KL International Book Fair 2008

I started my day by typing out a 'begging' letter to allow me to stay in my college, Kolej Ungku Omar. After given the letter to the clerk, I went to fetch Jia Yi and we went for lunch at the new Sushi King in Alamanda. The RM2 Bonanza is on so we get to eat everything for RM2.

Then she wanted to buy something from the pharmacy. So we walked around the place. Suddenly, a woman stopped us and said, "Cik, boleh tolong buat survey sekejap?"

I should have walked passed her and ignored her. But I wasn't used to be so rude. So, I turned to her, smiled and said, "Sorry, but we don't have a lot of time."

I guess I made a mistake. Instead of accepting my excuse, she became more aggressive. "Bolehlah cik, lima minit sahaja. Saya dari **@#*@*#* mahu buat *#*@*@# untuk *#@*#*@#"

Jia Yi and I walked faster. She became frustrated and finally said rudely and angrily, "Lima minit pun tak ada ke?"

But luckily, after the last remark, she didn't follow us anymore.

After sending Jia Yi back to the engineering faculty, I went to KL IBF 2008 (refer above title) held at PWTC.

PWTC is situated opposite of The Mall. When I saw The Mall, I suddenly remember I have been here before with Mdm Angie!

And PWTC is next to Sri Pacific Hotel.

After a walk from Putra station, I reach PWTC. I walked past rooms that are named after states - Bilik Johor, Bilik Sarawak etc.
There wasn't a lot of people around, it might be due to weekdays. Or Malaysians are simply doing what they do best - reading two books a year.
There was a lot of students though. School trips I guess. I noticed that most of them bought comics (Apo?, Gila-gila, Ujang) and reference books.

I entered the book fair and I was amazed by the books collection.

Books...
Rows and rows of books

And more books!
The books are cheap too!
Imagine, getting a Sidney Sheldon book for just RM15. So are John Grisham and James Patterson. There are a lot of other famous writers' works that are sold for RM15, you just need the patience to find it amidst the thousands of books.
I believe the above book will be very humourous, but it is just not worth my RM15.

I stood for hours looking at all the books. After that, I visited the washroom. However, on my way, a guy promoter stopped me.

Promoter : Adik, dah kerja ke belum?
Me : Belum. (I should have ignored him!)
Promoter : Oh, jadi masih belajar. Mana belajar?
Me : Adalah.
Promoter : Mana belajar?
Me : Universiti.
Promoter : Universiti mana tu?
Me : Adalah.
Promoter : Univesiti mana?
Me : Adalah...(I don't reveal details to strangers! At this point, I started to walk away, but he blocked my way.)
Promoter : Ok, tak apa. Saya nak tanya sikit. Daripada semua bahasa ini, ada berapa adik pandai cakap?

(He showed me a paper and I saw at the top of the paper, "Belajar Bahasa Inggeris dengan lebih mudah!")

Me : Oh, saya fikir saya tidak sesuailah dengan ini. (trying to walk away)
Promoter : Dengar saya cakap dulu. Adik pandai berbahasa Inggeris tak?
Me : Pandai (still walking away)
Promoter : You orang memang semuanya pandai!

(Out from toilet - I had to walk past his place again, it is afterall the only way. He stopped me again.)

Promoter : Adik, beritahulah mana adik belajar. Universiti mana? (Aduh, why so persistent?)
Me : Er...UPM.
Promoter : Oh, UPM. Ambil course apa?
Me : (getting really frustrated) TESL!
Promoter : So you know how to speak English?

And I simply glared at him and walked. He didn't stop me this time. He have zero in PR skills. He should look for other jobs other than becoming a promoter.

Anyway, I bought...
For Alvin. He loves Robin Cook, though I don't find him write as well as many other authors.
For my sister. If she knows everything inside and doesn't need the book, then it is for me...Just curious about Alzheimer.

The end of 9 April 2008.