Continuing from my previous post, by the time I headed to bed after cleaning up my make-up and packing CD stuff, it was close to 2am. I tried to get some sleep knowing that today is going to be another long day as I would make the journey back to Singapore. Somehow, I cannot seem to be able to get to sleep. It is not a sense of excitement but more of a sense of unwillingness for this event to end. Slowly, I drifted into dreamland.
Been a light sleeper coupled with a full mind, I was awaken at around 4am when Micky came back. Seeing that she was back to the villa safely, I then continued to head back with my sleep. I guess this is the part where my sleep enters the REM zone as Jace left around 5am but I did not realised it. I was hoping to be able to bid her farewell but I must have completely knock out when I headed back to bed the 2nd time round.
My normal alarm sounded at 5:45am and i tried snoozing until 6am before I get out of bed. Usually at this time, MSR should be awake but I did not see her around, so that meant that she was not up yet. Since I could not sleep anymore, I decided to do some area clearing and packing up so that we will have an easier time before we check out and return the villa later.
After I cleaned and finished the chores, I decided to just have a coffee and chill in the patio, watching over the seaside. Not long after, MSR was awake and she joined me for coffee and we both started to chat, enjoying the last few moment of the event before the returning of the villa, much just like last year.
By 10:30am, all of us were packed and ready for our return trip, we started to load our luggage into the cars. For the Singapore group, I arranged the transport allocation as there were six of us now instead of the initial five who made the trip on Friday morning. So the plan was to have Felicity and Katie in my car while Rachel will take Amanda and Ashe. At around 11am, Joyce called the villa owner to take over the villa as we cleared out from the place. After checking that there is no damage, the villa owner give us the green light to go ahead. Joyce returned the deposit that we put in for the villa in case there is any damage that might incur during our stay.
And with a heavy heart, we bid farewell and set off for our return trip. WeiEr drove out first and parked by the side while the rest of us drove by her, she waved goodbye to us all. That is really sweet of her. I guess she is also like me, could not bear that the CD gathering is over so soon.
Trip back to Singapore
The first checkpoint that I set was at R&R Pagoh, which is less than an hour drive from Melaka. I sent the location to Rachel and both of set off to meet there. Everything was well, we were on schedule and making good time as the road is relatively clear.
However, when we were at R&R Pagoh, Rachel’s car are got hit by a reversing car. Thankful everyone in that car was okay, just that her car got a dent by the side. Apparently, the driver of the other car refused to pay and claim that it was a small issue. But a hit is a hit, what more was that the driver reversed without checking the rear mirror or blind spot. So, that driver said to meet him at the next toll. I doubt that this matter can be settled today, so I told Rachel to settle for either to have them pay around RM200 (that is really the least I can think of) or to arrange for a day, drive into JB, repair the car and have the driver to pay for the repair cost.
Not wanting to delay sending both Felicity and Katie back, I decide not to follow Rachel. This is where both groups parted and split up. Too bad my car cannot fetch anymore people because of luggage and passenger space limitation. If not, I would not mind fetching both Amanda and Ashe back so that Rachel can focus on settling the car issue today…
At around 2pm, we reached the next and final rest stop, which was the petrol kiosk before the last toll towards Tuas 2nd link. I did one last petrol top-up and the three of us proceeded on with the border crossing. The traffic was not as heavy as compared to last year when we attended the gathering. Maybe because the CD gathering last year was held in December and this year was held earlier.
When we reached back in Singapore, it was around 2:50pm. Since the three of us did not managed to get any lunch, we decided to go to a hawker centre for a quick bite before I send both Felicity and Katie back home. But before that, we messaged Rachel’s group to ensure that they were also back in Singapore safely. The driver who reversed onto Rachel’s car said to have the car repaired in JB and they will pay for the repair, the issue is that Rachel will have to drive in and leave the car there. At least, there is some form of settlement for that issue. And with that, we concluded our Miss Y Studio 2024 CD Gathering.
