Cheryl and Vic accompanied me to the launch of MillionaireAsia yesterday. Neither of them had confidence finding the way to Carcosa Seri Negara. Cheryl in particular was stressed at the idea of retracing a route that got her lost for 1 hour previously.

But we went. I sat comfortably in the back while they both wrestled traffic jams and struggled at reading maps. When I first asked Vic if he would bring us there, he looked it up online and agreed. As for Cheryl, it was not her first time accompanying and driving us to similar events. We even took the train to Passion Club in 2006 when Nottingham University raised funds for my surgery.

But the main agenda yesterday was in the celebration. We turned up as guests by closed-door invitation .There were 300 people. I brought along some books and collected RM400 for my medical fund. The publisher introduced me to the crowd and together with several others; we had a toast of champagne to signify the launch of MillionaireAsia, Malaysia edition. To entertain guests were watches, jewelries, and other accessories on display at catchy areas, as well as some cars and a helicopter at the lawn.

It must have cost a fortune just doing it all up, coupled with special lightings, red carpet, display plagues, and what have you. Vic said we stood out as the odd ones. At least I wore a bareback!

Later, we had a chat with Michael and Amanda from the British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce. Lucky there was Amanda, because I got to ask about her children. One’s an Engineer, another a lawyer, and then I forgot the middle child. I asked why they weren’t here. She said one’s in London, and the others in some other countries. And then I remember, Amanda and Michael are expatriates. So it was only logical they did not come with the family.

I’m not doing the kind of business that require much socializing, so I did not deliberately struck up conversations with people. But the few I talked to were interesting enough to leave an impression. One was a middle-aged man with a doctorate to his name. He came and looked at my poster skeptically. I thought he was hesitant. But I soon realized he was just being himself, for he picked up my whiteboard and wrote, “Congratulations Yvonne Foong,” followed by more words of encouragement, as though it had been rehearsed. My name was not even prominent on the A2 poster. But this uncle addressed me enthusiastically. When he received the book and left, I could not help but smile at the odd encounter.

One lady asked me to dedicate the book to her late grandfather. But I misunderstood, thinking her name was “Kate”, and Kate’s grandfather just passed away. So I wrote the autograph as it to encourage Kate. I cancelled the word, “Kate”, when Cheryl explained again. But the message was not so apt anymore. I wrote, “Always remember that things happen for a purpose”. How are you supposed to tell that to someone deceased? Next time, make sure before you autograph a book.

Next came Hugh. Although I couldn’t hear well, I guessed Hugh must have been jolly loud. He reminded me of Steve Otto, my A.B.I Consultant, except that Hugh is perhaps 20 years younger. After getting my book and autograph, he went and got Mr. Publisher to autograph the magazine! I wanted to walk up and offer my autograph on the page with my story. But ah, he already got one in the book. Heh.

Cheryl, Vic, and I left around 10:30pm, but not before making an announcement of our impending departure so people could still buy last minute. Food was good but there were not enough. After speaking with the BMCCs, all food served buffet-style were four-fifth gone! Cheryl and I had a bit of here and there while Vic had even less. So Cheryl at 4 feet 10 went scouting for food like a mouse every so often. I bet she must have stalked those waiters bearing snacks on trays who roamed the floor all night. I joked that they looked as if to say, “eat up and leave”, as soon as the clock struck 10. Or they were just tired.

I didn’t take the goodie bag. Now I wonder what could be in there. Should better than what you would get at bloggers’ gatherings. A Mercedez….. pen?

There was this lady who insisted I accept her RM10 for a book, claiming that she didn’t have change. We refused, so she proposed donating to me without getting the book. Seeing her persistence I signed for her a copy and accepted the note. It left an impression as I haven’t seen someone so keen in reading it despite not bringing enough to pay. What was her motivation? Surely, a reasonable adult would not have repeatedly asked such a thing amidst a busy crowd from the high society. Maybe she really wanted the book, or maybe there was something in me she felt related to. But she came around twice so I felt that was really something.

All a writer wants is for people to read her writings and benefit from them.

Thank you, MillionaireAsia. We had a great time. Thank you Vic and Cheryl for bringing me there. And thank you all who were in our company last night.

Next week… Her World Magazine Gala Dinner

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