Prologue: Reworking History Pt. 1

After an extensive search for locations, the founders finally stepped upon its current location at the prompting of a close aide. It was at this point that I finally had the opportunity to walk alongside their experience day by day and relate them to you in this manner as I was finally engaged and drawn into the idea. Looking back, it probably began from 1 April 2010.

The space that Myst sits on was in a disheveled state when we first came upon it. The floor tiles were damaged in parts, one entire wall section was bare with a clear indication of forced tile removal. There was rubble literally everywhere. The lot was entirely without power or water with the main circuit having been removed for some reason. The drainage system was not in any better condition. Looking up, the ceiling was mostly torn apart with loose fittings, wiring and such.

However the was a certain gleam in their eyes as they eyed the interior. Apart from a glass door that we would probably not use, there was a gem amidst the rubble - an emerald green marble sink fitted for the wash basin. It almost seemed like there was a glimmer of hope to refurbish everything and to turn it back into something of value.

Yup.. Thats the sink. A little polishing would do it well.

After a short discussion, decisions were made, and refurbishing work began to reconstruct the lot into what it is today, a shadow of its past in some sense. The previous operator had apparently jumped in and opened a large scale Chinese dumpling (or siew pau) cafe by even leasing a second lot for production on the third floor. It was a pretty cocky move in my opinion - Unlike the founders, who had little to rely on other than the income generated by the salaries of their family members put together, years of saving on the part of their family, and nothing much more other than a desire to bring an idea into reality. We were 'lucky' that the occurrences of many coincidences actually allowed us to progress quickly through the start-up process. As for what happened to the previous operator would be quite an obvious guess - We could not afford to end up in a similar circumstance.

This "HOPE" Garbage Bag was an interesting find. Talk about bad choice of font -.-

The setting up of an operations from scratch is certainly a huge task to bear, especially in implementing a model that requires the involvement of many different individuals working together as whole. The only pool we could draw from from the little resources available was mostly from friends, family and 'nearby' students - mostly inexperienced with the FnB line. It is kind of interesting that Myst never did have a chef - recipes were developed from trial and error. The operations model was entirely experimental and never implemented before.

Made via trial and error - Still not so bad lah...

With little on our backs, we set out together to arrange for legalities, firstly - the Tenancy Agreement - which was signed soon enough, with a great financial setback due to terms set by the landlord - insisting that the rent must be paid for the first month barely days after a verbal confirmation was made. Tensions were high right off the bat as we discovered unearthed more and more skeletons while analyzing and taking measurements for the interior.
 

Yep.. no power.

A clear manipulation in implementing the power and water supply had all of us pretty much on our own, playing off against predators seeking easy meals from the market. It was an early call to exercise caution and wisdom in dealing with matters from this point onwards. After engaging the services of a contractor known to a close aide, the founders decided to have a little 'backyard game' while waiting for principal renovation works to be completed. This lead to one menu section in Myst dedicated entirely to it.

A view of the bar counter base frame

The start up plan for Myst incorporated a 1-month delay contingency plan - Nothing that special actually - Just planning to have 1 month of extra time before the proposed launching date. We live in Malaysia after all - so it was bound to happen in a way. This proved to be quite worthwhile after experiencing severe delays even in the principal renovation works (The conclusion: Never trust a contractor unless you are doing it yourself).

The bar counter going up with the kitchen divider in the background. This was the fast part. Then everything slowed to a crawl. -.-

Despite the delays and numerous hurdles we faced throughout the setup phase, nevertheless, our moods began to lighten a lot more as we progressed through the schedule. One notable mention must have been Amin, an Indonesian worker who greatly assisted us in working on the heavy woodwork that lines the interior, which is also a result of the work of our very own hands.

This is the only shot we have of our dear Amin who worked up about 50% of the woodwork by himself. Take note of the baldy heads in the background :D

Pieces slowly coming together. Next was resanding and painting. Then cleaning, and then.., and..

Time quickly came to pass, and soon, we realized we were running late on the schedule, as expected. There were other notable mentions along the was:

1. The amazing speedy approval of our food operator's permit by the council, which came just moments after being tempted to literally purchase the previous operator's permit for RM2000 (Which in itself is quite insane). We simply submitted a good-looking plan - talked nice to the officers (I don't understand the need for some 'apek's or 'taukeh's to talk like complete a**holes), who came, saw and conquered (duh...). Well, every 'taukeh' told us it would take at least half a year to wait for them. Strangely, we were the ones slowing down the application process at MBKS, and the total time came to 3 months flat - as projected.

2. The amazing speedy and numerous sharks lurking out in the sea all waiting for a free meal and nothing more. Strangely they don't even seem to care about working their way towards their next meal. During this time, one of the founder's had the opportunity to meet a certain Ms. who was desperately trying to resale a flailing operations at a heavily bloated rate, apparently to recover losses from operations. In her and the operator's own words as I heard, (That's probably why I hate parrots) "You are such a young guy with the energy to expand our business. We would much rather sell it to you than anybody else. Don't worry - we have many current customers and sales is going at a nett of RM10000 every month. I can't imagine finding any other candidate than you for taking over this business". Well, the rest was history - literally.

