Wedding Reception No. 2: Istana Hotel.

It was Ms. .. oops! sorry, Puan S's wedding reception at the Istana Hotel tonight. Last night, technically. Aaaaah! On the night of June, the 19th, ok?

What an event that was. I'm not even the bride and I'm pooped! I must admit, though, that it is less of a physical tiredness than weariness due to being overwhelmed. My eyes totally popped when the arrival of the Sultan and Sultanah of Kedah were announced! And how much more they popped when Ms. Stiletto pointed out that the lady with the biiiiig hair sitting alone in one of the "royalty" seats was the Raja Permaisuri Agung! And Tun Dr Mahatir Mohd was announced next! Followed by Tun Hjh Siti Hasmah! And flanking them were the various MBs and Bendaharis of States ... adoi. And here I thought that Najib was already a big deal. Nampak sangat I am so not "high society" .. and thank God for that! Aku tak nak kahwin orang high profile! Tak terdaya!!!! (Isy .. perasan sangat. Macamlah orang high profile nakkan kita ...)

Apart from the bowing and scraping and the sembah-sembah "ampun tuanku, beribu-ribu ampun" (or whatever) .. and all that tiresome protocol, it was a beautiful wedding. The plus side was that I got to meet some old friends tonight, some of whom I have not seen since we left high school all those 8 long years ago. Baru perasan betapa tuanya aku. Oh tidaaaaaak!! MzMin was right. Puan S's wedding DID turn out to be a mini high school reunion! It was nice, tho.

The food wasn't so great .. but maybe that's just me. Like I told Ms. Stiletto, most weddings I attend happen to be Johorean. Seeing as how this family is from Kedah, the food, to me, was therefore somewhat .. unusual fare for a wedding. Entahlah. I suppose kalau dah biasa sangat, anything else would be a bit odd. Tapi bedal jugak. ;o) Chek Anne kita contol sikit. Alah, sikit je. Hehe. Tapi maybe that's just because her "friend" was sitting next to her. Or maybe I just terperasan that way because I was sitting too far away to notice berapa kali dia tambah nasi and lauk. Heh heh. Chek Anne jangan marah, ye?

It was a thoroughly enjoyable night. Everyone was all "gussied up" (to borrow MzMin's term) and generally looking super hot. Too bad I forgot to buy batteries for my camera beforehand. :o(

Yes, it was a fun night. It was fun being catty and watching other people with their baaaaad fashion sense. Can you believe the Sultan of Kedah turned up wearing a flourescent green baju melayu when the Sultanah was wearing cream? What the hell were the either of them - or BOTH of them! - thinking??!?!!

Also, there was the very entertaining little game I was playing with this cute guy at the next table. From the moment I arrived, he was eyeing me top to toe. No, not in a leering sort of manner, otherwise I wouldn't have encouraged that sort of behaviour! Also it just so happened that I was sitting directly in his line of sight - which I swear was NOT engineered and ENTIRELY coincidental - so all throughout dinner there was a game of main-main mata going on. I peeked at him, he peeked at me, flirtatious smiles, a wink or two, you get the picture. Somewhat juvenile, I know, but it kept things, ah, interesting. Besides, he was CUTE! *giggles* Things got a little less immature when gazes were locked for a second, then two, then a few.

However, the fun came to a sudden halt when the woman next to him started playing with his hair and kissed him on the cheek. Sigh. How come the only men who are ever interested in me seem to be previously spoken for? It made me wonder if I only look good to men after they become bored with their partners. What wonders THAT does for my self-esteem! *dripping sarcasm* Seriously, it's like the only types of men I seem to be able to attract these days are attached men. Am I *gasp!* the Forbidden Fruit? Yeah right. Macamlah hot sangat. Hmm .. hot? fruit? Does that make me the human equivalent of pisang goreng? Or cempedak goreng? Cause I'm definitely no hot apple strudel. Apa daaaaa ... Now I've made myself hungry. Mana boleh aku cari cempedak goreng malam-malam nih?

It would be an understatement to say that I'm more than just a little sick of attention from attached men, so that game ended pretty abruptly.

But after that, there was that super fun game of trying to guess what the keepsakes actually were. Top guesses were table runners and/or embroidered purses for the ladies, no idea AT ALL what the men received. It was truly baffling. Either way, the guesses didn't make any sense. Who gives away table runners for wedding keepsakes?? The embroidered purses were more logical, but they seemed a little too big. Once I arrived home, I finally found out what they were. Embroidered cushion covers.

Me: Blink. Blink blink. Maaaaaak....

They still don't make sense .. but they're pretty, so who's complaining? *G*

And I learned a new word today! Gonjang. As in, "Ikram tu, gonjang lah!" Haha! Wait a minute. Gonjang ke gonjeng ke gojang? I dah lupa. Apa nak buat. SPM dapat C3 je for BM ....

Oh! One thing did serve to make the night somewhat less than perfect: (Huda, I've put this in just for you. ;o) ) the horrible, horrible wedding singers. MzMin, if you thought that Hindustani singer and that Malay pakcik last night at the nikah were bad, you would have been praying for them tonight. Tonight's were not quite bad-beyond-words, but they were definitely bad. Someone should have either shot them, or shot me. Either way, just someone make the misery stop.

Speaking of which, MzMin, your absence was felt. The Girlygirls were one short, and don't think none of us noticed. (Okay, technically we're several short, but the others couldn't help being stuck in the UK, so they don't count. *pout*) We missed ya, Min. Excuse No. 186 (and #187 and #194) not withstanding, it would have been a real Girlygirls Event had you been there. If it had been my wedding, I would have made you come bogel if need be. Haha! Nasib baik it wasn't. ;oP