We Partied Like A Rockstar

On the 24th of November of the year 2007 it was a clear, star filled night and the surrounding areas of Studio in the midst of bustling Kuala Lumpur was at peace with the world. However, as the sun bid its final adieu and the moon rose ever higher in the sky, this idyllic scene of serenity was about to the shattered for a man on the brink of marking a milestone for having survived 30 meteoric years on this serendipitous world was about to the surprised. Lying in wait in the shadows of the cozy confines of a seemingly innocent establishment was a group of party hearty animals ready to ambush him with copious amounts of alcohol, finger food, cupcake, Guitar Hero and exotic dancers.

Man, I should have been a novelist! Hahaha. Anyways, here are the pictures with a little recap of what happened in chronological order... sort of. I'm not that anal k!

Before the Party. Total decorations used and bought for the party: 14 tealight holders, 6 large beer glasses converted to tealight holders (I'm so smart! Hehehe), 1 large hurricane lantern, 150 helium balloons, 6 black and white posters, 10 feet of wrapping paper and 12 sheets of hardstock red paper for the sign, a couple of feet of ribbon and about 20 feet of tinsel garland, PLUS a total of 12 hours++ spent on putting it all together. And did he notice all of this? Well, he definitely noticed his posters that I had to "smuggle" out of his house... *sigh*

Surprise! After much frantic sms-ing between Azhar, Chua and myself, Chua delivered the unsuspecting birthday boy to the venue. They were earlier than expected and we had to tell Chua to go through the traffic congestion at Bukit Bintang to stall their arrival as most of the guests trickled in kinda late. Everyone runs on Malaysian Time it seems. No harm done though, cause Bobby was totally blown away by the surprise. If you were there, you would've noticed that he was pretty much blur through most of the party. Poor baby! Haha. The "cake" was 110 pieces of Rockstar themed cupcakes from the folks at Cuppacakes and the buffet consisted of finger food with scrumptious dip I was told. I only managed to munch on some celery sticks and a fish finger. Ah, such is the life of a party planner.

Friends Who Were In On the Secret. It was everyone from his colleagues, work associates, cousins, an uncle(!), buddies from RMC, Trolak, clubbing... everyone! Did I mention that he was surprised? Hehehe.

Guitar Hero. On PS2 hooked up to a big screen projector, loud, booming sound system, an audience and the choicest selection of awesome rock songs. Enough said.

Exotic Dancers. Well, the dancers were supposed to do some Pole dancing but due to some technical difficulties they had to change the routine at the very last minute. My apologies to everyone who was expecting to have blood pressures rise and all that. At least we got a sneak peek at Bobby's "goods" right?

Lap Dance? Hahaha. This was totally unplanned. My mom who helped me out with the dancers just pulled out a chair and told him to sit there. I thought she managed to get one of girls to do a lap dance as previously discussed but she said, "No lah! Just wanted to see how long he'll sit there." Hahaha. So droll. Anyways, I took pity and decided to end his wait. I would've done the full Monty but my dad was there. Yeah. Seriously.

Botak, Speech and Sambuca. All the bald guys got together for a picture, then Bobby gave a speech thanking everyone and then, flaming Sambuca time! Crazy s*** that stuff. Totally messed up everyone after that as witnessed below...

Dance Floor. The DJ was soooo good! Props to Rick who pulled it off at the very last minute. It was complete lah. Great tunes, smoke machine, psychedelic lighting and it didn't hurt that the Sambuca did a number on almost everyone.

Party Animals. By this time helium balloons were being popped, a lot of alcohol had been consumed, countless toasts made and shots drunk, the finger food had been wiped out, Abby's heel had broken off, Siti had fallen off the stage twice (once on Zulfa) and a certain some one had gone off in a drunken stupor and came back in a drunken stupor after getting lost within the vicinity of 200m! Oh so many opportunities for blackmail but so little time.... Heheheh!

Trolak Reunion. In the midst of all this mayhem, there was a mini reunion of sorts for Bobby's batch of ex-course mates from Trolak MRSM (did I get that right?). Thanks goes out to Max for these pictures.

Drunk. This is what happens when a lot of alcohol is consumed within a short span of time. Somebody always gets hurt. Let this never happen to you. Hehehe.

