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mjeoppa · 7 years

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a story i told my friends

it’s long so. also contains malay words, if need translation dont use google, ask me. Quick summary: im actually happy (???questionable) but its all rather bittersweet

Maybe a quick intro to the characters of the drama

Me:awkward but living Raja: someone i kinda grew close through wanting to go to the same places together, a smart girl who's understanding and talks a lot, went to an agama school so she has that conservative part of her Afiq: a guy who lives in my neighborhood who's like probably the good samaritan of our malaysian organization, hobbies include playing video games, watching anime and cooking Hakim: afiq's housemate, doesnt really talk to people much but likes to get involved, hobbies include creating short films

So, i met all 3 separately; raja, since she's in my batch, earlier on, in fact she actually flew to michigan with me halfway, then we had different flights. Afiq i met when he came over to my house once, then later he came by bc my housemates said he could help me put my table together, and even then we were chatting comfortably. Hakim i met on a bus home after orientation, and i recognized him immediately; the guys from damansara i saw in the malaysian organization yearbook. But i didnt say anything bc how would i know he's malaysian lol

So after awhile i became friends w raja and afiq, progressing quite well in the friendship statuses, both of them having common interests w me. Then i found out that they were close w each other too. By the end of the semester, it was pretty obvious that afiq has a thing for raja, by the way he treats her.

Hakim on the other hand i kept having accidental meet ups w on the bus, n i could only officially say i know him after the first mso (malaysian student organization) meeting, but after that i didnt have a chance to say a thing to him. But after that meeting, i could also officially say that i have a crush on this guy. Afiq had talked about him, my friend's housemate talked about him, n from what i learned this guy has a weird charm where he does the most unexpected things, or maybe bc hes so quiet no one really knows what hes thinking

Im close to one of my housemates (who has graduated last semester), kak tipah whom i confessed i have a thing for hakim, and she told me that he has a girlfriend 🙃this was rather early in the semester, so i ended up shuffling crushes a lot throughout, but ofc hakim was still my first crush, also my first heartbreak in michigan

Another one of my housemates, kak su, recruited me to join her for her winter break trip, and when she asked whom i think would wanna join, i suggested raja. Another person who was already in on the plan w kak su was a guy named mirza. At this point i knew nothing about him. There was a phase where i would continuously confirm w my housemates whom mirza is through pictures until i could officially recognize him myself

It was thanksgiving, or maybe a few days before when mirza finally confirmed that the fifth and final member of our trip is hakim (jeng jeng jeng). I was happy, but i had to remain calm. He has a girlfriend, after all.

Okay so winter trip. That was so freaking fun. Funny thing is that we were 5 random people w different backgrounds, and yet we managed to make it work. It was awkward in the beginning, but later we learned how each other worked and after a few forum sessions we were more open w each other. Yes i did get to know hakim, but i also got to know so much more about raja, and mirza is a person that i didnt expect when i first came here to be someone that would be cool w being friends w me.

The ridiculous thing is that it was very early in the trip that we established that both kak su and hakim werent available. I didnt know when it started, but hakim started to talk more, and i liked that he didnt mind sitting around me, he was comfortable w stuff like giving me food he couldnt finish and asking what i wanted to order (dinner is usually the time we could talk, otherwise we'd be in the car and we cant really have a one on one conversation)

Raja on the other hand couldnt stop talking

She asked weird questions, and at first it was just to me, but later i fell asleep a lot so she started asking mirza, and so it became a thing that when theyre bored they would be listening to raja's epiphanies about life

Somewhere in between the first and second week of the trip i was texting afiq a lot n he said "aku susah nak rapat dengan perempuan" so to prove to him how bad i am at making friends w guys i told him that he's the closest guy friend i ever had, so ever since that i guess we had this agreement that we were somewhat close friends and we can kinda tell each other stuff

And believe me, i tell afiq stuff i dont even tell raja

So anyway at first i was kinda happy, and we had fun talking bout stuff, but later i saw that he was chatting w raja, so i felt a bit suckish bc he said he was bad at making friends w girls, so was he just saying it for the sake of it?

