A Finnish privilege indeed

Read a friend's account on meeting her beloved and entrusted 'idol'.....thought I'd share mine :p

For 8 years have I followed this 1 man closely....yes 8 years -.- . He inspired me to do the impossible, he gave me hope....hope that even the most ordinary people can become great, great people. His humble-ness and walk-the-talk attitude was simply mesmerizing. He lives in his own world, Kimi world.

Kimi Raikkonen was a man of his own. Thats exactly the reason why I admire him, more than anyone else in the world. He coudln't give a damn about what others thought about him, he didn't give a damn if someone won 7 world championships. The only thing he cared about.......racing at its purest.

SO on the fateful day... 1 week before the 2009 Petronas F1 Grand Prix in Sepang (which wud've been my 14th visit to the circuit)....it was announced that Kimi would be scheduled for an autograph session with the fans. FINALLY!!!. After 8 years of waiting...I get to meet the man himself!

Preparations were rife....got myself a friend who was willing to tag along early on that Saturday to Sepang. We reached there on that day at around 8am, and the autograph session would start at 12.30pm -.- . Even the entrance gates were still closed at the time we arrived. Ended up spending a good hour taking pics of the speed demons, trying out some gadgets, taking more pics of some really beautiful cars, bought stuff....

Then finally the gate opened at 10am. We both rushed in and made our way towards the stage where Kimi would be having his autograph session. Arrived there and made it into the first line....stage 1 complete!

Next challenge.....filling up 2 hours of boredom queuing under the blazing sun =.= . Ended up texting a friend who really shoud've come along (its ok u'll meet him soon enough in the US ;p ), listening to music, and trying to ignore this really annoying guy who kept talking about badminton and trying to impress a group of Japanese girls queuing up along. Gosh he was so annoying I was raring to shove his small flag he was holding up his mouth -.- .

My legs were paining to death....until finally Kimi and his loser teammate Massa finally made it to the stage. And there he was....in his red polo Ferrari shirt with his kakhee pants equipped with his tank top Ferrari cap and totally awesome shades!!! He looked shorter than he was on tele, and smaller too :s

The guy didn't wave to the crowd....just chilling with his red bull....so Kimi-ish....and that's why we all hail him...he was being Kimi.

No more than 7 minutes later I went up to the stage....and the first driver I saw was Massa. Sheesh like a cared about him....I was there for only 1 guy.....and a few steps later there he was, signing off posters, caps, and even foreheads. I only had this 1 cap bearing his name to autograph....since each of us were only allowed 1 item (BOOO!!). His PR manager beside him, took my cap, and with grace and ingenuity Kimi left his mark.....Mission accomplished.....and to round it all off the photographer managed to snap a pic of me with Kimi....barely

So there it was....3 minutes up close to him which defined my previous 8 years of admiring him on TV. I was no more than 5 cm away from him......totally awesome.....at the end of the day.....he looked like any normal Finn you'd find on the street.....only this was Kimi....2007 F1 world champion....arguably the fastest pure racing driver in the world....and I met him.....it was an awesome privilege.....one that I'll savor for a very.....very long time.....

And thanks Ek Wyn for the pics!!! I owe u ;)

P.S Life is defined by moments, moments of greatness. Now that's life.....