Final damage? 27 bottles of alcohol (17 bottles of Chivas and Black Label, 1 bottle of Vodka, 1 bottle of Sambucca, 1 bottle of Tequilla, 5 bottles of Red Wine and 2 bottles of White Wine) and 21 plates of finger food consumed,1 broken heel, 1 bruised body, 1 eyebrow scratched, 2 broken glasses (at least it wasn't the tea lights), 1 light socket dislodged and only 1 "casualty" for the night. Not bad people. You are all truly Rockstars!

So seriously, when are we going to do this again?

xoxo,Murni

Happy Birthday Bobby!

Now I bet you're really surprised... Today is Bobby's actual birthday! FYI, Bobby and I are going to spend it with his family having home cooked dinner courtesy of his mom... I don't think my bank account and our bodies for that matter can take another party at this point. That's what happens when you turn 30 I think. Darn, I must've turned 30 two years ago then.

Have a Happy Birthday my love. I wish I could throw you a party for every day that we're together but hey, every day feels like a party anyways when we're together! You're my best buddy, lover, comedian and sage all wrapped up in one. Love you loads baby... Muaaaahhhssss!

Slide Show!

Over 100 pictures in a slide show just for your viewing pleasure!

For more pictures of the "non-sliding" type, head on out to my Flickr album right here.

A Message From Bobby

WOW... "Bobby Rocks at 30" surprise b'day party was just a super WOW!!!.. I know I said this last Saturday night but I'm gonna say it again: Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you!! Not even a hint mates... Thanks to the organising committee.. Murni!!!! (muahs.. love u), Azhar, Awok,Zulfa, Chua, Rick.... it was great... the DJ, the big screen Guitar Hero, the posters on the wall, the list of friends that came.... awesome. Also big thanks to those who contributed to the 27 bottles....Murni, First Taz, Butler, AffinMoney, Forex, KAF AP, Chua, Anchor, Azhar & AJ that ensured everybody was intoxicated all the time. Rick, the DJ was awesome... Thanks to my uncle & cousins that came, my RMC friends, my Financial Market friends, Trolak gang, Golf Buddies, Clubbing mates and all that came that night. You guys ROCK!! Be patient with the pictures.... looks like they'll have to go through the censorship board first. Hopefully it'll be up soon. Also hope the others who took pics that night post it up too. Cheerssssss from Bobby!

It's Monday Now...

...And I still haven't recuperated! Hahaha. Man oh man... And because I'm still kinda exhausted from all that planning, scheming & running around, I'm gonna put up the message I sent everyone on FaceBook k?

hey guys,

a big thank you to everyone who came and partied like a rockstar with us! after a recount, we opened a total of 27 bottles and had only 3 "casualties" plus many opportunities for "blackmail!" muahahaha! more story on that at the blog in a day or two... i'm still trying to recuperate. hahaha. [this story will be up soon]

thanks goes out to Azhar for setting up the Guitar Hero and helping me decorate, Aouk for helping me out with the bottles, Rick for deejaying, Zulfa for the balloons & being the photographer for the night, Chua for bringing the b'day boy to the venue in the most stealth-like way & taking photos. shout out also goes out to everyone who contributed a bottle or two: Aouk, Siti & Rick (5 bottles!), Abby, Alang & Odi, Azhar, AJ, Anchor, Amin, Chua & Ijad.... if i missed anyone out please please forgive me. the next lap dance will be on me ya? ;)

i totally loved it that the ones who came loved the party and those that couldn't make it played along anyways. most importantly, Bobby was totally surprised! he was in a blur for most of the party and simply couldn't believe we managed to pull it off! YAY!

so when are we going to do it again? this time those who couldn't make it for this party had better not miss out ya? ;)

thanks again for making the party totally awesome!

xoxo,
Murni

Here's a little sneak peek of the pictures.



I'm currently working on the 200++ pictures, using my Photoshop to make everyone extra gorgeous and fabulous. If you have pictures from the party, I'd really appreciate it if you could please email them to me at murni.roslim@gmail.com.

Anyways dudes and dudettes, a big THANK YOU once again for totally rockin' at Bobby's surprise party! We are truly blessed to have such awesome friends as all of you.

