Of Meeting Teme Abdullah, Making New Friends & Everything in Between

I don't really remember when and where I first heard about Teme but it has to be from Twitter or his blog back in 2014 or 2015. But, I do remember his book; Pelukis Jalanan was one of the first few books I bought back in 2016 when I first came back to Malaysia. I have been his loyal reader ever since. 

Teme Abdullah's Signature with Pelukis Jalanan - Teme Meet & Greet 2024
Pelukis Jalanan; the first physical book of Teme that I own

I missed his first meet & greet back in 2018 because I was in Canada, but I remember reading updates and posts about the meet & greet session. Fast forward years later, alhamdulillah, I was given a few chances to meet him. 



Of meeting Teme Abdullah

If I have to sum up my experience of meeting Teme, it was chaotic, nerve-wracking and anxiety-inducing. My anxiety was at its highest because I was nervous and because of the 20/30-second time limit. As such, I did not get to tell Teme what I wanted to tell him. I even practiced beforehand but I still did not manage to say everything 😭

Teme Abdullah at Teme Meet & Greet 2024 at PBAKL 2024
Teme Abdullah at Teme Meet & Greet 2024 @ PBAKL 2024

I don't know how other people can be so calm. A lot of them even requested various wishes and funny poses from him. Meanwhile, I was starstruck and shaking so bad. I even just stood and smiled like a fool once.

Teme: Assalamualaikum. Terima kasih datang.
Me: Waalaikumsalam. Terima kasih Teme.
Teme: *Asked a question*
Me: *Loading* *Answered something else* *Loading* *Asked a question*
Teme: *Answered something else*
Me: Thank you again, Teme.



Yes, that's how I interacted with Teme. Rinse and repeat. Kita sama-sama tak dengar ke, Teme? *facepalm*

Honestly, nervous punya pasal, I didn't hear him wishing me, "Welcome back home!" while my sister heard him. I also didn't hear him saying, "Saya pun dah berusia" when I told him that saya dah berusia, tak larat dah nak pergi meet & greet awak lepas ni 😅 Thank god for the videos, eh? 😉

Of making new friends

New friendships were built; and new friends were made while we waited in line for Teme Meet & Greet 2024 especially at MPH The Exchange, TRX. The bond was something because we were there for the same reason; to meet Teme. We also shared the same experience of being let down by MPH the previous days. And, we too, were hopeful that we were given a chance to see Teme that day. After all, we did not have tickets 😢

7am gang of Teme Meet & Greet 2024 at MPH The Exchange, TRX & the other new friends
7am walk-in gang, and then some with MPH staff
Teme, we may not be the first bunch you met that day but we were the first ones waiting for you 😺

I was thankful for these new friendships and friends I gained because we probably would never have crossed each other's paths, if not for Teme (god willing!). It's especially highly unlikely for me to be a friend to a girl half my age, or a friend to a published author since I do not go out that much and I pretty much have been working from home ever since the pandemic. We may never see each other again after this, but the memory remains 💞

Of everything in between

I have spent so much time reflecting on what's happening at every Teme Meet & Greet 2024 session. I was inspired to be a better person (again!), after witnessing how soft-spoken he was, and his winsome personality. Like, Teme, awak soft spoken sangat. Saya yang perempuan ni naik segan sebab tak soft spoken langsung 😳



Observing a lot of his readers doing good deeds while waiting also made me reflect on how easy it is to be a kind and generous person at this age. Ramai sangat pembaca Teme yang baik hati shared their food and drinks with other readers. Ramai juga tolong jagakan barang-barang orang lain while taking turns to go to toilet etc. Idk, I just love the vibes 💙

Teme Abdullah at Teme Meet & Greet 2024 at Popular, IOI CIty Mall
Teme Abdullah at Teme Meet & Greet 2024 @ Popular, IOI City Mall

Teme and his readers' dedication is something else too. Met a bunch of people coming from different states just to see him even though they did not have tickets. Yang paling jauh datang dari Sarawak solely just for his meet & greet. Yang datang dari Johor, ambil bas tengah malam or started driving 2-3am pun ada 😢 Saya ni, yang adik suruh datang awal pukul 9 or suruh naik MRT pukul 6 lebih pun dah sakit kepala, tak larat 😵 Teme pun, I didn't know where did he get his energy from to stay energetic and upbeat 😢 Thank you, Teme for bringing your best to entertain all of us 💙

Teme Abdullah at Teme Meet & Greet 2024 at MPH The Exchange, TRX
Teme Abdullah at Teme Meet & Greet 2024 @ MPH The Exchange, TRX

