Staying Cool around Celebrities
I could recall the first time I was around a famous person. It was a rainy Chinese New Year day, and we were walking the streets of Dunia Fantasy, which was just opened for public, back in the late eighties. Then there she was Chintami Atmanegara, in red, queuing for a ride with her entourage. Because I was never a big fan of her, I stood and took a quick glance at her, thinking "why should people fuss over a celebrity?"
It was not the only time I met her. A few years later, when I was in junior high, I met her and her sister Minati Atmanegara. That time, they actually hired me for a keyboard gig in their kiddies club. Minati told me to turn down the volume, to let a shy child' voice audible for judges of that song contest.
There were many occasions where my playing keyboard became the chance for me to meet celebrities. I got the gig in Minati's club for kiddies after a week before I played in Pasaraya Grande for a poem reading contest. In a musical break, I played some instrumental songs. With a famous singer around, the MC asked him to proceed and sing a song. Pardon me for being ignorant, but perhaps he was not famous enough for me to remember his name. However, I remember the MC introducing him as "a winner of Bintang Radio dan Televisi contest years ago" and him singing "Bengawan Solo" and "Kaulah Segalanya Bagiku". Well at least, he made it to this writing.
In a (not very) recent occasion, at my cousin Iin's wedding party, I had the honor to play accompaniment music for the legendary Elly Kasim. With her recognizable voice and accent, even her coquettish style of singing, she was as astounding as always. Meanwhile, I was playing the keyboard with my mind wondering how great it was to play a gig for someone whose song's I'd been practising for years. Audy was among the guests with Junot as her plus one, but too bad she left too soon.
Celebrities are always prettier in person. In an AFS farewell party where Isma took me to come with her, two former-AFS-student-turn-celebrities Risa Susmex and Valerie Daniel were in sight. Both beautiful, samrt, TV presenters, I couldn't help but staring at them in silence. While foreign students giving their performance in the stage, I was thinking that Risa and Valerie were the actual stars for that night. For me, at least.
Not only prettier in person, they might be friendlier that what you think they are. In another wedding party, while I was standing in line to greet the bride and the groom, I turned around and found that I was standing in front of Nurul Arifin and her little daughter. At that moment, I found out that she was less tall that I thought she might be and more beautiful. That time, I pulled myself together to greet and even chat a little with her. After that, the line didn't seem boring at all.
When there are too many of them in sight, they become as ordinary as ordinary people. In MTV 2004 VJ Hunt, my cousin Asni gave an unused press ID which meant an opportunity to enter press room and meet with a lot of pop stars. Actually that was the first I saw Audy in person. It was also the first time I was around Andien, the whole gang of Project Pop, MTV VJs Nirina and Daniel, and the crazy former VJ Sarah Sechan. I should have made good use of my press ID and did some fake interviews with them.
I suppresed my excitement when my friend Idfi took my for a little tour around TransTV last Friday. Although I knew that he worked there as a floor director, I wondered how he kept cool around so many TV personalities. In studio 1, I met the stars of "Lenong" and Dewi Persik (which looked not a day over seventeen). Later, in the cafeteria, located in the lower ground level of Bank Mega Tower, I found that TV personalities had dinner in this common diner too. I spotted Olga Lydia, dining alone on a table and Benu Buloe hanging around with his buddies.
There are place where you could expect to meet them. Shopping malls, for example. You could easily spot Abdee Slank in Setiabudi Building, or an ad star in Plaza Senayan. But sometimes you might bump into them in a rather strange place. Like in Cyber Building elevator. I once met Andre Hehanusa there a couple of month ago. Also yesterday, as I was going up to 11th floor from Musholla in the ground floor, Teuku Rafly got on the same elevator with me at 1st floor. All the way to 8th floor where he got off, only two of us were there. However, because he became a celebrity only by marrying Tamara Bleszinsky, it was not really a celebrity sighting. Furthermore, I actually sympathized for him after their recent break-up. Why couldn't you win her back, and bring her along to this damned elevator?
Of all celebrity sightings, I cherished the moment when I had the opportunity to see ITB Big Band Concert 2006 in Bandung two weeks ago. After the show, near the entrance hall of Sasana Budaya Ganesha, the star of the night, Syaharani, was there talking with a friend of her and his family. They seemed to have something to talk about, while one by one, people came gather near them, waiting for the chance to take pictures with the jazz singer who performed with Queen Fireworks Project that night. At first, I hesitated to join the crowd. But the moment I saw people started taking pictures with here, I started to think that a picture with her would be good enough as a souvenir from Bandung. Than I took a deep breath and stepped forward. After waiting for my turn, I asked a girl from the crowd to take my picture with Syaharani. Overwhelmed with the situation, I posed groggily with her standing next to me, almost shoulder-to-shoulder. Click. A picture's taken, then I tried to calm down and casually thanked her. Now I could say that it was THE celebrity sighting.