So there was a time where we were staying at separate houses, the girls and boys, so we decided to go out to eat, and there wasnt anything else to do in tulsa anyway, so we sat and ate and talked for 3 hours. So i asked mirza when did he finally recognized me as "elyna" and he said actually the first time he heard of me was from afiq who told him that i knew a bunch of animes, and yea actually this was before i told him hes my closest guy friend but i just realized that this was when hakim started to talk to me more than usual

Hmm there were times when he says stuff that i was thinking, n i think i say stuff that hes thinking as well bc when it happens he kinda glanced at me weirdly in the beginning, later when weve talked to each other more we finally say things like "hey i was about to say the same thing" or something like that. Example: we were eating at a thai restaurant n the menu was kinda simple, and i was thinking to myself "ape lagi. Pad thai jela." Then mirza asked hakim what he was gonna order, and he literally said the exact same thing i was thinking. Once mirza asked for an extra bowl of rice (also a thai restaurant, but this was a lot later) and he was saying "mahal doh, 2 ringgit" then hakim asked "brape?" "2 ringgit" then i glanced at him and he glanced at me and i said "murah gak tu. 2 ringgit kalau dollar 50cent." Then we laughed and he said he was about to say the same thing.

Theres this thing during dinners that he does, starting from this gyro place, where he would want me to sit somewhere near him, like either across or next to him, probably so that he can crack jokes w me, but after awhile we ran out of things to say. So sometimes we kinda order similar things just bc. Im not sure. Sometimes he follows my lead, sometimes i follow his, then when what i wanna order is too far from what he wants he just orders wtv he wants. I guess later he realizes that im really bad at first orders haha my food always turns out not that good a dish.

Okay so if i go on and on about the trip this story will never end. Basically we had fun, for a bunch of awkwardly matched 5-some. Raja really liked opening forums and asked weird questions and one of em was what were their first thoughts of us, and hakim said that i came to his house several times to play video games so he thought he'd have that to talk about w me. Raja, he said talked way too much for his liking in the beginning, he said he would like his peace lmao. Both of them knew kak su beforehand so they didnt really think of anything. Thing is, raja actually felt hurt at hakim's comment, even tho it was evident that even if he didnt like all her talking, he wouldnt actually stop her from talking. Except there was a time we wanted to play a game in the car n he said "jom main game senyap, siape paling lama diam die menang" n we all laughed n we asked whats the prize n he said that person can get to talk for an hour n kak su said lets let hakim win so that he has to talk for an hour. I take too much time explaining details ugh.

So for the next day after that confession by hakim raja didnt talk to hakim at all. She literally asked everyone what their glasses power were except hakim. I laughed at him quietly in sympathy. But later she was okay w him again. Just that whenever he talked to her she would complain to me.

She also complained that hakim took a long time to follow raja back on instagram but for me it was on the same night. I said it was bc i followed him when i saw that he was on ig, but she said she saw him going on ig after she requested to follow him but he hadnt approved.

Also both raja and kak su knows i like hakim since before the trip.

It was in new orleans that i really felt like he was making me expect too much from him. He wanted to buy a hot dog for himself, but kak su n raja were sharing, n i didnt want one whole hot dog, so he ended up sharing w me, n he even followed me to the counter when i ordered, n it really made me happy, my heart was bursting, thats the only way i can explain it.

So after that everything was rather mediocre. I theorized a pattern in his ig picture liking in which he would like pictures i post that did not include myself in it, except one. After we got home i kinda felt that feeling of "so thats it?"

But it wasnt. My housemates were saying i couldnt move on, but it really wasnt something to move on from. 3 weeks of just them gave me a lifetime of memories. So when I went out w raja on the sunday before classes start, i guess i shouldnt have been surprised whem raja confessed that she has a crush on mirza.

She went on and on about how they had been talking ever since the morning after we arrived home, and all i could talk about was how i felt like hakim treated me like something more than just another girl, n raja said she saw it too, n i couldnt hold on to those feelings bc he has a gf.