Teme Meet & Greet 2024 sessions also served as a continuous reminder of the concept of rizq. I had to keep reminding myself, and my sister to make peace with whatever was written for us. I kept repeating, kalau ada rezeki kita untuk jumpa Teme hari tu, adalah. Kalau takde, jangan bersedih sangat. Kalau rezeki hari ni dapat sign 1 item je, 1 je la. Kalau dapat bergambar, gambar sajalah 😊 I think at one point, I sounded like a radio rosak for I kept repeating the same thing. Kitanya tak nak adik kita bersedih sangat 😖

Teme Abdullah at Teme Meet & Greet 2024 at Kinokuniya, Suria KLCC
Teme Abdullah at Teme Meet & Greet 2024 @ Kinokuniya, Suria KLCC

Going to Teme Meet & Greet 2024 sessions has also been eye-opening to me for I got to witness how my youngest sister interacted with other people. I think this was my first time seeing her interact with other people after getting her dream job! I don't get to see this side of her often since I am always at home and we don't run in the same circle. Adik kita dah besar, awak 😉



Thank you so much, Teme and team IMAN for holding the 2024 meet & greet sessions! As I mentioned in my Instagram post and TikTok video, the 2024 meet & greet sessions probably would be my last time attending Teme meet & greet EVER due to my age and low level of energy. No kidding! Saya support dari jauh sahaja lepas ni🌹

Thank you again. I will always look back at these days with fond memories. Bak kata Teme, till we meet again, with a better version of ourselves! 🌹
@intan.elle A video of Teme Meet & Greet 2024 sessions that I attended around a month ago for my keepsake 🥹 @teme Abdullah, your book comforted me so much when I was hurt, heartbroken and angry at the world back in 2016/2017. Your books also helped me to make peace with a decision of mine back in 2019. A year where I had to let go one of my big dreams. My life trajectory has changed since then 🥹 For that, I thank you, Teme Abdullah 🌹 *reposting this because apparently I'm still obsessed with Sudden Shower* #teme #itsteme #temeabdullah #meetandgreet #tememeetandgreet #meetandgreetteme ♬ Sudden Shower - ECLIPSE

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6 Comments

  1. Wahh sampai 4 meet and greet kak farah tapau! Memang all out habis ni. Kalini rasanya memang teme sehabis baik perbanyakan lokasi M&G utk siapa2 yg tak gi pesta buku.

    Saya 1st batch tahun 2018 dulu haha cukup sekali. Umur2 mcm kita ni dah tak larat dah nak beratur panjang dan pegi tempat yang sesak xD dah dpt jumpa penulis favourite sekali tu pun cukuplah kan

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    1. Honestly, akak tak berapa gigih. Tapi, alhamdulillah for the rezeki :D I only got tickets for Teme meet & greet dekat PBAKL je. Yang lain semua walk in. Itu pun gigih dan dipaksa oleh my youngest sister. Kalau tak, mesti akak duduk dekat rumah and happy sebab dapat jumpa dekat PBAKL hari tu je.

      Betul tu Mazni. Kita umur-umur macam ni tak berapa nak larat dah T____T Tapi tulah, tengok Teme tu boleh je stay upbeat and energetic, rasa segan pula sebab supposedly, kami sebaya. Hahahaha. By the way, Mazni muda lagi dari akak, so masih boleh la lagi lepas ni kan? Hehehehe XD

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  2. Kak Sally tbh tak kenal Teme, nmpk hype since dia buat Meet & Greet, ramai cover... (I am not an avid fan of books hahaha)...but I know what it feels like bila jumpa our idol! hahahaha

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    1. Takpe kak Sally kalau tak kenal. Sebab yang kenal Teme ni memang selalunya readers je. Saya baca banyak je comments dekat TikTok yang tak kenal Teme. But at the same time, I think ramai je yang baru start kenal Teme through the hype especially through TikTok.

      Tak tahulah kak Sally. Saya rasa macam lain sikit perasaan dia bila jumpa Teme ni dengan jumpa idols yang kita suka. Tapi itulah. Mungkin sebab usia dan minat saya pun dah berubah sikit. Kot itu yang buat tak sama rasa. Hehe :D

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  3. tuuuuu diaaaa gigihhhhh nak jumpa Teme yaaa...
    kalau sy muda mungkin sy pun mcm ni juga
    hahahaa

    biasa laa tu bila jumpa orang yg punya minat sama dgn kita, kita akan jadi lebih excited. kdg tak sedar tiba2 jadi peramah sedangkan sblm ni nak ajak bersembang kemain payah... hahahaa...

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    1. Kita sebenarnya gigih nak jumpa Teme dekat PBAKL je tapi my sister yang gigih heret pergi yang dekat bookstores tu semua. Kalau ikut rasa hati, memang tak larat dan tak berapa nak gigih.

      Betullah Anies. Saya sebenarnya tak banyak cakap in real life tapi bila duduk dengan orang yang sama minat dengan kita ni, ringan sikit mulut nak bercerita :D

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