Grace's and Max's Car Hijack

I thought of writing a collection of short stories. just a recollection of what happened throughout these years that i had a good time retelling to others whenever i thought about it. great conversation pieces i tell you! well this one's about Grace and Max. here goes.

it was one weekday during our final year - i am checking Grace's blog as i write to see if she has written anything on it so as not to replicate and waste precious cyberspace.

it was one weekday during our final year. not sure if it was the second last or the last semester at UTP, when Max wanted to go to Ipoh - quaint little town with nothing much to do after 10 pm unless you're watching movies or going to the nearby pub area where the music attempts to tear your eardrums. that's not the story.

well it was one weekday again. when we managed to compress our classes into a 3 day work week and we have thursdays and fridays free to concentrate on our final year projects, go home or go on the usual tv series marathon that's so familiar to UTP-ians its part of our culture. that's not the story again.

Max wanted to go to Ipoh just to hang out. well that's the nearest place to get your mind of mundane or stressful things you face during uni life. im not sure what Max was stressed about. maybe he wasn't in this case. and Grace, being the shopaholic, just wanted to go to Ipoh to...Shop. well i didnt go on this trip, as i figured that the trip was not worth it and i might have been saving for another trip to Kuching for Rainforest World Music Festival in July or was it the time when i climbed mount Kinabalu or both.

to cut the long story short, Max rented a car from some malay guy. Grace followed him to Ipoh in the car. they went around shopping. Ipoh Parade i think. and before they came back bought a packs or a few packs of Claypot Chicken Rice which Ipoh Parade Food Court was famous for. besides the usual Hot Plate Mushroom Noodles.

o anyways. they were walking towards the parking lot, which was a few floors above the shopping mall itself. and they saw another car parked next to them, with 3 burly looking guys - all chinese gangster-looking out of the car and seems like were waiting for 2 of them to approach their car. being trusting, (thrusty is not even a word and i have no idea why i thought about it) they walked to their car nevertheless and was approached by one of the burly guys. here's a recollection of what happened from what i remember. Max and Grace, you're welcome to comment and make necessary alterations to my version.

Big Gangster: Is this your car?
Max and Grace: No, its rented, Why?
Big Gangster: This car has not paid the bank for the loan for more than 3 months
Max and Grace: Well, we dont know coz we don't own the car. and you have no proof of saying that
Big Gangster: Here i have a photocopy of the document. You both need to go to the police station with me to settle some stuff

*this incident followed close after a kidnapping incident where a Waja took off with a couple at the same shopping mall so both victims were quite wary. Max was in his Dusun Warrior mode and Grace in her Cantonese element throughout*

Grace runs into the car, locks the door and started shouting at the gangster through the closed window.

Max tries to settle things the Manly way. but there was one problem. He couldn't speak Cantonese, and the gangster can't speak proper english.

Back in the car, Grace called me from her mobile.

Ring Ring

Jamie: *shuffles to find her mobile between the pillows and the comforter*
Grace: Eh, i have a problem
Jamie: What?
Grace: Someone's threatening to tow our rented car claiming that the owner didnt pay the installments for more than 3 months
Jamie: Huh? Really? So how now?
Grace: The guy wants us to go to the police station. but I'm not sure if he's for real. all he showed us was a photocopied document
Jamie: Call the police then. Would there be a need for some of us to go up? I have Praise and Worship night tonight.
Grace: Yeah, if possible
Jamie: Ok call the police, Ill ask Yeefong and Thana whether they can drive up

im getting nowhere in this phone conversation. so i leave the rest of the story to be descriptive. well to summarize, there were 3 workflows going on simultaneously to solve this issue.

1. Thana and Yeefong decided to drive up to Ipoh. 45 minute drive. Woke Douglas up from his afternoon nap and dragged him along for "a sense of security" we promised that he didnt have to do anything except stand there and look scary just in case. that was before we met Ah Chuan.

2. Tomi went combing through the male student hostels (V5 and V4 in particular) in search for the owner of the rented car, based on Max's description. just to seek clarification on that matter and what happens after they go to the police station

3. My drummer was supposed to be Thana. and in her absence, i was desperately searching for one. was turned down by Josiah for being too abrupt. and Jesse said yes either out of courtesy or he decided it was an all or nothing showdown that night for him with the drums at church

4. Max and Grace were still there at the carpark trying to negotiate their way out while waiting for the police to come. he came plain-clothed. so it was difficult to determine whether he was for real or he was really helping those gangsters out so Grace didnt want to believe all that and decided to wait for Yeefong and Thana. and the police, seem to know those gangsters pretty well, left the scene

by the time the entourage arrived, Yeefong and Thana was greeted with a big burly man lying across the car bonnet like a mermaid and was looking bored, grace still in the rented car and max just standing around coz he ran out of ideas on what to do already. plus my packs of Claypot chicken rice were still in the car.

Yeefong, seemingly to have been accustomed to all these negotiations, talked nicely to the man and by that time, Tomi found the owner, also taking his afternoon nap in a room with a huge TV and PS 2 consoles, the owner said its ok for the Bank Repossessors - that's what they're called - to take his car and leave it there.

so they signed off, went for Menglembu Honey Chicken on the way back. and i am recollecting this story as close as i can remember. well there's also another story to this, if you dont mind reading.

Grace has a something with Rented Cars. seems like she's always jinxing it. here are a list of incidents that compels me to say so. and she agrees by the way. so no offense in that.:


Incident # 1
Renu and Grace rented someone's car to go to Ipoh for some hair treatment. They stopped at Pusing to pump petrol (i hear there are male pump attendants there who are twins and are good looking but i have never seen them). they stopped at the traffic lights, Renu wanted to adjust her seat and it went all the way backwards and got stuck there. So they had to send it to the workshop to get it fixed before making their way to the Hair Salon again.

Incident # 2

Grace and I, to the hair salon again with Nora and Fish. Nora did something i think to her hair. or was it Renu. in another rented car. i remember it was a white Proton Saga. then Fish took the car around Ipoh to run errands and when she came back quite late to the hair salon - but we were still not done anyways - she said there was something wrong with the car and she had to take it to the workshop.

Incident # 3
Refer to Grace's and Max's Car Hijack story - im still looking for the article on Grace's Blog

think i shall stop here. dont know if anyone reads this blog anymore. haha