1 More Day to Go!!!!

Luckily I work in event management... otherwise I'd be even MORE anxious than I am right now! To quell the anxiety, I've been working on the budget, itinerary, guest lists and thinking of decorations at almost every waking minute. It's crazy I know but it calms me down somewhat. I think Azhar and Aouk should be are pretty sick with my constant calls, texts and emails by now too, so luckily this thing is tomorrow. Hehehe.

Hope to see you all tomorrow having loads of fun. See ya!

Kantoi

This is just too funny... Bobby is now sulking with Aouk because he caught Aouk lying to him as to where he'd be for lunch on two occasions. Those two occasions are because Mr. Aouk was out planning the birthday party and he was kantoi-ed! No worries Aouk, I'm sure by Saturday he'd have forgotten all about your little misdemeanors. Hehehe.

2 More Days!

Bobby and I are so lucky to have such fantastic friends. Aouk pulled a fantastic stunt by getting a DJ with a mixer to play at the party at the very last minute and everyone chipped in to pay for it (really, really appreciate it guys!), Azhar helped me out yesterday with the decorations and setting up the PS2, Zulfa sourced the balloons for me at cheap prices, and lots of people are sending me messages to offer their help. You guys are amazing man! I am truly touched and I'm sure Bobby will be too... He better be! Hehehe.

With 2 more days to go I suddenly found out that the "entertainment" has to be changed somewhat. It won't be as fantastic as planned originally but it'll be pretty cool all the same. I also discovered that I can now use the entire space of the venue instead of just half as intended so we're now in the midst of expanding our guest list.

Let's see what else is there to do? Menu has been confirmed, the drinks have been ordered, cupcakes have been picked up, decorations have been bought and half-way set up, sound system is being sorted out, DJ confirmed (yay Aouk!)... I guess the only thing to do is to make sure everyone comes on time and that the birthday boy shows up. He still has no clue whatsoever what's in store for him...

Candles & More Candles

Candles from IKEA's lastest range

Warning: Girlie post concerning decoration ahead.

I love IKEA. Especially when they have Christmas themed stuff for sale... I bought almost their entire range of Christmas candles and candle holders today just for the party which coincidentally is in the same color scheme of the party. It was destined to be I tell you and it wasn't all that expensive! Ok, fine... most of you think dropping a couple of hundred for candles and tinsel garland is a bit crazy but they're so just so purdy!

Now it's a matter of putting it all together and see what comes out. I'm hoping chic and sophisticated but it could turn out to be a disaster. I'll invoke the spirit of David Tutera the Party Planner and hope for the best.

4 More Days!

Met up with the guys for lunch today at the Lodge. They got to meet Mr.Woo and KC who are the owners and we had a great session to finalize all the little details including menu, decorations and some logistical stuff.

You'll be glad to know that we managed to also get a great deal on Chivas and Black Label. We know that they're the poison of choice for many of our friends (including us) and felt that it was imperative that we secure a good deal to keep you all (and us) happy. Hehehe.

Anyways, Chivas and Black Label will be going for RM250++ per bottle plus unlimited mixers exclusively for the party. A jug of beer is RM38++ and house red or white wine is RM85++ per bottle. For the more sedate, there will be a free flow of Coke.

You can of course BYOB, but there will be a corkage fee that you will have to pay. It's RM100++ per 1L bottle of any sort of Spirit (mixers will be provided) and RM40++ per bottle of Wine.

Before I forget, there will be finger food served but if you want to have something more substantial, The Lodge and the adjoining new restaurant, Paradiso has an awesome menu that you should so try out.

Things Yet To Do and Things Done

Wow, there are still tonnes of things that need to be done: sort out the decorations, pick up the cupcakes, get the song play list done, make sure there'll be enough drinks and most importantly, make sure the Birthday Boy doesn't suspect a thing in the whirl of activities circulating around him.

Invitations I made with my trusty Adobe Illustrator CS2.
Click on it for a clearer view

I can sigh a sigh of relief though that the invitations have been sent out, I've received some RSVPs and the entertainment has been confirmed. Can you guess what that is? I'll leave you to your imagination.

Cover Story

If you know Bobby, you know he can sniff things out reeeally fast so I've had to concoct a little white lie to throw him off the scent.

