Sup3rnality

Fidzy's entry with an excerpt from Hanson's 'Wish that I was There' took me back to 9 years before.

But first of all, my God, it's been that long ago...? Wow.

Nine years before. I was 13 going on 14. In Form Two; 2 Yakin, to be exact. President of the Photography Club. Just began working for my school's Koperasi. I was my class' Treasurer. Slightly awkward, but finally settling into my skin. Had shoulder length hair. I've yet to start plucking my eyebrows, but loved make-up. Had an obsession with 5ive. Wrote poetry very often. The worst problem I had at the time was a jerk of a guy whom I had a crush on who treated me like crap (I wonder now why in the world I was attracted to him?). And for some reason was called for counselling ocassionally. That was me at 13++.

I remember Kemahiran Hidup (Home Economics) class. It was taught by Puan Mariah, methinks, and she was just scary. I hated going to the bengkel (workshop) for her class where she will just nag nonstop. But then there was one time when our class (just us girls) were sitting in front of the classroom door but the teacher didn't show up. It was still early in the school year and I haven't really gotten to know alot of people. So I struck up a conversation with the girl sitting on the floor opposite of me. I just knew her as the artsy person in class who listened to Elvis and the Beatles, but never really talked to her. Her name was Fairuz.

Or Ayus, as I would later call her.

I don't remember what was the content of our conversation that day, but the next thing I know was that we were both raving about Hanson. Honestly, I never met a person who likes Hanson so it was rather a surprise (my interest in them have waned, but I still genuinely think they're good). We started singing all the songs (most people would only know Mmmbop or the other singles) and were really having fun, finding some kinda kindred spirit in each other. And that's what sealed it.

That conversation led to phone calls to exchanging of posters and borrowing of magazines to singing sessions to sleepovers to camping to hanging out to YEAH to the talent competition to the Radio DJ competition to talking about boyfriends and then SPM, and then graduating from school to slacking off playing You Don't Know Jack on the PS all day to talking about campus life to hours long conversations late into the night about anything and everything to graduation and work to being in a magazine and on TV together to dissecting life and the way it works and bitching about the idea of marriage people keep throwing at us to talking about cats to mourning and indulging on pizza and chocolate and ice cream to talking about the good old days...And there are the smiles and the jokes and the crying and the fights and the miscommunication and the arguments and misunderstanding and the making up and all. We've been through so much.

But I remember most from our history is our singing sessions. We would gather at my place and we'd sing and try to harmonize with one another. It was always either Hanson or Robbie Williams and ocassionally Edwin McCain or Michelle Branch. Our staple songs were Hanson's Weird, Song to Sing, Wish that I was There, If Only, With You in Your Dreams, Save Me and many more... Ayus loves Wish that I was There cos Zac sang it, and we sang that song alot. I loved harmonizing this part, and I still sing it every now and then:

And you make me feel,
Won't you take me when you're not here.
It's been raining here,
and I just want you to be near.

I think I recorded most of them on some tapes, I'll have to look for them and give them a listen and then laugh. I don't know whether I still remember the lyrics to most of the songs... I think if I were to sing it they'd come naturally. I miss those times. Such innocent and much simpler times.

And then there was that time we decided to put all our singing to the test. We, just for the heck of it, joined the Talent Competition our school had, and we entered the group singing category.
We sang 'Song to Sing'. My part was always:

And all that I've found in reason
Is reason just to not believe
And all that you are left (with) is treason
It's treason just to let it be.

I guess we weren't so bad, cos we got third place. We harmonized a capella and was pretty shaky for a while, but I think it was something anyway. Just a little something to tell my kids in the future :) Oh, and we continued to sing another two times...Save Me and With You In Your Dreams.

I missed that time when Hanson came to Malaysia, but Ayus went. I wasn't really sorry that I missed the show, just sorry that I missed sharing something that united us, and something she was so looking forward to and for me to go with her.

Hanson and Ayus; they'll always be inseparable. They'll always be synonymous. And the reason that I know her. They're a big part of my history. And that's a song that I sing.

Love, Ayin~