Cinema O Rama

The first year of my primary school – I managed to claim the first spot in my school. I couldn’t remember very well how I managed to achieve that, but because of that – my father decided to reward me by taking me to a cinema.

It was the first time I ever been to a cinema and the movie that was showing at the time was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The cinema itself was a run-down Cathay (we pronounced it KokTai in Hokkien) in our small town of BM. Back in those times, we still do not have Cineplex, so the cinema was an old-fashioned building with no popcorn stalls and an old hunchback ah pek is the one who shows you your seat with torchlight. I also heard that the chair will snap your ass up if you are not careful.

My first impression was – the cinema was a cold and creepy place. My father bought a pack of corn crackers for me and we sat like 3 row from the back.

And then the movie began. The giant screen flickered to life and I was completely swept away. Somehow I got the amazing feeling of being swallowed by the screen, sucked into the world of the movie. For a kid my age at the time, I couldn’t find the words to describe what I felt. My mouth was a gaping hole where if a mosquito were to fly inside at that particular moment, it could fly straight into my stomach. I was completely awestruck.

Till this day I could still remember the story vividly. I laughed till my tummy hurt when the Chinese kid run around with his antic. I squirmed when I saw the tribe eating the monkey’s brain. I lost myself inside the movie for the entire length of the movie. I entirely forgotten about my father’s presence till when the credits rolled out and he put a hand on my shoulder, saying: “Time to go, son.”

That night Little Sean fell in love with the cinema.

*****

Over the adolescent years of my life, I tried to go to the cinema whenever I saved up enough money to afford a ticket. I didn’t get much of a pocket money, so I had to pick only movies I really like – unlike some of the filthy rich friends of mine who could go to cinema simply to watch any movies, sometimes even for multiple times.

I remembered one time I was watching a forgettable Hongkie movie with a few friends and this particular girl told me this is the third time she was watching this.

“Then why did you still wanna come?” I asked her, perplexed. “It is certainly not a very good movie.”

“Oh, I don’t mind” she said. “Just come here because you guys want to come.”

I scratched my head. If she were to say it’s because of the atmosphere of the cinema and the thrill you get when the big screen jumps at you, I would have saluted her, but clearly she just came because she had nothing better to do and too much money in her purse. It was like an abomination to the cinema – how could you treat such a significant place with such insignificance?
I myself had never been to a same movie in a cinema for more than once. Even when the Titanic mania hit us in the early 2000s, when people compared the number of times they watched that movie in cinema, I would rather scourge the internet looking for that particular chopped scene where Leonardo Di Caprio was painting Kate Winslet.

“This is the 7th times I am watching this,” one of the girl who were watching the movie with me – I was in college at the time – giggled happily and whispered to my ear. I didn’t tell her I had watched that downloaded painting scene more than 7 times.

“7 times?” one of my less illustrious college friends asked. “I would rather have sex 7 times in one night.”

“Can you?” one the girls asked, followed by a round of well-rehearsed chuckle.

At the turn of the century, technology had forced most of those old-fashioned stand-alone cinema houses out of business, replaced by the smaller Cineplex – cinema in a shopping complex with Dolby sound system; not to mention those seedy Laser disc theatres which show compromising uncut pictures. The enjoyed only a short-lived fame though after a few scandals involving people doing compromising stuffs in the theatre while watching compromising scenes.

Like an endless cycle of existence, you started working after those honeyed years in college. My fiery adoration for the cinema was still burning at the time so I joined these movie gang colleagues who go to cinema every Friday night. I wouldn’t say their choice of movie are exactly my cup of tea, but I did tag along from times to times – meeting some interesting people, some obnoxious people and some pretentious people.

Normally after these movie sessions, the movie gang would go for supper in Sri Murni at SS2 – where as expected some people would ask questions like “What do you think of the movie just now?” And where as expected you hear replies like: “Not bad, not bad,” even though I could swear I heard the guy replying snoring in the movie just now.

Well, that’s what you get when you go out with a large gang for movies. After some time, I wondered whether the real intention of that gang was to enjoy the movie at the cinema or to enjoy the close proximity of other human beings, eh, social networking I means. I couldn’t enjoy it much because instead of being overwhelmed by the big screen, I was overwhelmed by body odours and sound or people snoring.

Then the inflation hits.

People became more reluctant to go to cinema. The cineplex tried to counter by introducing Wed discounts and Ladies Nite discount, but still business was a bit slow in the times of downturn.

“It is still the best choice for dating couples,” a cineplex operator told me while we were smoking. “You know la, when you are dating in country like Malaysia, there’s not much choice of activities. Outdoor? The gals are afraid of sunburnt. Going to cinema is still the cheapest and logical option.”

I nodded in agreement, silently wondering when I would have a chance to bring a particular gal to movie for a date.

It might be difficult because the girl I had in mind was already engaged and possibly getting married early the following year. I had this infatuation about her from the first day I met her but never had the courage to tell her. She was the girl I have been looking for - but never found before. So we remained best of friends, and from times to times we would go for lunch or dinner together.

“I think the reason we have so much in common is because we both comes from a small town,” she told me once. “Plus we are both Virgos.”

