Samad Prom '07 - Le' Enchante

I know this is nitpicking, but before I start this post I'd like to point out the mistake of the organisers of naming the prom "Le' Enchante", Now I'm sorry, but why does the "Le" have an apostrophe after it? Adding one doesn't make it any more French. I apologise. I'm anal.

Now that the ranting is done and dusted (you can open your eyes now), let me divert your attention to the single most hyped event of the year. And yes, before you write about it all over the comments page, I'm late. I needed the photos from Pei Hau.

As you'd all probably know, two days ago, a few of the outgoing Form 5 students of SMKSAS organised the Samad Prom of 2007. This is the time of the year where schoolmates come in poncy outfits (and the occasional date) to celebrate the freedom (and subsequent re-admittance to yet another educational institution) that SPM affords. However, it has to be said that most of the attendees smartened up and actually came in something half-decent, classy even - a far cry from the green, white and cyan school uniforms we've been accustomed of seeing each other in.

Oh yeah, and a lot of make-up.

Obviously, that meant the prom was a perfect opportunity to snap photos of each other.


However, the camwhoring had to stop somewhere, and soon we were ushered into the room, and we were not so pleasantly surprised by what we saw. Never, in the history of mankind, was a prom held in a room as small as the Westside room on the 8th floor of the Boulevard Hotel. Still, there was room for all of us (barely) and we all sat in our designated places. Except, there were no designated places.

Actually, it was more like the organisers screwed up the seating positions. The tables list were full of errors, including three Keishas (?!).
This minor niggle aside, the prom continued smoothly. The hosts were a bit of an acquired taste, but at least they were vaguely entertaining.

Unfortunately, barely three minutes after we had settled down, we were asked to go out again, because, as it turned out, the meal was a buffet. That said, the food was excellent. Although whoever decided to skewer the prawns with the shells intact should be taken to the back room and shot.


During the meal we were treated to a performance by local rock quadruplet One Buck Short. And frankly, I wasn't fond of it at all. To be fair, at a concert they would've blown everyone's socks off. However, this was a prom - usually the home of slower, more intimate music - and this, compounded by the minuscule room and the organisers' stupid mistake of setting the volume to a ear-splitting 548,343 dB, took the magic away from the band. But credit where it's due - at least they have some mad skills.

Sidenote: One Buck Short are finishing up their inaugural studio album, Halal and Loving it, due to be released early next year.

Then, it was time for the stand-up comedian. Oh God, the stand-up comedian.

It's a formal event, for Pete's sake. Have some class.

He began politely enough, asking us guys about our dates and all. That's where things started to take a turn for the worse.

He started to crack lewd jokes, thinking all of us would get lucky with our dates. Positions, orgasms, the lot.

Almost at that immediate moment, virtually everyone lost their appetites. Even Seng Wai's. And that's saying a lot. We're not in America, you fat, useless kumquat.

Luckily (and mercifully), the show eventually ended, and eating (and socialisation) resumed. Now, at this point, you'd think the worst is over. But no. Because next came this African rapper. Like One Buck Short, the combination of wrong music, small room and ground-shaking volume spoilt the show. That, and the fact that I dislike rap. Proud to be black, indeed.

Later, we were presented with the nominees for the prom awards, which were best-dressed male and female and the prom king and queen. However, these nominees were pre-determined by the organisers and not chosen by the crowd, reducing the entertainment factor. This also explains the kinda lop-sided list of people, which mostly featured the organisers and their friends.

As expected, the nominees for Best-Dressed Male were unveiled first. Of course, to please the crowd, the men had to do stuff requested by the crowd - Razreen half-stripped, Razman did some sort of saucy dance on one of the hosts (startling him in the process) and David Mo had to perform to his date, Jessica (initially supposed to be a song, which was changed to a rap. Eventually they decided on a dance, with David doing a sort of half-arsed slide).

Then it was the girls who had to step out and take the stage - Brigette, Erin and Tanya. Brigette, in particular, had a pretty memorable moment when we dragged Chan Wai up to the stage. They exchange rather heartfelt "I love you"s, to the amusement to the crowd.

Tanya's date, Sashi, on the other hand, had to wear a thong on his head.

After this, voting ensued and the crowd dispersed to socialise once more. That's when an unexpected guest came along.

At the door, with rather dishevelled clothes, stood Philbert Tiki Yong.

Bastard told me he wasn't coming.

So for us, plus Priya, Pei Hau and a few others, it was time for another round of picture-taking.



Oh, and those that won were Razreen (expected) and Erin (expected). As for Prom King and Queen, I didn't pay that much attention (sorry), but I think the winners were Shafiq (expected) and Heather (expected, she's the organising chairperson, after all).

Of course, a prom would never be a prom without a dance and we rushed to the stage. They didn't play slow music (oh, my poor ears...), but it was OK. I especially loved the Bhangra (screw the lightbulbs, people!).

Soon, it was time to end. We exchanged greetings and goodbyes and took even more pictures. Some of the others went to the Laundry Bar to get drunk. Philistines.

Now, at this point you might think I hated prom. That I was bored, miserable and, on top of that, alone. And you're partly wrong - I did somewhat enjoy the prom. No, really, I did.

Thing is, I paid RM100 for the ticket, and at that exorbitant price I wanted to be wowed - it was, after all, supposed to be a special event for all that attended. I was expecting something memorable, marvellous, exquisite even. I was expecting an event worthy or telling my children, for them to tell their children, and so on. Instead, it was merely average. And because of that I felt like I've wasted my money.

Okay, that's a bit harsh. Maybe "not worth the high price" is more like it. But either way, it's not one for the memory lane. And that's sad.