3. The amazing amount of work just about 3 individuals could complete in 1 month's time. We completed 13 huge wooden fences, individually cut, braised, connected, wired, painted. It was literally 7 days of work a week with no off, and no regrets at all - I personally learned what it truly meant to make the most of time. We all realised just how much could be done if only we could set our hearts towards it.

4. The amazing support of an amazing number of people whom we'd probably never be able to repay. It was also during this time that we were exposed to many industries and fields most citizens would never dream of approaching. It also unmasked the ugly truths and realities behind the systems that we have developed for ourselves.

With Myst physically ready for operations, this was the finished product, and also what you would be able to see today:

Seriously, this shot is overused :P

Next would be a near literal hell on earth.. well.. almost...

Prologue: Developing An Idea

"The founders for Myst had no idea to what they were working on, initially."

What started out as a simple and fun initiative to sell food and desserts carved our path to eventually move into FnB operations. In 2008, the 'cheesecake makers' discussed on the possibility of turning the cheesecakes they made into a business that could generate income. For a short period of time, they started selling cheesecakes on a pre-order basis from home, and catered mostly for special events, like birthdays and festivities. Not much was generated at that point in time - apart from a little fame amongst family and friends, but this set the stage to consider operating an outlet as a possibility.

The first idea started off as a simple cheesecake outlet where they would sell their 'famed' varieties of cheesecakes with some drinks. A quick reality check wiped out the possibility particularly due to a serious lack of funds, and more importantly a direct conflict in their areas of specialization (They were 'nerds' remember? Everyone was busy working on their final year software project). Back then the joke of the day was to have the founders making and selling cheesecakes in an outlet with their Bachelor's of Computer Science on display on the wall. They'd be driving off customers at first sight I'd guess haha.

Imagine having this on the wall of accolades of your local restaurant

The idea was left at that for almost two years - "Just Cheese" - As it seemed, to be 'just' as much as that. Well, destiny came calling for them once again sometime further into the future.

After securing their first jobs in IT and Marketing in different organizations led by the same Managing Director (This is still somewhat of a mystery to how it happened), a series of events lead to them leaving (or being 'kicked' out of) their posts, and more importantly, leaving the corporate office for good. Why? I will save that for another post on their ideologies on our local private sector.

This was THE place, once. Now - only time can tell.

As time presented itself, one of the founders met up with an architect, which must be given credit: A Mr. William Khoo, Managing Director of DNA (Design Network Architects) - with their website here, a well recognized architectural company. Mr. William has to be the 'youngest' parent around (I don't know how many parents would go to the movies as family routine in Kuching) with two wonderful daughters and an equally lively and lovely spouse - both with the energy of a teenager and the experience of age - Both whom I respect deeply myself - and most certainly a role model for others to follow.

The man!! Camera caught him in a different light :P!

Mr. William was looking for a team to start-up a pilot project for youths and young adults in the heart of the community, tHe Spring - The largest 'lifestyle' shopping mall in Sarawak, as claimed. Mr. William had managed to strike up an agreement to let an empty space to be converted into something similar to a kiosk. The founders decided to give it a shot as the idea was appealing and also very much needed by the community, with Mr. William enthusiastically accepting their offer to operate the outlet.

At around the same time, one of the founders was given the opportunity to attend an international business conference to meet up with big players from around the world. It was surely an eye-opening experience to see a world much wider than his own for the first time. It was there that the vision was created - and essentially the concept for Myst was created.

This is the front for HIP. Its quite a nice outlet actually.

As time came to pass, the outlet was named HIP - a conventional front for a Christian movement. Its weekly activities are promoted here. Christian or not was not much concern to the founders at this point in time. It was the vision that mattered - to bring young adults and youths together.

Somewhat of the idea behind HIP. Inset is this guy (who is on FB here) a close aide, and also an example of what we do.

If anything, this should be the WHOLE idea behind Myst :D

An unfortunate series of events led HIP to being limited to a single day to operate their vision, and the founders felt that the vision was then greatly marginalized. At the end of the one month of training, they decided to leave due to this, and also due to another very critical issue - excessive hours of work with no rest days, with no proper working contracts, and no overtime compensation - Fatal errors in attempting to uphold a vision of righteousness. While the founders found no blame on the founder for HIP, Mr. William, he had his hands tied and had very little space to wiggle with to make amendments to operating regulations. I am unable elaborate further other than the fact that the truth can never lie to itself.

Upon leaving HIP, and after having their dream of an ideal demolished piece by piece, they were left with a dilemma, either to leave the vision behind - with neither HIP capable of fully realizing it (as they perceived at that point in time), and with the founders leaving the vision in history, or to continue building and developing the vision in a physical hell. Important decisions were made, and soon enough, after a quick search for potential locations around the city - the Tenancy Agreement was signed to prevent any of them from turning back. They then had no choice but to transport the vision to reality. I'm sure the founders will still be glad to liaise with HIP in any way possible - though, it is unfortunate that HIP could perhaps be much more than it is as of now.

What you can see now, is the culmination of the vision in its first physical form - Myst Cafe - somewhat of a boulevard of dreams of many different individuals? Perhaps, or perhaps not. Myst in itself is not quite certain.

