What a Reunion!

Catching up with your former schoolmates is invigorating for the soul, I learnt today.

I remember the first email I received from Dr Noral, now at the Institute of Medical Research (IMR). She used to sit just in front of me in class. "Do you remember me?" she wrote via Facebook. Of course I do! You don't forget people you grow up with that easily.

That sparked off a search for other schoolmates and over the course of just several days, things swirled into a frenzy. Emails flew from as far as Canada and criss-crossed the globe and before we knew it, the date was set ... 31st January in Putrajaya! How lovely it was to see June, Mani, Baya, Rosnah, Masita, Masjuniyati, and Nora, to mention a few. Never mind widening waistlines. The bright smiles and toothy grins brought back fond memories among bosom buddies in a flash, though it wasn't quite total recall for some.

It's a kind of closure, after all these years of wondering what had happened to everyone ... and NOBODY could care less about how many titles or degrees others had. Such a simple reunion; potluck for that matter, yet I had a blast. And to think all this while I thought I was the only nostalgic person around ... Boy (errr ... I mean, girl), am I glad I was wrong!

Several of the girls brought pictures of our schooldays ... it was a good walk down memory lane. Still, it's sad to learn that a few had passed on due to natural illnesses and other causes. I, on the other hand, did not have any pictures to share; I must have misplaced them as I have moved so many times after secondary school. It's also good to know that everyone is doing well. A few are keeping real busy with family (like me), others are medical specialists, lawyers, teachers and businesswomen ... I feel so proud of ALL of them!

Just before we left for Putrajaya, Fakhri said, "Why don't you bring some of your books?" I was aghast at the thought. Bring my books? This isn't a business meeting! "Honestly," he said, "I think they would love to see it."

Well, I did put some in the car boot ... and forgot all about it, until someone asked me. "Didn't you bring any?" she asked.

In the end, there wasn't enough to go around and I promised to send the books by snail mail.

Last I heard before I left, another reunion is in the cards.