(Continuation from the previous posting. Buckle-up, this is gonna be a long ride...)
I remember getting up late that morning. The plan was to be at the college by 8am but I woke up at 0740! The rush was utter madness. I made it to work by 0845 and dashed into Room-2 to check if everything was going well.
My dedicated Project-H crew had everything under control. They were testing the lights, projector, sound-system, laying out the buffet line and labeling the seats. A fantastic bunch, really! There's just something about IACT that other communication colleges severely lack - creativity & enthusiasm!
As early as 0930, students started trickling in and by 1000, the room was already packed. It was dimly lit and the Hardip-Exposed cover slide added that "photography workshop" kinda ambience.
Close buddy Angela arrived shortly after that. As we were chilling at the foyer, my friends from the media walked in and they were promptly escorted to the room by the crew. Just as I had planned, Ruby arrived the last; coincidently the same time as my close mate, Jonathan (Jiggee).
As they were being ushered to the room, I bolted into the office and informed my executive director, Mr. Lee, that the stunt was about to begin. All my other colleagues too excitedly made their way to the room upstairs.
The emcee started the ball rolling by giving the students an overview of the workshop. While he was doing that, I was in the adjoining AV room getting all wired-up with the cordless mic. I could hear my entire biodata being read out by the emcee and he emphasized on my photography qualifications & experience. After the long intro, I was invited to kick-off..
With a typical Ron Kaufman stance (according to Ruby), I leaped to the stage and was greeted by a thunderous applause and cheers! I then started the workshop by illustrating the two core elements in photography - aesthetics & technical. I then gradually moved on to explain the types of photography; aerial, photojournalism, architecture, fashion/glamour, cityscape/landscape, medical, food, travel, astro, still-life, underwater, people/portraiture.
The IACT staff, my Project-H crew and only 30% of the students knew it was a 'bogus' workshop. The remaining 70% were seen taking notes! Even Ruby was seen giving her utmost attention. Hahaha... I was enjoying every bit of it but deep inside, I was getting more and more anxious. I started perspiring...
I then informed the class that the workshop will be focusing on portraiture. Various slides on different methods to capture a perfect portrait were shown. Shortly after that, as we had planned, one student who was seated in front requested a real-model demonstration.
At first, I deliberately hesitated but since most of the students were enthusiastically waiting to see one, I then called for a volunteer. There were a few volunteers but of course, I chose the one that w e had planted in the crowd. As everything had been pre-planned, she even came dressed-up as a replica of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. She played a typical flirty character. Yes, it was purposely done to make Ruby uncomfortable. However, Ruby told me much later that she didn't mind it at all. *strange*
I conducted the demonstration smack in the middle of the audience, who were all seated in a horse-shoe formation. As I positioned the model, I intentionally made myself appear uncomfortable. Then, as I was about to adjust her hair, I abruptly retracted my hands and loudly said, "Err, college policy... I can't touch female students!"
The audience burst out laughing and so did my executive director. I then had this really uncomfortable expression and said, "My job may be at stake, so it's best I choose someone more... err, appropriate". The model got up and disappointedly walked back to her seat. I pretended to be oblivious to that but it was evident that the audience were appalled by what I had done.
I then walked towards the crowd and picked Angela, at first. But upon noticing Ruby's presence (which of course, I deliberate made it seem as though I had forgotten), I chose her. Ruby was very reluctant but as the audience cheered loudly, she was left with no choice but to make her way to the front.
Ruby was made to sit on that same chair. I then proceeded with the demonstration, working on her from head to toe. First the hair, followed by the head and neck positioning. Everyone was observing closely. I then gradually got lower to the blouse. Suddenly, good buddy Jiggie broke the silence by shouting out loud,
"Woi, ambil kesempatan!". Again, the audience burst out laughing.
On the pretext of adjusting Ruby's shoes and feet, I went down on one knee. As I was approaching the climax of the so-called workshop, the more nervous I got. I started perspiring even more and kept wiping my forehead.
After exemplifying the lower-body position, I then loudly announced, "Ladies & gentlemen, we now have a perfect model!". The audience gave a thunderous applause and it took a minute or two to regain the same pin-drop silence.
I then made the signature announcement - "Okay, now that our model is ready, the photographers are ready, the audience are ready, and most importantly, I am ready... ladies & gentlemen, this is the moment of truth..."
Ruby's seat was strategically positioned, 45 degrees from the screen and as mentioned earlier, she was right in the middle of the audience who were seated in a horse-shoe formation. At that moment, I swiftly extended my arm and a student sitting at the back of Ruby placed the ring box on my hand. I brought it forward, released the ring from velvety box... and said, "Baby, we've come a long way. I couldn't have found a better way to do this..."
Ruby was obviously perplexed by what was going on. And then I popped the million dollar question, with a puppy face,
"Ruby, will you marry me?". The room turned quiet and the question was projected on the screen - a lovely pinkish slide with hearts, all prepared by the crew. They certainly took every minute detail into account in the planning.
Ruby was still in a daze. I suppose she was in total disbelief that I was proposing to her. Just to reassure her that it's the real thing... I popped the question again. She nodded and gave me this really big bear hug. The slide changed to YES and the formal ambience of the room turned into a party-zone!
The crew triggered the poppers & confetti. It was awesome! The press photographers and nearly half of the audience were firing their shutters non-stop. And then, one of the students handed me the lovely bouquet, which I presented to Ruby. She was tearing with joy. At that moment, I knew Project-H was a success.
Few minutes later, a little video presentation was shown. It was a compilation of photos that were put together. Again, all this was prepared by the crew.
I was asked to say a few words and this was followed by an informal speech by the executive director, Mr. Lee. He was hilarious and he left the crowd in stitches.
Refreshments were served and the media conducted a short interview. More photographs were taken.
After the handshakes and hugs with my students and colleagues, we made our way to a hearty meal at Uptown's D'Tandoor.
Upon returning from lunch, I met up with my fellow students and found out that many of them were also tearing in joy when I had proposed to Ruby.
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As replacement, the great KSS got me an immaculate Compaq nc8230 from HP's business notebook series.