It was not the only time I met her. A few years later, when I was in junior high, I met her and her sister Minati Atmanegara. That time, they actually hired me for a keyboard gig in their kiddies club. Minati told me to turn down the volume, to let a shy child' voice audible for judges of that song contest.
There were many occasions where my playing keyboard became the chance for me to meet celebrities. I got the gig in Minati's club for kiddies after a week before I played in Pasaraya Grande for a poem reading contest. In a musical break, I played some instrumental songs. With a famous singer around, the MC asked him to proceed and sing a song. Pardon me for being ignorant, but perhaps he was not famous enough for me to remember his name. However, I remember the MC introducing him as "a winner of Bintang Radio dan Televisi contest years ago" and him singing "Bengawan Solo" and "Kaulah Segalanya Bagiku". Well at least, he made it to this writing.
In a (not very) recent occasion, at my cousin Iin's wedding party, I had the honor to play accompaniment music for the legendary Elly Kasim. With her recognizable voice and accent, even her coquettish style of singing, she was as astounding as always. Meanwhile, I was playing the keyboard with my mind wondering how great it was to play a gig for someone whose song's I'd been practising for years. Audy was among the guests with Junot as her plus one, but too bad she left too soon.
Celebrities are always prettier in person. In an AFS farewell party where Isma took me to come with her, two former-AFS-student-turn-celebrities Risa Susmex and Valerie Daniel were in sight. Both beautiful, samrt, TV presenters, I couldn't help but staring at them in silence. While foreign students giving their performance in the stage, I was thinking that Risa and Valerie were the actual stars for that night. For me, at least.
Not only prettier in person, they might be friendlier that what you think they are. In another wedding party, while I was standing in line to greet the bride and the groom, I turned around and found that I was standing in front of Nurul Arifin and her little daughter. At that moment, I found out that she was less tall that I thought she might be and more beautiful. That time, I pulled myself together to greet and even chat a little with her. After that, the line didn't seem boring at all.
When there are too many of them in sight, they become as ordinary as ordinary people. In MTV 2004 VJ Hunt, my cousin Asni gave an unused press ID which meant an opportunity to enter press room and meet with a lot of pop stars. Actually that was the first I saw Audy in person. It was also the first time I was around Andien, the whole gang of Project Pop, MTV VJs Nirina and Daniel, and the crazy former VJ Sarah Sechan. I should have made good use of my press ID and did some fake interviews with them.
I suppresed my excitement when my friend Idfi took my for a little tour around TransTV last Friday. Although I knew that he worked there as a floor director, I wondered how he kept cool around so many TV personalities. In studio 1, I met the stars of "Lenong" and Dewi Persik (which looked not a day over seventeen). Later, in the cafeteria, located in the lower ground level of Bank Mega Tower, I found that TV personalities had dinner in this common diner too. I spotted Olga Lydia, dining alone on a table and Benu Buloe hanging around with his buddies.
There are place where you could expect to meet them. Shopping malls, for example. You could easily spot Abdee Slank in Setiabudi Building, or an ad star in Plaza Senayan. But sometimes you might bump into them in a rather strange place. Like in Cyber Building elevator. I once met Andre Hehanusa there a couple of month ago. Also yesterday, as I was going up to 11th floor from Musholla in the ground floor, Teuku Rafly got on the same elevator with me at 1st floor. All the way to 8th floor where he got off, only two of us were there. However, because he became a celebrity only by marrying Tamara Bleszinsky, it was not really a celebrity sighting. Furthermore, I actually sympathized for him after their recent break-up. Why couldn't you win her back, and bring her along to this damned elevator?
Of all celebrity sightings, I cherished the moment when I had the opportunity to see ITB Big Band Concert 2006 in Bandung two weeks ago. After the show, near the entrance hall of Sasana Budaya Ganesha, the star of the night, Syaharani, was there talking with a friend of her and his family. They seemed to have something to talk about, while one by one, people came gather near them, waiting for the chance to take pictures with the jazz singer who performed with Queen Fireworks Project that night. At first, I hesitated to join the crowd. But the moment I saw people started taking pictures with here, I started to think that a picture with her would be good enough as a souvenir from Bandung. Than I took a deep breath and stepped forward. After waiting for my turn, I asked a girl from the crowd to take my picture with Syaharani. Overwhelmed with the situation, I posed groggily with her standing next to me, almost shoulder-to-shoulder. Click. A picture's taken, then I tried to calm down and casually thanked her. Now I could say that it was THE celebrity sighting.
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