“Too bad I did not meet you much earlier – before you met your fiancée,” I tried to crack a joke, but it turned out to be awkward and induced a long silence.

When I finally took her to the movie, I was nervous. It was two weeks before her marriage ceremony. If this were a normal date, I would normally choose a horror movie, so when the scary part arrived, you can pretend to calm your date or if you are lucky, you can even get to hold her. But this is not a normal date, I kept reminding myself. This is a girl who every time I see her falling I want to get down on my knees and pray – waiting for the moment when she would said the things I couldn’t say (ok, I stole this lines from the song Bizarre Love Triangle).

So we went to watch Spiderman 2. Never for once that would I expect that movie is to be so emotionally moving. I thought it was a superhero movie – but the unspoken tension between Peter and Mary Jane was played to the utmost, making the unrequited love scenes between them almost unbearable. Who would have expected a director like Sam Raimi who made the quirky and comical Evil Dead trilogy could come up with something like this? It was more like a love story than a superhero story. Especially the part when Mary Jane left her wedding altar to look for Peter – it really killed me.

We didn’t speak much on our way back. I drove her back to her home, my emotions welling up in my heart like the bubbles from a quickly poured beer.

“2 weeks from your marriage…are you nervous?”

“Very…”

Maybe I would never have the chance to say it if I didn’t say it now.

“I have a confession,” I began. “You know how much I love going to the cinema since I was a kid, right?”

“Yes,” she said. “Everybody knows that.”

“Well, to tell you frankly, tonite when I went to the cinema with you, the joy was multiplied.”

She was silent for a while. “So what are you trying to imply? We could still go to the cinemas after I’m married.”

“The truth is…” I told her. “I have always been passionate about movies and cinemas, but after I know you, I realized the passion I had for them is nothing compared to the passion I have for you.”

Another long silence.

“Oh, damn it, Sean. Why do you have to say it? I hate you so much…” she suddenly erupted. “I hate you so much because you make me like you…”

Her lips were on mine before I could say anything. Not that I would want to say anything at that moment.

The City of Beauty

The city of KL and its surrounding Klang Valley is filled with beauties; everywhere you turn your head, you can expect to feast your eyes on at least several of them walking or talking or pretending to ignore you. Compare this to Penang - the city where I grown up in – you can say that Penang is almost like countryside filled with pasture of grass that not only all the beauties shun – even the cows and goats refuse to feed here.

Even the cleaner ladies make-up in KL. In Penang you would be lucky if you can catch a lady with decent make-up even in downtown. The keyword here is decent. No doubt if you prowl in some hip and trendy mall like the Queensbay or the Gurney Plaza, it would be very likely to run into some young high school girls who tried to make-up – but it is very likely that you would feel more repelled than attracted.

The problem is – women in Penang don’t even bother to make-up or attempt to look good. It’s basically a silicon island famous for its semiconductor industry and obviously not for its silicon implant. I have a former unimates who just return to PJ to work after staying in Penang for the past 5 years. She complained to me that she no longer can walk around with her Teambuilding T-shirt, jeans and slippers.

“Now I have to wear high heels and tight working suit. Craps,” she whined.

“You’re an engineer, come on. Why do you need high heels for?” I asked her.

“Two words – peer pressure. Every woman make-up here; how can I afford not to?”

Do you know what a corset is? I used to think this kind of thing only exists in Alexander Dumas’s 3 Musketeer’s tales, but some women in KL actually do wear corset.

This kind of peer pressure may be a bit stressful for some women – not to mention the discomfort they feel from putting on all these super-tight garments – but for guys, it’s an absolutely good thing. Tell me which guy doesn’t like looking at women in formal suit? Gays?

The women here also have better taste when it comes to choice of apparels. Brands like Zara can flourish here but in Penang I think they will go bankrupt within one month. Women dress smartly and elegantly – closely resembling the pin-outs from Cleo and FHM. Maybe because there is more MPH or Borders here where you could read those magazines for free. Whereas in Penang, some women just dress-up like rojak – mix and match – heavily laced top with those skirt and striped three quarter pants…God, don’t they realize they look more like a slut than hot?

Now I understand why all the Penang guys who come to KL never want to go back to Penang. You could meet all sorts of beauties here; just last week I almost managed to have a date with a girl from finance who works as part-time model, but somehow at last minute, she FFKed. That’s OK though – I ended up meeting this hot matured lady with a one-piece spotted dress that resembled a leopard skin in the Finnegan at Sri Hartamas – Growl!!!

It’s so easy to meet and date good looking girls here, my friend Kev told me. I am not sure whether he was bluffing or not, but he told me he could change girl friend almost every week, and good looking one at that.

“Girls here are so easy, dude,” he boasted. “They are not looking for long term or commitment. They just wanna hook up for fun, they just wanna party!”

With his slick haircut and thick eyebrows, he did look convincing – not to mention while we talked, his handphone – a HP IPAQ – rang and he whispered suggestively to me: “See, here is one of them calling me now…my new f**k buddy.”

