In less than 12 hours i will be doing my last Press Conference with Marsha... This will mark the last day of my service as her official representative. When I submitted my handover notes to her and her new manager on Monday, it was a relieve. I thought i would do better as days pass but somehow...somehow.. After emailing her the final QnA for tomorrow's PC, i cant help but to feel sad.
Tonight i've decided to skip my medication and let my self maneuver the night however the mind, the heart, the soul wants. My sleeping pills are of no use tonight, well at least now i have1 extra dosage to spare for sleepless nights. So here i am.. At 4.20am, still wide awake, weeping away. I've tossed and turn on this bed since midnight. All the good memories with her rolls like an old silent movie. All rusty, but picture perfect. Just like how our years working together was.
In the background i'm listening to Winter Sonata's 'My Memory'.. on repeat.
Our journey was great. It was never perfect, it surely wasn't always sweet but it was great. It had everything a friendship and a partnership should have. It was a growing process between two very different people who decided that they could change each other's life in one way or another.
We first met on the 29th of August 2005, just 2 days before i had to return to Michigan. I was only two semesters away from graduating with a degree in Computer Engineering. She was this 19 year old puppy eyed girl who had nothing much to say. Maybe because i was presenting her website to Shawn and her sister Michele, or maybe she was just Marsha. The type who would let other's speak before her when it comes to work matters. The under-confident girl she was.
We kept in touch once in awhile when i was away.. In 2006, i came back to Malaysia for good but was staying in Penang as i was working for Intel. I think it was around mid or late of 2007, that i received a text from her saying that she had problems with her maxis broadband... or was it her laptop?.. Either ways, she needed help to fix it. So i came over to her place and i think that was the first time we actually hung out.
Sometime early 2008, as i was on my way to the airport for some reasons i dont recall, she texted me to ask if i was available to accompany her to a show with Avon at their HQ the next day. She knew no one that was available. Marsha had no car back then and went everywhere by cab. I took up that offer because i wanted to see her perform as i've never seen her shows before at that point of time... Oh, at that time i was already following The Fabulous Cats around for shows and i knew a thing or two about sound and all that showbiz routines. But marsha didn't know about it and only figured it out during soundcheck when i appeared to know what 'monitor' was, what 'reverb' was and all that jargons... Whatever it is, i guess you can call that our first show together.
We grew closer since. She would bring me to events that i wanted to go, we would take a drive and she would spend time at my condo if Kefli wasn't around. By July of 2008 she moved in to a double storey house with Velvet. A house which we both picked. Marsha was always this person who needed a second opinion to support what she felt. It's like she was never confident of her instinct. To be honest, between us both she was the more intuitive one. The one with the better instinct. I am more of a thinker.
One day in august of that year, we sat in my home office at my condo and chat about her future. By the 2nd of September 2008, Marsha Londoh Entertainment was born.. And that was the beginning of OUR JOURNEY. I recall marsha cooked ayam masak kicap and kari telur that night for dinner in celebration of her newly born company. See, Marsha was pretty much a stay home girl back then. She cooked in celebration instead of dining out like most of us would. Often times it would be her, Kefli and I at the dining table.. Ya, always just the three of us. Many would think that i probably hated Kefli, but frankly speaking, he was a nice guy. Or at least he was respectful. Until today we would still acknowledge each other whenever we meet. Well, he is in my BBM n we do talk once in a while, so...
They broke up later that year, and Mawi got married in January. As for me, i was managing The Fabulous Cats full time and Marsha basically followed us everywhere when she's not too busy. She would hang out with us at the studio till late night and was always supportive of my career as an artiste manager.
On the 2nd of February 2009, we flew off to Jakarta for a quick holiday. That was when she sparked the idea of having her own jeans line. We managed to create a few pairs while there. Upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur, she went off to Pangkor immediately to shoot Senario Beach Boys and i had to prepare for the arrival of the new member of The Fabulous Cats, Wangi Julianda. It was a tough time for me juggling between members of the band and work. She was also struggling being on set on her own. So we would share stories and exchange MMSes to get by each day.
We would do random things really, from decorating the house to gardening to just driving down to AnW at 3am. Once we were so bored, we drove down to lorong haji taib at 1am to look at transvestites. We couldn't find any so we headed to The Ship and had steak at 2am. Marsha lives for food and would crave for something really random at the oddest hours. A fun, crazy, happy go lucky girl really.
One of the sweetest memories was when i forced her to drive. Yeap, i literally forced her to drive my back then, Savvy AMT. It was her first driving lesson..... And it was as if breaks never exist. Imagine the horror!
Down the road, in April 2009, just when we were about to get ready to Anggun's showcase, Marsha received a call with a bad news that turned everything we had around - Maestro Talent Management closed down.