Talking about his gf, throwback to new orleans, second night, 1am. It was just me, mirza and raja, n before mirza had mentioned that hakim's gf went to mirza's mrsm before he got there, so he kinda knew who she was, n he told us that night that the girl's previous boyfriend wasnt like hakim at all, so he was surprised. So me n raja were making all kinds of conclusions. Maybe hakim came into the picture right after mimi, the gf just broke up w her prev bf so she was more accepting of him. Maybe mirza didnt really like the girl. Maybe the circumstances of their relationship is not as it appears, but theyve been together for 3 years, and for 2 of those years hakim was in the states n she's back home, so who r we to say if their relationship is good or not? Speculation wasnt even decent, but we speculated anyway.

But yea semester started n in the first week the only time i saw hakim was through a snap of him sleeping in between classes. Raja was moving into our apartment, bc 2 of my housemates were graduating, so she was taking over one of the leases. When hakim found out he was like "alaa nnti jumpa raja dalam bas." N raja was half kidding when she said "okay la kalau jumpa dalam bas aku tak tegur kau".

On that sunday afiq was being real weird. He's close to one of my housemates, one that i havent revealed until now, kak sj, n i dont know if it has anything to do w her graduating. she was the one who told me to ask him to help w the table n she invited him over several times to cook w her. But he was asking me if i had classes he could join in n in the first week, i saw him every week day. We talked a lot about mso n classes n common interests. One day i was saying youre old afiq, and you havent even confessed to ur crush, whatre u gonna do? Then he told me that hes actually confessed to her, a month ago. I was so surprised. I mean, if it really was a month ago, it had to be someone from my batch, probably, n it couldnt have been anyone but raja? But i didnt wanna assume, so i offered a trade - my crush for yours. So he told me about confessing to raja, n i told him about hakim.

That night we talked on the phone for almost 2 hours about feelings and shit. I was pretty dumbfounded. He confessed to raja before the trip, and she kept that from me all the while, i know its probably not my business, but i wonder if she thought it was better that i didnt know? Bc she tells me almost everything about her life, n i tell her almost everything about mine, so why this secret?

I couldnt keep all this to myself. The night before kak tipah's flight home, i told her everything. She said that she shipped mirza w raja, n me w afiq. I told her that me n afiq cant be more than friends, especially not now. And imagine, im actually one of the last ones to know about this confession. Both of them must know that i felt left out? Kak tipah asked, if afiq suddenly told me he likes me, what would i do? I said i probably wouldnt accept him, bc i feel like im just the second option. Then she asked, what if he confessed to me, not raja? Then i said i probably wouldnt accept him immediately, but eventually.

I also felt that afiq's confession was off in timing- it was way too early. We hadnt been here for even 6 months, we barely know everyone in mso, u really couldnt expect her to have accepted him immediately. But later afiq did say that he didnt expect anything from her, he just wanted to know that he likes her. One of the things that we mentioned during the 2 hour talk was what was his previous girlfriends like, n he said him n his friends concluded that there were 3 main components in the girls he liked; 1. Wears glasses 2. Is introverted and 3. Has common interests w him. I was being so slick at not pointing out that all these descriptions fit me, but instead i avoided it by comparing it to raja, n she only wears glasses at night, is extremely extroverted, n common interests w her is very general.

But yea, he dropped out of the classes he was planning to take w me, but we still talked a lot about stuff, n two wednesdays ago i went to his house for fun, n it was hakim's turn to cook, n i think that was the third time this semester i saw him, n he invited me to eat and said "makanla, aku masak untuk kau kot" n it was a happy moment, even if i knew he was just kidding. Later all his housemates left me n afiq to our geeking out session.

The first time i saw him in the semester was during an mso gathering. We didnt talk. The second time i saw him, i didnt actually see him, altho he probably saw me. Raja had been complaining about meeting hakim on buses n being awkward about it, so one day I was helping raja move her stuff, n we were carrying big plastic bags of pillows onto a bus. Raja mentioned beforehand that she hopes she doesnt see any malaysians, n especially not hakim. The bus we got on was rather crowded, so me n raja had to sit separately. I wanted to sit at the back, but it was too much effort to squeeze in, so i just sat somewhere in the middle. When we were almost home, raja kept giving me signals, but i didnt get it. As soon as we got off, raja went all "DAH CAKAP DAH. MULUT AKU NI MASIN SANGAT." So hakim was on that bus, n i didnt even notice him, even after all my previous efforts to get on a bus w him, when i finally did i didnt even see him. I probably did, but i didnt recognize it was him. Raja kept complaining about it but i was just frustrated, so she ended up pissing me off.