For a rural guy from Penang like me, it’s real easy to be overwhelmed by all these great temptations – these endless beauties. Tons and tons of available beauties roaming the streets of KL. Drinking joints are abundance with model-like personality. Some of them are pretentious – some of them glaringly fake, but still they are beauties nonetheless. Beauty rules – that’s the reason why some drinking joint can afford to have Ladies Nite every night.

Drinking with some friends in the Laundry Bar at the Curve last night, my eyes never get tired of looking at all the gorgeous girls around me. It’s like a feast of beauty. I slowly sipped my drink and enjoyed the view. This city was really like heaven. But despite all the beauties here, the one you missed the most is always the one you could really talk to – the one that makes you laugh the most.

The Rabbit Feeder

The rabbit refused to gnaw on the carrot. Maybe like her, it has lost its appetite. Her mind was in turmoil – full of heartbreaking images of her father who had shrunken almost down to just skin covering the skeleton.

On her way back from the cafe, she had used her credit from her meal card to buy some carrots for the rabbit. The rabbit was kept in a small garden where the factory workers go for fresh air. Usually, however, not many people go there – because smoking is not allowed. She was hoping by feeding the rabbit, she could give her mind a rest – and stop thinking about the depressing state her father was in. Looking at the rabbit biting at the carrot – its buckteeth working diligently had always given her inner peace. But today, it had failed to achieve that. The rabbit wasn’t co-operating at all.

The diagnose report of her father was finally out – after a few agonizing weeks. It was a lymphatic cancer – a rare case of cancer. The doctor had a hard time making their decision because the symptom was always so near between a lymphoma (a type of blood disease) and a lymphatic cancer. The lymphatic system is a very important part of the body immune system – therefore it couldn’t be treated like a normal case of cancer, direct radiation to the cluster of the malignant cells would kill the immune system as well.

“I would have to completely frank with you, Miss L,” the doctor had said gravely. “The chance of making a full recovery is not high. Nevertheless, we would try our best.”

Weeks earlier, she had been heckling the doctors at a renowned Singapore hospital for the result of her father’s examination. The doctors kept avoiding her and after a futile week there – one of the most expensive hospitals in Singapore, she busted her credit card for that, she had to finally make a decision to move her father back to Malaysia for another examination and subsequent treatment.

“You have to understand, Miss L,” the doctor told her shortly before delivering the result. “The difference between the lymphoma and lymphatic cancer is very delicate. We have to be really sure before arriving at a verdict. It’s not that we are stalling your time. We just need to be really sure…”

Colleagues and boss at work had been very understanding. Nobody bothered her even though the project she is handling is slightly overdue. Her boss came personally to enquire about the condition of her father.

Her mind returned to the presence. The rabbit had gone into hiding – she was still holding the carrot, alone. She tried to look for the rabbit but it was nowhere to be seen.

She turned to go – her heart heavy with despair. She had got to look for another specialist, another doctor, another oncotologist, another hospital – anyone who can give her a more optimistic outlook, a more positive and hopeful verdict. She couldn’t stand the sight of her father withering away just like that; she couldn’t bear the sorrow of seeing him in pain – the least she could do is to keep on looking for a better treatment for him.

Going out of the garden she almost stumbled headlong onto a man. The man was standing at the entrance of the garden, his enormous frame blocking the path. She looked up to apologize – the carrot still in her hand - then recognized the man was actually a colleague working in the same department as her.

It was Po, the new guy who just joined not so long ago. He had this innocent look about him which made him looked like almost a boy in a big man’s body – emphasized by his sometimes clumsy and bumbling manner. She didn’t know him very well but had heard about him being always energetic and enthusiastic in work – constantly motivated.

The man - in bright polo shirt and beige slacks – looked at her with an undecided look. He seemed to be hesitating to say something.

“Are you going out for fresh air?” she asked – trying to break the awkwardness.

“Actually, er…I am looking for you, Miss L,” Po said in a slightly shy tone.

“Looking for me?”

“Yes, I am forming a team for a coming bowling tournament and I wonder whether you would like to join my team.”

“Oh,” she exclaimed, surprised by the invitation. “I am, eh…not good in bowling.”

“It’s OK, I am not good either,” Po said in an elated tone, perhaps trying to persuade her further. “But I am going to do my best, so don’t you worry. Even though I know there will be a lot of strong teams competing, and there is a slim chance of us beating them, we are going to try nevertheless…because as long as we have hope, we will have the direction and the energy to move by.”

She was stunned by his sudden outburst of inspiration. She had always thought of him as a very quiet man.

“When is it, this competition?”

“Next Saturday,” he said – his voice filled with excitement.

“Oh,” she said, suddenly realizing something. “I am so sorry; I wouldn’t be able to make it. I have to cook on Saturday.”

There was a clear disappointment on Po’s face but he gave her a buoyant smile nonetheless. “It’s OK then…I will try to look for someone else.”

He tottered away in his usual gawky manner – his hands swinging every time he takes a step forward.

She looked at him walking away. Strangely, the conversation had an unexpected effect of lifting her mood up a little. She pondered at words he had said - because as long as we have hope, we will have the direction and the energy to move by.

She took a deep breath, and then realized the half bitten carrot was still in her hands. She took a bite – hope was building up in her.