It was not easy for most Maestro Talents and staffs. But as for Marsha, she pretty much had it. She has her own company that was already taking care of things for her and she was one of the 5 talents who were absorbed by Astro Entertainment. And it was only natural for me i guess, to leave the Fabulous Cats. Cat Farish and the rest supported my decision as they all loved Marsha. Marsha too was always giving in to the band, if the band needed me more, she would let me go. It was easy but i'm only human. By June, i was mostly with Marsha.
So that's when the REAL journey begins. It wasn't an easy ride. It was a lot of hardwork. Every decision had to be agreed by both, or at least by me.
Read this old post if you have some time to spare. I told you rite, thats just Marsha. Marsha always said
"We are in this together." and she wont tolerate me joking about splitting cos for her, saying it is like a prayer. That was the Marsha that i remembered. We were built on trust.
You see, i was working a full time job and managing an artiste at the same time. I get one very common question all the time i.e - "How do u do it?".. I don't have a straight answer to that honestly but i know that Marsha has a lot to do with it. It's not everyday that you'll find someone who can see you, understand you, respect you and accept you to the slightest of dirt that you have on you. Ya, i know this sound exagerating but really, funny or not, Marsha can tell you exactly what my reaction and answers would be.. Haha.. Frankly, i have been in many situation where people come to me with an idea and question. And as soon as i respond, their reaction was "u know, marsha said u'll say that". Many. many times.
Understanding is one but tolerating is another. We didnt start easy. It was only the two of us and we only had each other. I recall when we did Berita Hangit. Her shoot starts at 8am till lunch time for a month. So in the morning i'd send her to Finas in Hulu Klang, go to work in Kelana Jaya, come and pick her up at lunch, send her home and head back to office... But there are times, like when she was made Resident Advisor for a week in Akademi Fantasia 7, i had to settle some issues just outside of town with The Fabulous Cats. The place where they did AF7 closes at 7. It was bad traffic and I guess u know what happened. But it was not a problem. She never really threw her tantrum at these things. She'll just say, in her tone, "You should have told me, i could have asked someone else. Tak nak you susah".
Here's are few things one should know about her, or rather misintepreted by the controversies surrounding her..
1. Marsha is a girl with not much vocabularies. Words are never really her thing. Music is her thing, melody is. But not words. So sometimes she means well, but often misintepreted hence the wrong quotes written about her.
2. When it comes to serious matters, she usually won't say much. Not because she has no ideas. Trust me, the girl knows stuffs and have lotsa ideas. Trust me on this. Most of the time she would gv good ideas. She just doesnt know how to put it out on words. So usually i'll wait for her to open up the entire idea that she has, and only then conclude it.
3. But sadly, ppl tend to not take her seriously just because she, in her nature is a playful person.
4. Marsha is an imaginative person. If you let her be on her own, she WILL figure out things on her own.. Walaupun kekadang merepek. Hehehe..
5. She's playful, but she does take her work seriously. Most of her worries are work related.
6. She is very intuitive. I think i have mentioned this somewhere above. So when she worries about something, dont take it for granted.
7.However, she worries too much sometimes. That makes her stress.
8.Its not hard to make her happy. She loves simple things and extravagant things are seen as luxury.
9.Shoes are her guilty pleasure.
10.When she is nervous about something, its always a good sign.
11.You can actually see her emotions or rather how she feels from the way she sits.
12.Despite the vocabularies, she's sensitive to words. You say the wrong word, you suffer the consequence of her remembering it and understanding it differently.
13.She is not really a western food eater.
14. Ayam masak kicap is always a good food choice to get her but make sure its the one with a little bit of kuah. Not those thick kicap ones.
15. She loves Whittakers Almond Slabs chocolate.
16. She takes only the GREEN Eclipse mint. Not blue, not baby blue, not turqoise. Green. Only green.
17. She doesnt complain. But if she's quiet, take note. She is mentally complaining. Haha
Oh.. Her favorite film is The Notebook.;)
Yeah compared to me, Marsha is the more laid back one. If anyone of us had a temper, it would be me. She knows too well of my bad tempers. However, nevertheless she doesnt handle stress very well. Whatever you do, try to reduce her stress and she will be a fine lady. Stress kills her. Hunger just makes her quiet. But other than that, there is no evil soul in this woman's body.
There's just too many incidents/stories to share. But all and all , it was for better or for worse.
4 years... Through team work, we 'traveled' from singles to singles, contracts to contracts, productions to productions, an album from none. A lot of frustration and heartbreaks we both endured together. Of course there were fights and we get to each other's nerves all the time. But tonite i want to cherish the beautiful memories and lay them on a bed of marshmellows. Because in a few more hours, it will be my last.
.x.