Okay so one day i told him that i had a theory for why he likes raja, a girl who doesnt fit the usual description, n it was bc he didnt want to get broken hearted by girls who are as such again, so he opted for someone who's different, bc srsly his exgf treats him like they never came around to broke his heart so thats mean, but it was also a hint i was giving that he should probably stick to being friends w me so that he wont get broken hearted again, but he was all "hahahah you just made my day" and it was bittersweet

This whole thing is bittersweet- liking hakim is, too. Bc i feel like he's someone who treats me better than he treats raja, n that feels so good, even if it sounds mean, but when was the last time i ever felt like i was someone who was preferred over another girl?

Back to the story, things kinda got lost in between my own life of working and classes and doing design stuff for mso n never doing what they want me to do, so when raja suggested we made a batch gathering in our new house, i thought it was an awesome idea bc i havent hung out w kids in my batch for awhile now, n after having a short lunch w one of em the other day i realized that theyve been spending their time living their lives awesomely as well, n i kinda wanna hear all about it.

So yeaa after many discussions on when we should do it n whos free when we finally decided to do it last friday night. Thing is, that morning was my first shift ever, so right after i had to go buy stuff to replenish the household resources. when i was on my bus home, i saw afiq somewhere near the bus driver. I waved at him, hating to sit in front bc those r usually reserved seats n i dont like hesitating to stand up to offer an older person the seat, so i went all the way to the back w my bags of groceries n there he was, abdul hakim bin zazli.

When he saw me he asked "pegi meijer ke?" And i said yea and our conversation stopped there. I was wearing earphones, but he wasnt, but he was looking at his phone. Afiq messaged me "have fun" n i hated him. After awhile i noticed he wasnt really on his phone, he was just bored n that was his escapade, as usual, a habit of his ive noticed since the trip. So I wanted to make conversation, but when i called out "kim" he wasnt responding so i looked away, but suddenly he turned to me but i was already looking somewhere else, so he didnt say anything. He didnt say bye, but after walking a bit i noticed afiq turning around n grinning at the bus. I still hate him.

So that night was pretty awesome. Even most of the guys came. All the girls came. It was tiring having to make sure there was always food for the guests n that they werent bored, but everyone was pretty chill n i loved it. My batch is pretty awesome. I think one of the best feelings after thinking that u suck at befriending guys is having guys laugh at your jokes. intec guys sucked. period.

Saturday night. I was supposed to be studying for a monday exam. Suddenly afiq asked if i wanted to play left4dead2, which is a game we casually play together w sal, a chill sarawak girl who i have a friend crush on (she loves video games too n owns a ps4). We also managed to get mirza to play w us. After losing one round too many times, mirza quit n the cpu sort of saved our ass. It was 2am n we were still talking while doing our own shit. I have a feeling us 3 would make a pretty awesome trio.

Anyway i ended up being the last one sleeping bc i was editing jongup's bday video, but they all said they'd wanna come over to the ceramics studio to play clay from my wheel throwing class. So the next morning i told them it was pretty empty, so sal came n made an awesome mug for a first timer. She had fun. Afiq had a meeting so we met up w him for pizza after, then he came back to the studio w me bc he wanted to play w clay too. He told me that hakim brought the car to campus, so if i still had a lot of work to do n would probably miss the last bus at 5.30 i could ask him. So i did. He said he was going back at 10, n afiq didnt wanna go back that late, so he ended up have someone pick him up at 7. At 9, hakim was in front of the art building.

