Year End & Farewell Banquet

Friday, December 21, 2012. Oh my God..I'm alive! *touch own body and pinch to confirm liveliness*. So it's not the Apocalypse? The Mayans were wrong? There's a new date for apocalypse? When? Why? How?

Well, those are NOT my biggest concern. As a Muslim, I have to have faith in my own God. There are no specific date to when the world will end. God knows when. 

Well, one thing DID happen today. We had a feast at the office. As part of a Year-End Banquet together with a Farewell Party for Priya and me. Priya has been in MATRADE for one year and a half already. She started as an intern student, then she continued to be a temporary staff here for a year. And today is her last day of work. Boohoo. Priya has been my bus-friend, in a sense where we'd go to work and return together by bus. She was the one who taught me how to go to work via bus; which bus to take and what time the buses leave. And it happened to be on my first day of internship. Phew~ Otherwise I was planning to go back via taxi. (Kaya la sangat~)

So earlier before the event, we started decorating the whiteboards with, well er...doodling. There were so many volunteers wanting to contribute something to the whiteboard. And there were only two marker pens. So we took turns to draw. We also organized the presents for the Exchange Gift session.

Talking about gifts, Kak Shida was the one responsible in going around making people withdraw out a name for us to give our presents to. And I happen to withdraw Encik Amin's name. He is the Director of our Section. The Big Boss. And for the record, I've already prepared a gift earlier. I bought this book:

And upon knowing that I had to give the book to Encik Amin, I was slightly light-headed. I mean, he is the boss around here. Will he be happy with my non-expensive/classy present? But then Kak Shida reassured me that he liked books. So err, Phew? And so for me to make sure he liked the present (cross my fingers), I drew this. I did it whole-heartedly. So I hope he appreciates it. 

At the feast, there were speeches. And one thing that captured me during Encik Amin's speech was "Read a lot of books!". And I was like..Hey, I bought you a book! *relieve*. After the speeches, Priya and I were called to cut the cake. After cutting the cake, we reverted back to our seat. And ever so suddenly, the emcee of the day (also my Supervisor) Encik Suwardy called us to make a speech. And I was like..Darn. I haven't prepared a thing! I'm still here next week y'know? (Fun Fact: Today is the official date of my last internship day. But I will still be here for another 10 days to replace the day-offs I took throughout the internship period). Turns out, my speech was all over the place (I think). Priya made her speech first. She did it in English. At first I thought, a Malay speech would be OK. Upon my turn, I was brain-struck over what word to use. I didn't want to sound schematic. But eventually, I blurted words in English. Saying how thankful I was in having the chance to be a part of the team. About having fun while learning here etc etc. (I was also shaking a bit). Last but not least, the Exchange Gift session, wee-hoo.

Next...Lunch time! We had Nasi Kukus and Pecal. I'm not a big fan of pecal, but this one made me smile.

The Chocolate Indulgence cake was an excellent choice to end the meal, together with the fruits and orange juice. We laughed. We had fun. We had a happy tummy.

Then we started unwrapping our presents. There were books, photo frames, a baby chair, a perfume, head scarfs, a blouse, a tie, a box of glass containers and few others. I got a red Ikea photo frame from (I assume) is from Kak Lin. (Her smile is too fishy to not assume her).

Priya and I also got the same necklace from the Section. Sche-weet~ And from Nik too! She bought me a Butterfly giant cookie! (Can I not eat it? Too cute to be eaten).

Everyone's giving me presents already. I'm still here in January y'know? I hope this is only a pre-leave present. And there's more to come. LOL.

I thought of giving something for Kak Priya. But chose to make something for her instead. She's been praising my drawings lately, and it totally inspired me to improve more. So I made this card for her. (Well, actually, I glued the drawing on a glossy sticker paper. Just in case if she decided to stick it on her notebook or anything).

Although it wasn't my last day today, but it was for my friends.

Goodbye Fad (grey scarf) and Farah (pink/black scarf).

Airin and I will continue being in MATRADE till January.

 Not to forget Izdihar and Ammar too. It was nice meeting you all. I had a great time laughing and having fun being around you lots.

Farah. I'll never forget how you told us the story of you craving for that porridge. I'd still giggle remembering it. You're funny Mak Jemah!

Fad. At first, you've always been the busiest among us all. You were already having a kickstart on your first day of internship!

Iz. The guy who always make plans, and is the safest driver on the road. He's always been the informer for a lot of announcements, cuz he works in the Admin Unit. So he's usually the person who gets information first.

Ammar. I'll always remember that he sent me back to Ampang from Setapak after our Intern Gathering dinner around midnight. After sending me off, he went back to Rawang. What a long journey!

Well, I still have a few more days to cherish before I actually leave MATRADE. So I'm gonna make sure every moment is a memory.