me. hahahahhaha.
In form2, the dahlings(Mel, Esther, Me, Mun teng, Liss, Su-Hsien, Chien, Li Peng, Abby, Amanda, She Dee)Â slowly congregated to form a clique. Chien being the more popular one with the guys who were mainly from our primary school sort of bridged the two cliques together and the gang was sort of formed. But I think we were closer during college days where we’d go for ‘dinners’ together where we’d pay through our noses but MoSt ImpORtantLy Is that We EnjoYed eacH OthEr’S ComPAnIes.
So after PMR, Barry asked for my phone number because he needed transport to come out together with ‘the rest of the gang’ to catch a celebratory movie at Sunway Pyramid.
Came form4 and form5, Barry and I discovered that we had the same level of toilet humour and became closer friends.
We were extremely close during college days because we carpooled to class. So close that we sometimes fought with each other. Me with my over-sensitiveness and him with his uncontrollable temper. (Suet has done a lot of good to him in that part).
Sorry Barry, I admit that I was being quite the bitch back in college. It’s like that when you see someone for at least 6 hours every single day.Â
But once we left college and then he got together with Suet Li, I felt that he became a much nicer person. We still had our dirty toilet humour going on between us just like the old days. The Barry whom I can tell every single thing(and progress) to. Heh.
And now you’ll be gone to the States to do your political science/literature/what was it again? Good luck to you Barry!
Another one of the gang to leave the measely few in Subang Jaya. So sad.
Here are a few pictures from the Kim Gary Lunch that Barry so kindly belanja-ed me, Suet and Aud. Kekeke. Sorry yeah Barry. Come back and I belanja the next round.
Audrey and her fried rice of sorts. I had a FUN time gossiping with her. I learnt who and who became a lesbian, who and who is NOT a lesbian ONLY but is also bi and I told her that NOT only is she Bi, but she was pregant too.. etc. We talked about who and who’s skin has deteriorated so badly due to years of thick make up, we also talked about how this bastard caused this nice girl, both of whom were from our school, to turn lesbian. Tsk tsk. Shocking. Not that we have anything against homosexuals. But it’s just something we’d talk about if it involves someone from our school! (if you’re reading this, jangan marah Lainie!)
Along with Suet, the three of us had a fun time gossiping about other bloggers and bitching about the necessaries. The blogosphere isn’t so much Barry’s cup of tea. Heh.
We love Nissin Noodles! Thank you Barry for the nissin noodles!
I heart nissin noodles.
Nice.;)
BYE BARRY!!! Don’t cry so much at the airport ah Suet.