Post-event Reflection
For me, after sending those in my car back, instead of going home. I decided to head to my lair to return all my CD stores. While in the midst of unpacking from my luggage and putting the things back to their respective place, a sudden feeling of sadness and loneliness engulfed me. I guess it just strike me that I might not be able to attend the CD gathering next year due to a change in my work and family commitment… Knowing that the CD gathering that just passed could be my last time I am seeing that group of friends, both old and new, and the uncertain fate of Francesca’s future… Tears rolled down my cheek uncontrollably, I cried my heart out at that moment. It has been long since I have such strong emotion reaction. I guess I really needed to let it all out… I will probably write more about my predicament for my 2024 reflection, but let us get on with my post-event thoughts and reflection.
Overall, I feel that the CD gathering this year has been quite successful and enjoyable despite things did not go according to what Joyce initially planned. The initial plan for the event day (Saturday) was for us to dress up and head out to have dinner in a restaurant around the outskirt of Melaka Raya area. In fact, Joyce did secure the dinner restaurant way ahead of time, confirming that the restaurant is fine to cater for a group of CrossDressers like us. Unfortunately, the restaurant ceased operation a month before the CD gathering. So Joyce got no choice but to revert the dinner plan back to buffet style in the villa.
Sometime, when it rains, it pours… The buffet caterer who took up Joyce’s request was sick days before the CD gathering, so Joyce got to scramble and look for another buffet caterer. Thankfully she managed to settle for one just a couple of days before the CD gathering. It is definitely not easy to organise for this event even though Joyce had the experience from last year inaugural CD gathering.
What seems to be just a small gathering (for 13 pax) but there were so much work to be done. From the planning phase which happened almost immediately after last year's CD gathering, to liaising with the villa owner to secure the venue, to sourcing for a CD friendly restaurant (even though that never come to fruition), to time factor consideration for Make-Up, asking for MUAs who were willing to help CDs do make-up, to publicity for this event, filtering through the list of CDs who registered their interest, to allocation of rooms to the CDs sisters, taking into consideration each of our nature and character, to solving issues that crop up last minute e.g. the buffet caterer who was sick and so on. All these were happening behind the scene even before the actual event, which lasted 3 days 2 nights.
And on the actual day, like I mentioned in the previous post, Joyce had to wear the hats of been a MUA, a photographer and a facilitator. From planning to execution, Joyce was handing it alone. It is definitely not easy. I really appreciate the hard work she put in to host this gathering because it meant a lot to the CD sisters who had attended. It was a good catch-up session for the familiar faces, a platform for new faces to mingle and get to know other CDs. The sharing session also helped to give assurance to some of the CDs that what they have gone through or what they are facing now, they are not alone as some had gone down a similar path or are also facing the same situation now.
Anyway, back to the reflection. The villa is as per last year’s location, just that it was the biggest villa along that same stretch, located right at the end of the whole block. That allows for more car parking this time round. The front porch can house up to 3 cars parked side by side and since it is at the end of the block, some of the cars can park outside without affecting the traffic along that stretch. The seaside beach is just at the backyard of the villa, accessible with a backdoor. Really love the villa, really suitable for big group gathering or family. However, having said that, the private and quiet location of the villa also comes with a trade-off. I will describe more in the food segment.
In terms of programme wise, I guess some of the CD sisters might be slightly disappointed as there is no dress out dining experience but I get the feel that most of us are actually quite okay not to have that segment. For the phototaking part, the villa this time round does not have the nice backdrop as compared to the one last year where there is a nice ornament structure in the backyard. Coupled with the fact that this is the rainy season, the photography session has to be done indoors instead. That really limits the photographer’s creativity in terms of composition for portraiture shots. However, Joyce still did her best to deliver.
For food wise, the catered buffet spread for the event day (Saturday) dinner was good. No more chucky pieces of meat so that we can eat in peace without having to worry about ruining our make-up. Good thing that Joyce ordered mainly finger food and she also requested for the curry chicken to be deboned and together with the potatoes, diced to be more bite size for easy consumption. Even though Joyce also provided MacDonald breakfast on the check-out morning (Sunday), we also need to consider about the prior event day food arrangement, e.g. Friday’s dinner and Saturday’s breakfast and lunch.