However, we do have a clear idea what they are doing for now.

Prologue: Birthing An Idea

This a reflection of my thoughts and observations while following the personal stories of Myst and its founders. This is what I have seen and experienced and Prologue describes the history of Myst from my point of view (Some parts are meant to be fun and humorous while others meant to be dead serious -as with the times): 

Myst was not something its founders conceptualized overnight - but rather evolved to take its current form out of a series of both minor and significant events that were set in motion even before they were even out from college.

Everything starts off from a level playing field.. Level as in 'flat' not equal :p

Where did it all start? Strangely, the idea of selling food and beverages was initiated from a yearly food fair, at which they actually made chilled cheesecakes for the first time in their lives, and actually sold them for a neat profit for both the student's association and a little pocket money. There were several key individuals who actually triggered this event, and a very close aide, one whom I must credit here by name: A Mr. Faizal Rosli, who apparently has no interest in preparing cheesecakes, but instead, he loved to consume them for free >.<

Faizal with the sax! Not the best photo available but still...ok la..

Another interesting fact about this fella: He was a devout Muslim, who is still cool enough and also super sporting that he actually starts all the 'khinzir' (or pork) jokes around his Chinese friends ROFL... Not to worry though, he still abides by the laws, well for what I know :D He's also quite talented in playing the saxophone by the way.

Their consensual needs sparked a positive partnership since they were more than eager to have guinea pigs for their trials.. thus, while they were working on their first cheesecake recipe, he and his friends were more than happy to try them out and give feedback (Well, who wouldn't if its cheesecakes?). And the rest was history, well not quite I think.

A little bit of what we did. A bunch of 'nerds' achieved this!

 After the success at the food fair (It was probably somewhere around in 2005), they decided, well, students could always use more money, and decided to sell our cheesecakes again in 2006, 2007, 2008 and finally in 2009 where a team of cheesecake-makers which comprised entirely of male nerds (Yes, you surely would not believe it would you? They were comprised of mostly IT students - mostly game and anime freaks - with two enlightened with an IQ of slightly over 130 and a few enthusiastic, loyal followers). I'm not sure how to describe it after looking back all these years, but yeah - this was where it all started. The FnB part, that is.

There was another part to Myst, which is actually the driving force behind everything they do, or at least they thought so! This consisted of a growing concern over the future of the young generation as the nation develops deeper into a new decade. As many parents are also concerned, the country is struggling with the quality of its education system, losing quality students, and at the same time, struggling with the saturation of the moral values in the slowly diminishing quality of society.

Every part of the design carries its hidden meaning.. All will be revealed in due time..

I am sure, we are also concerned with the rising crime rates, inflation rates, perceived corruption, and more importantly, the increasing struggles the younger generation has to go through in their everyday living today.

Where do we start? And how to we get there? Its a very good question indeed.

Myst: Ages In Motion

Hello and welcome to Myst's first blog, and also our very first blog post!

Currently, Myst is represented by Myst Cafe, a somewhat conventional Food and Beverages outlet that serves mostly Western food, and a blend of some fusion-themed dishes. Other than that, one may notice we have a collection of very unique indoor games which are not available in Sarawak for purchase, mostly imported. Being a small and initially humble operations, Myst comes with a huge dream waiting to be built by the community around us. Yes, people like you and me - regular people you meet in school, at work, at home, and around the places we travel to, we all have a dream. And as we all know, dreams usually cannot be built alone - and that is the driving force behind Myst.

Myst aspires to be much more than just a FnB outlet, but rather as a social networking point where individuals and groups from various walks of life can come together and meet up while spending their time with value. We surely encourage socializing amongst friends, chilling out with your mates and such - but we have a deeper meaning to networking than building friendships and relationships. It is all about spending time together creating value while we are at it. The catch is, all every one of us needs to do is to contribute a little to that value - to plant a seed and nurture a plant to grow and develop into an active, strong, and supportive community.

How do we get started? By eating and drinking, of course! Only through socializing can we meet people and create networks. Myst dedicates its very existence to providing this platform for you and your friends to meet and socialize - and we will keep loyal to that vision no matter how far we go - simply because it is people like you and I who are able to keep building Myst as a whole. Imagine if we could make Facebook physical - Where friends are true friends - where photos and connections are real - where groups really meet - and where the network is true at its heart.

I understand that this is a long shot, and undoubtedly we are a long way from this - But we will make our way there, one step at a time. In a world that is plagued with despair, it is important that we begin to build real links we can depend on in our networks. Its also time to equip ourselves, wisen up, and begin spending our time and efforts wisely for the future generation.

Thank you for your time and efforts in reading this long introduction itself. If you have made it this far in this post, I'm sure you might find interest in our Interest Groups programme/idea. The link is available here: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=144361448947292&topic=82

We are open to all ideas, suggestions and partnerships in building this organization as a community-based project. Just drop off a message on our Facebook company page here, or simply drop a comment where we can contact you, or just drop by our outlet to meet us up! We are all normal people like you and I. The only difference is how big is our dreams are and how strong is our desire to achieve them.