2010-10-13 - 8:23 p.m.
I meant to post this sooner, but my busy schedule's been getting in my way. Before I began, I must assure you on one thing:
I swear to you, I didn't order any Carlsberg beer that night - although they did serve that in one of their stalls at the rock concert.:|
The rock concert? Yes, that's what I'm about to tell you here.:P
Before the rock concert:
You see, it was actually a three-day concert - Woodstock's style or some sort. I'd gone there last year on August with Gigi. (She'd only chosen Friday to see Melee and Vertical Horizon, while I carried on alone on Saturday for Mr.Big!:D) It had been marvelous and I'd been pretty well myself.
This year? Gigi and I had bought the tickets for Saturday shows only the month before. We had to choose the most convenient time, because we had to work late on Friday. They still had it in Ancol, North Jakarta, so it is always one hell of a long ride there on weekend nights. (That's why I had to give up watching Smashing Pumpkins.)
Sunday? It would've been too exhausting to prepare for work on Monday. Based on my last year's experience, staying up late for two nights in a row is not a good thing. So, bye bye Di-rect.:|
Unfortunately, I had flu a few days earlier. Not good.:( Obsessively, I'd been trying to cure myself as quick as possible with a combination of paracetamol, honey, and caffeine (to avoid feeling drowsy from the drug.)
The rock concert (October 9 - early October 10):
I bumped my left elbow painfully against the bus' steely window frame.:( It had stung a few hours before turning into a purplish swell. Somehow, the pain was also strangely transferred into my right brain, but I'd shrugged it off. Maybe it was just my imagination. I've never been good at science anyway.
I met Gigi at three pm at Blok M's bus terminal. We took two hours of bus rides to Ancol. Since the food stalls on Carnival Beach during concert would be ridiculously expensive, we decided to have an early dinner at a small dine-in near the bus stop. French fries and iced tea for me and iced tea for Gigi, because she brought her own meals in her lunchbox - rice and fried noodles.
We got there at around seven at night. Slank was still performing on the main stage and the field was filled with so many people, stalls, and stages. More sponsors were involved this time, I suppose. We even got to their internet booth to post a (positively expected) comment about the concert on either our Twitter or Facebook account for free snacks.:D
We watched Dashboard Confessional after The Sigit. I'm not much of a fan, but I think they were okay. Obviously they couldn't stand the heat that they were sweating. Even the lead singer took off his gray fedora hat to start fanning his guitar player.*giggles* Funny.
Of course, I only know "Don't Wait" and "Vindicated" (the OST of "Spiderman".) Better than nothing, I suppose.:P
Arkarna started at the next stage after just fifteen minutes of silence. Ollie the singer burst out on stage, singing while shooting the audience with his I-Phone. (Obviously, because later he told us that he'd be posting that on his Twitter.:P) They were very friendly and expressive. They even tried speaking in Indonesian by saying things, like: "Terima kasih!"(Thank you!), "Apa?"(What?), and even "Kalian semua gila!"(You guys are crazy!)
"Eat Me" and "So Little Time" reminded me of the fun, teenage years.:) "Life Is Free" and "Rehab" also reminded me of the exciting, adventurous college years.:D
After that, we moved back to the previous main stage for Stereophonics. Despite their lack of engaging communication to the audience, they had performed fantastically. Well, at least the lead singer still made a small talk like "Hello!", "Thank you!", and even stuff like "Okay, our next song is..." (Later, I heard that Billy Corgan wasn't being friendly to the audience at all.:| What a buzzkill.) I only know "Local Boy In The Photograph", "Maybe Tomorrow", "Dakota", and "Mr.Writer". The tall, slim, blond Caucasian guy standing next to me kept singing along, clapping his hands, and smiling. I guess his enthusiasm had effected me, because I ended up doing the same through their entire performance.
I met my college friend's ex-boyfriend Aki when we watched Japanese techno-rock band Galaxy 7. Aki is a lead singer and guitar player for local rock band Alexa (which unfortunately for me, was scheduled to perform on Sunday night at nine.:|) After graduation, we sometimes cross each other's paths at concerts. I am still amazed with the fact that a popular guy like him always remembers someone like me.:O
We chatted for a while before he took off with (his girlfriend?) Audrey. That was when I suddenly felt cold. It was already past midnight and we were on the northern shore of Jakarta. I put on my coat and scarf, but I was still shivering.:( There were annoying thumps inside my head. The blinking special-effects on stage...wait, my eyes weren't usually that photosensitive.
After the end of the show, Gigi and I walked outside the gate. That was when my legs suddenly went weak like jelly. Gigi sat me down at the corner, but then I could only remember mumbling sorry before everything went dark.
After that, the rest was kind of blurry. A hand touched my abdomen and I winced. My eyes opened again. Two security guards were hovering close with a worried Gigi.:( One was pressing my palm the way a reflexologist does. But then I bent down and puked my guts out on the dry gutter, Gigi pressing the back of my neck. Shit. People were passing by and staring at us, probably wondering whether I'd drunk too much and hit the jackpot because of that. (Ha-ha.*sneers*)
I felt my stomach empty again and told Gigi that I needed something to eat. It was probably sometime around two in the morning when we got to the nearest McDonald's. It wasn't as busy as I'd thought, only a few people were occupying some tables.
And I'd thought eating would've helped me to feel a bit better. Then I had to rush to the toilet and...there went the rice and fried chicken. My face was ghastly pale in the mirror.
Thankfully, Gigi spotted a blue taxi parked near McD's. I agreed when she insisted that we go home before I got worse. Forget watching the sunrise at the beach.We rode together in the back. She told me to rest my head on her lap and I obeyed. I fell into a restless sleep for a while, until something cold and piercing in my stomach woke me up again. I sat, but my head refused to stay up. I heard Gigi saying that I should rest again, but then I felt another tight clog in my throat, threatening to explode again.
Oh, no.
Before I could ask the driver to pull over, I threw up again for the third time - successfully on the carpet, my feet, and my shoes. Yuck.:( Luckily, we were almost home, but I instantly felt bad to the driver and poor Gigi who still had a long way home to Pamulang.*blushes*
At least I still remembered to pay for my share of fare (and extra for the vomit-stained carpet.) Then I staggered to the locked front door after the cab left. I dialed Mom's cellphone to ask her to let me in. She didn't say anything, but I was sure she'd smelled what I did. She just told me to change my clothes while she was fixing a cup of warm tea for me.
Damn...:(*blushes*
After the concert:
I lost half of Sunday in bed, with my PJs on and a blanket. Hangover. At least, I've gone back to work without a scratch. Most importantly, Gigi was my saviour that night.:P
The Author/SBF