As the early villa check-in arrangement was not part of the event, the arrangement for food will be up to the participants themselves. This was already made known to the participants way ahead of the CD gathering. As mentioned above, the villa was located in a quiet vicinity near the seaside, the supermarket nearby was not 24 hours and there was only 2 eateries around and they do not serve breakfast. Ordering Grabfood or Foodpanda does pose a challenge due to the “ulu” (remote) location, some of the CD sisters tried ordering pizzas on Friday night and they almost did not get their order. This is no one’s fault. Some of us brought snacks like prawn crackers, potatoes chips and cup noodles, but those are not really a decent meal. Maybe we should have gotten some frozen food or those easy heat up meals and store in the refrigerator to cater for this. Likewise, some of the CD sisters like beers, we should have gotten them when we were at Melaka Raya area.
For the game segment, it was designed as an ice-breaker and also for CD sisters who were present that day to remember each other’s name. It was short but definitely fun as there were laughter all around. As for the sharing segment, it is always my favourite because we get to hear about each of our journey and struggle along this CD journey. However, maybe because the group was too big, there was an occasion when one CD was doing the sharing and some side conversation was happening also. Again, this is fault of no one. Sometime, when we hear something that we have an opinion, some tend to interject or share her view with someone close by. Maybe some ground rules should be set during the sharing session, e.g. when someone is speaking, all ears, all eyes and one heart to show respect to the person speaking. Hold back judgement and opinion until that person has finished speaking or sharing. However, maybe due to the familiarity of some of the participants, some would have heard the similar sharing or encounter before, so it is quite easy for them to forget about the basic courtesy in the art of conversion. That been said, it does not make the sharing session any less interesting or compelling. In fact, hearing some of the stories, it really touches my heart as I empathised with some of their experiences because we shared similar encounter, e.g. been found out by family members about our CD likings at a young age…
Overall, this CD gathering experience was still very pleasant, fun and memorable, it really left a void inside each of us knowing that the event ended in the blink of an eye. I know that Joyce really wanted to speak to each and every one of us personally but due to the sheer number of those who participated in this year gathering, she was unable to do it. But still, all of us had fun and enjoyed the CD gathering on the whole. We met some new faces, foster new bonds, catch-up with familiar faces and enjoying each other’s company within this short span of 3 days 2 nights.
My heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Joyce for organising this CD gathering, I understand the amount of stress she has to face, the toll on her body on the actual day where she worked tirelessly for more than 12 hours. To me, this CD gathering is lovely and could not have been any better. Really a job well done Joyce, your careful planning and consideration for every details, filtering and ensuring those who joined this CD gathering can gel together. You really put in tremendous amount of hardwork and heartwork. Rest assured that I will always support you and your work. Thank you so much.
Next, I will like to express my thanks to the other two MUAs, Yaya and Jeslyn for the make-up. Even though I never tried make-up by Jeslyn before but seeing her make-up on other CD sisters, I could see the effort she put in. For Yaya, thank you for my make-up and also answering to my endless queries during the make-up session. I really hope to up my make-up skill after getting some tips from you.
Next, my heartfelt thanks to MSR for sharing the cost for the extra one day of the villa stay. This really make things so much easier for all of us, especially the Singapore group as we do not need to worry about hotel stay and so on. Also, I always enjoy those morning where we just sat down, have our morning beverages and catch up and just talk about anything under the sun.
Last but not least, to all those CD sisters who took the time and effort and make the trip down to Melaka to attend this CD gathering, without your presence, this gathering will not be so engaging and enriching. Going to miss the time we shared over those 3 days 2 nights, it has been really great seeing, meeting and knowing all of you. And with that, this end my blog post update for my 2nd CD gathering organised by Miss Y Studio. Cheers.
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