I keep forgetting to tell u guys that raja has met hakim on buses several times but he wouldnt talk to her, or like, he ignored her, which was something he did even to me before the trip, which is why when he talked to me first on friday, it felt great really. But raja hated it. She questioned it - why does hakim talk to me but not her? Why is he the only person she knows who wouldnt talk to her? I guess what she hated was his ego, but it also made it sound like she wants everyone on earth to love her, n i couldnt really stand that. But i didnt say a thing.

So when he initiates conversation during that what felt so short trip home, i was happy. As i described it to raja, it was a give n take. He would ask a question then talk n I would ask a question then talk n we were still cracking jokes when we were at the front door of my apartment. Unlike afiq who likes long goodbye n attachment, hakim's goodbyes were short n sweet, n i wonder why he's so chill w me, n some parts of me says that he probably thinks i have something going on w afiq, n i kinda hate that.

-tbc-

#personal #hz

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coordinatesofher · 7 years

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WALKING IN A DESERT WONDERLAND

I had been traveling quite a bit for a few months at this point, back to back, with little breaks in between. I had just made it back into LA only to stay a few days before taking a red eye to New Orleans for Christmas break. I had been working around the clock and was utterly burnt out, but despite my tired eyes, I gathered myself together for a dinner that my sister had arranged. It was a meeting with a designer that she was convinced I needed to help me with COH°.

I was drowning in article ideas, content creation, and company expansion prospects. I had a vision and lots of dreams, but I was a one woman show... an exhausted one at that. But, here I was sitting across from this talented young creative, Macie Menard. Even with my brain working at half capacity, it was easy to see that she was bright, smart, and a hard worker. Also, she had a calming spirit about her which was a great yin to my crazy yang.

There was never a lull in the conversation. We hit it off. We had a lot in common in terms of interests, design aesthetic, and website ideas. And, most importantly, she loved food. We spent at least an hour just discussing our favorite foods and restaurants. That was all I needed to know. She was my kind of people. I was thoroughly impressed with her. My sister had been right. Macie was my girl.

I offered her a job and a trip to Los Angeles the following month. I knew I would know everything I needed to know about her if I traveled with her. And, of course, for better or for worse, she would learn a lot about me and how I work and travel. Soooo, we set out on a weekend adventure together and did everything from mountain hikes to greenhouse exploring in the desert. Needless to say, the road trip was a blast, and we have continued to work together for the past 7 months.

I have come to discover that not only is Macie an incredible designer and a brilliant talent, but she is also a constant source of light in my life. Every Monday, without fail, we send each other long emails that we now affectionately call our "Coffee Chats." We basically both rant about life, the past weekend, ideas for the website, or random things that are inspiring us. I have come to look forward to those emails and to our weekly Skype chats about design and content creation.

Most of the graphics on this website are ideas that we both collaborate on together. Then, Macie makes them all magically come to life. Aside from graphic designing, she has also developed article ideas like our upcoming "Beauty Buys" article, and she has helped me in countless other ways to grow COH°. I have never thought of her as an employee. In my mind, she is a colleague and a friend that I work with on this vision we have come to define together.

Suffice to say, I was completely delighted to sit down and chat with her about our deep love for Los Angeles, working together at COH°, and, of course, our adventure weekend last February. Exploring California and visiting the Cactarium together was the pinnacle of everything we have come to stand for at COH°... "road trips, friendships, and a damn good plant photo." Yep, I just found my life's mantra. I'm going to need that on a t-shirt ASAP. Anyway, read more from us below!

xoxo,

Here is my interview with Macie Menard on her thoughts about LA culture, California adventures, and, of course, the Cactarium:

Can you tell our readers a little about yourself?

I'm a self-taught graphic designer living in Louisiana. I'm married to my best friend/favorite travel buddy, and we have an English Bulldog named Ivy...who eats EVERYTHING.

How did you end up in California?

Well, it didn’t take much convincing. I had just recently joined the COH° team, so I made the trip out to LA in order to get to know my new boss a little more...well a lot more haha!

Girl, we got to know each really well within the first 20 mins of you being in LA. It is a hilarious story, but, we will keep it just between us for now! (lol)

Yeah, it was definitely an ice breaker!

So, I can't remember, had you been to Cali before?

