Are all post-IB Septembers like this?

..for IB students, at least. i wouldn't know about the year 13s of previous years, but i found this month quite depressing; i've been to the airport's departure hall one too many times this month, and the majority of which were in the past week alone.

lessee.. as previously mentioned, i saw Lukman off to Indonesia on September 1st in the morning. i nearly missed his flight because i woke up kinda late, but i eventually found out he nearly missed his flight too. when i got there, it was just him chomping on a fish burger up at RBC Fast Food all by himself, so i sat down with him, talked a few things, stole a few fries, up until it was almost time for him to leave the 'Kingdom of Boredom' (i quote somebody who's gonna deeply regret it. you know who you are). just for the hell of it, he gave me the change from his fish burger. yippee. anyway, said our good-byes, our see-you-soons, had a (manly) hug, and through the foggy door he went.

immediately the next evening, back to the airport again to see Stanley off to KL. i went back to the Fast Food place thinking he was there with Rory, but eventually spotted him elsewhere in the airport. let's face it, Brunei Airport isn't that big. anways, wished Hengsoon a safe flight, good luck, all the best, all that jazz. didn't stay for long, so i was unable to see him through the foggy door. as for how he's doing, read his blog if you haven't already, he's got interesting pics and things to say about his college life in KL.

the span of time between then and Wednesday the 19th was quite eventful. went to Tasek Merimbun (read Izzy's and Mag's blog for details and pics), spent a morning at Empire, wading about, kayaking, and most of all, getting oneself sunburnt, and watched Rogue Assassin at Empire (again).

as for Wednesday 19th, it was back to the airport yet again. it was also the first time i took my late grandad's Corolla out for a spin! way too drastic a change compared to my Challenger; harder to steer (like driving lessons all over again) and because the suspension was never taken care of, my passengers and i might as well be grazing the tarmac! but still, can't complain. coming back from that tangent, it was Izzy's turn to leave Brunei for his future's sake. for the most part, it was just Rory and me to see him off. there was a sea of people that night, and it was most endearing to swim through them. eventually, Izzy and his family arrived, and we hung out for a teeny bit, took a few pictures, and through the foggy door the went.

i spent the next few days hanging out with Rory, from playing pool like we always do, to joining him and his family at a sungkai buffet one night. he was also there at Shida's leaving party, and halfway through, we vroomed over to the airport nearby to see Kamilla off. the process was quite quick, just a group hug, some shared words, and off she went. anyway, we went back to Shida's party with Amir tagging along behind us, and were just in time to find 50 First Dates on the telly. despite how we've all already seen it (save Ms. Lai, for some reason), it was still just as funny; gotta love that Sandler feller. sadly, we didn't get to watch it to the end, so since we still had some time to kill, Rory and me went to Gadong in hopes of having one more pool game, but ended up walking around the Mall to let Rory 'take it all in' one last time until he comes home again.

so came September 23rd, Rory's turn to fly to England. unlike everyone else, he was going it alone. sounds fun. for the most part, we just talked about anything random and under the sun, until it was time for him to leave. no one said much, just lots of hugging and a tear here and there.

later that same day, i went through the hassle of getting that stupid parking ticket once more for seeing Mags off. don't get me wrong, the hassle was all well worth it, haha. anyhoo, she, too was flying solo. there were quite a few of us there to see her off, and since we were there two odd hours before her flight, we had a lot of talking going on. it was just a good thing that the rest of the airport was (eventually) just as loud, hehe. her parents were more than nice enough to offer all of us a drink, yet i was the only one holding a cup of drink in the end. oh how modesty makes a glutton out of me. we took some funny group pics and kept up the vivid conversation until the inaudible and incoherent announcer lady said something to do with England and departure: a surefire sign for Mags' time to walk through the foggy door.

and that's that. no more seeing off of anyone again for now. i solemnly swear that the next time i enter that emotion-filled place, it'll be me walking through the foggy door.