Basically I've told him that my company is launching the Malaysian Salsa Festival (we're been organizing it for the last 2 years) and I made him promise to show up. As an added incentive, I also told him that I'm going to invite all of his buddies, everyone on my FaceBook friend list and SMSed those who weren't.

Why such an extravagant cover story? For the simple reason that hopefully he won't suspect a thing when he sees all of his buddies' cars parked outside the venue. Plus he won't be puzzled as to why all of his friends have something going on this coming Saturday. Heheh

Yeah, he's a hard one to trick so I hope everyone will play along to give him the surprise of a lifetime! ;)

Some of the people involved in this devious plot to con Bobby.

Me. Aouk, Azhar, Odi and Alang.

To Get You Into The Theme

Guitar Hero ROCKS! We will hopefully have a Play Station console set up complete with guitars and a projector screen for anyone who wants to give this awesome game a try. Anyways, I'm sure there are a few Guitar Hero aficionados out there who won't mind "jamming" for an audience. Hehehe.

Event Invitation on FaceBook

I've sent out the invites to everyone who are friends with Bobby on my friend list at FaceBook. Those who are not on FaceBook or on my friend list will be getting an SMS today. Why am I feeling anxious?? Jeez...

Check out the side bar on the right for more info. Hope to see you there!

Powwow

Met up with the guys last week at La Bodega for the powwow. I've never had to lie so much to Bobby in one day! Well, it's not exactly lying is it when you "omit" certain details...? That's so gonna bite my ass one day.

Anyways, I've already confirmed the venue (Studio at the Lodge. Click on the image on the left for a larger view), finger food and "entertainment" and Aouk is working on the drinks. Azhar's away for the week. Lucky guy's in Australia for a holiday which leaves Aouk and me to "man the fort" so they say. I think we'll be handing out invites by the end of the week or next Monday tops once I've sorted out the glitch concerning the date.

Oh, yeah. Forgot to mention that we may have to do it on the 24th instead of the 23rd. The "entertainment" can only get here on the 24th but I'm trying to push for the 23rd as Aouk agrees that Friday nights are more rockin' (and it just so happens that everyone will be out for Happy Hours anyways which makes it all the more convenient).

Be back with more updates!

Rockstar Cuppacakes

I can't help putting up a picture of these oh so rockin' cupcakes from the folks at Cuppacakes.

Picture stolen from Cuppacake's design page.

Don't you just love the skulls? I ordered about 100 of these mini cupcakes in Vanilla with black, white and red butter cream frosting. Yum! They're not exactly Bobby's most favorite dessert as he has no sweet tooth to speak of but they fit the theme soooo perfectly that I just couldn't resist placing the order. Plus, they're super cute! Yes, I'm such a girl.

Azhar and Aouk Rock Too!

I've just managed to rope in Aouk to help with the party planning. Yay! I knew I could count on the buddies to help me plan the party.

Azhar has actually helped me with Bobby's birthday every year since Bobby and I got together 5 years ago. He even helped Bobby to plan MY surprise birthday party this year so I'm guessing he's an old hand at organizing parties guerrilla style. Aouk... well, I have to admit that Aouk knows Bobby better than I do. Should I be worried? Hahaha.

Right now, I'm talking with a few venue managers and I have a fair idea of what I want and what I want to do. Azhar, Aouk and I are gonna meet up next week for a powwow and I'll post up more details then. Watch this space.

The pictures above are from last year's very sedate but scrumptious birthday dinner
that Azhar and Raez helped orchestrate

Shhhhhhhh!

I'm soooooo excited! Thought about it long and hard and YES! I'm willing to take the plunge to plan a Night of Mayhem for Bobby as he turns the big 3.0. at the end of next month. Hey, you only say goodbye to your 20s and embrace your 30s once in a life time right, so why not a party? And a ROCK themed party at that!

Anyways, you are all duly warned that this is to be a SURPRISE party. He has no idea that I'm working my noggin pretty hard right now to figure out the best plan of ambush, er, action to surprise him. So at the very act of reading this, YOU ARE SWORN TO SECRECY!! If he finds out about this party, I will track down the blabbermouth and slaughter him/her in a most un-halal way. I kid you not.

So far all the planning and scheming is pretty much up in the air but I have one willing victim er, helper to help me out. Thanks dude! Much appreciated.

Keep you all posted on the party planning progress. Oh, and Happy Halloween by the way.