Oh yes. I was there almost 2 years ago, but this visit made me emotional. When I flew into Los Angeles the sun was setting and the sky was pink. I literally shed a tear and thought: 'I would move here in a heartbeat. It feels like home.'

I feel that every time I land. I completely understand. It is such a weird, quirky city, but for whatever reason, it’s the place I feel the most at home or the most myself rather. You know my vote on you moving.

Yes, I know! It's more than a feeling (unintentional Journey reference about my journey to LA). For lack of a better word, LA is so inspiring. I love the city. Most people are disenchanted with the noise, traffic jams, and overpopulation, but I can totally look past all that. I like being in the mix of it all, but still being invisible in the crowds and in my own little world.

Honestly, that is my favorite part too. Nothing makes me happier than going to the grocery store and no one knows who I am. That anonymity is something I have come to love. What else is it about LA that really just sprinkles your donuts?

I also like that if you need a get away or want a change of scenery, it's just a drive and/or hike away. I still can't believe that the first morning in LA, I was hiking a mountain. In the afternoon, I was walking on a beach. The very next day we were snow tubing up in the mountains, and by that night we were in the desert and on the outskirts of Palm Springs. Mind. Blown.

Yeah, I definitely kept you on-the-go. You got a true 'Kristi Bailey - COH° experience'!

And, I loved every minute of it!

So, speaking of Palm Springs.... let's chat about the Cactarium!

OH! It was like walking in a desert version of Alice in Wonderland!

Thats a great way to describe it actually. I love that. It was such a wonderfully weird place.

Oh yes. I was in heaven. Shoutout and a huge “thank you!” to the amazing Anna Gumpert for finding this place. There were cacti and succulents everywhere.

Some people might say that it was plantastic.

Yes, some people who love dad jokes. (I'm sure most dad's wouldn't miss the opportunity to say plantastic. #CactusJokesOnPoint) Oh, that reminds me, I love that within our first 24 hours together, we spent time planting succulents on your rooftop patio. It was my kind of bonding experience!

We planted so many plants that afternoon. And, I’ve only managed to kill half of them so thats a big win for me. I’m sad I lost the others. It really succs... see what I did there ;) Don't worry. I've got plenty more where that came from. Anyway, it was nice to share my succulent obsession with someone with an equal or possibly greater obsession.

My obsession actually started at a young age. My great-grandmother had a gigantic pot of Echeveria. I had never seen a plant like it before. I sat there in awe as she cracked open a petal to show me it’s jelly-like filling and shared with me the perks of it’s low-maintenance and reproducing nature. It was then that I decided that when I grew up, I wanted to be a plant lady.

I actually lost you a few times in the gardens. You were totally in your element.

I really loved it there. When we got to the end of our journey through the cacti forest, there was a nursery with a selection of plants for sell. Of course, I had to get plants to go! The owner and his wife were there to give us the history of his father’s garden. They also assured me that my mini plants were allowed on the plane. (Travel tip: Plants are allowed to fly out of California, but not in.)

Yes, you can take anything on a plane out of Cali, but you can't bring things into the state. It functions as its own country in that way. Once, I saw a woman carry a whole raw Trader Joes turkey on a plane out of LA so I'm thinking a succulent is fine. Anyway, were you nervous about taking the plants in flight?

I was still a nervous wreck, and did not want to get my plants taken away from me, so I wrapped them up and hid them in my laptop bag for the whole flight. They made it home, and I still have one healthy cactus to start my future cactarium.

OMG! Please start one!!! That would be both hilarious and amazing. Anyway, thank you for chatting with me! I’m so glad you “pricked” to be a part of the COH° team. It feels great to go from a 'cacti to a cactus.'

Honestly, ‘aloe’ working with you. Let’s stick together.

I do wish you lived here. Everything succs without you.

I will never desert you.

Wow. We are such succas' for plant puns! Macie, thank you so much for taking the time to chat about our experience at the Cactarium. I know we both loved it. Let's start planning our next adventure! I'm thinking passport this time! COH° gotta get those stamps!

#CACTARIUM #PALM SPRINGS #CALIFORNIA

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