Birthday in the clouds

April 21 - 11.30pm
After watching the long-awaited Gubra (which Sepet beats hands down), we met up with the rest for a Kajang Satay countdown. The rabbit satay was gone in a flash.Oh well at least I won't feel guilty for consuming little bunnies unlike the other 5 culprits =P

11.59pm
10.. 9.. 8.. *sighs*.. 7.. 6.. 5.. *prays for a miracle*.. 4.. 3.. 2.. *bids goodbye to youth* 1..
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Guess what.. the midnight news only came on like 5 minutes after that.. What the... I was robbed of 5 minutes of being 21!!

April 22 - 8.30am

Thank you, Lord, for being alive and well =)
Woke up to breakfast and mini banana-chocolate cake on the dining table. My dad's turn to return my present to him, perhaps?

Received a birthday card along with a little octopus from Hsuan in the mail. So sweet.. I haven't received snail mail in ages! Aih.. emails will never have the same personal touch to it.

10.30am
Breakfast II at Wong Kok SS2 with Ter Chien. He was so hungry, he finished 3/4 of my thick toast in one mouthful =P

12.30pm
Went for MC100 final exam. Yes. Exam.

2.30pm
Started trip to Genting with TC. The plan was to go up for dinner, watch Jase perform for ai FM's birthday bash at the Arena of Stars and come back down after midnight.

The sky on the drive there was beautiful, to say the least. Beautiful blue sky and beautiful clouds... Everyone who has been to my pool parties for the past 2 years would know my grudge against Mother Nature. It had rained on every birthday. I asked my dad last year if it was raining the day I was born. He said "No........." and laughed. Hmm...

Well, the weather this year was perfect. Naturally, the year I don't have a pool party, it doesn't rain.

On the way up, Erin called to tell me that something came up and that she would only make it in time for Jase's performance. Typical Erin, I thought.

3.30pm
Feeling dazed from the winding trip up, TC brought me to take a breath of fresh air while viewing the scenery. As soon as I got out of the car, the cold wind hit me in the face. Ahhh heaven~

He presented me with a bouquet of flowers. Do you know how much I love fresh flowers??

5.00pm
After some immense confusion that TC throttled me with, I was feeling abit fidgety. He stopped by the side of the road and stoned there for awhile. As I poked him and annoyed him about what he was up to, Liz called to wish me Happy Birthday and we had a quick catch-up session. The next thing I knew, I was locked in TC's car all alone in a parking lot. *jeng jeng jeng*

He soon came back to let me out after hearing me suffocating inside. I realized that we were at Ria Apartments. After washing my dizziness away in the washroom, he led me into the lift.... 14th floor.... At this time, I was feeling really really nervous and jumpy. What is he up to la?

5.25pm
I walked into the room....

The first thing I saw was the living room.

On the table was a cake, a bottle of wine, pictures of me, and some boxes. The table was surrounded by sunflowers and roses. The whole place was quiet and dim.

I was stunned for awhile, as it was so picturesque. Sunflowers have been my favourite type of flower since I was a kid, but I've never had a real one before.

As I walked towards the table, I looked to my right, where the door was open to one of the rooms. I saw a long leg dangling over the side of the bed, and slowly inching inside. I smiled to myself and walked towards it. "Is someone gonna jump out at me?", I called out.

No answers.

Just before I stepped into the room, Erin, Zaffri, Carmen and Justin pounced out.

SURPRISE!!!

hahahhaha......

All this was for me..??

I was really touched la.

The first person I noticed was Erin, because she had just called me to tell me that she would be LATE.

After revealing some shocking stories relating to the surprise (like how Erin actually called my dad =.=), the song was sang, wishes made and candles blown.... what else was there to do but.......

CAKE FIGHT!!!

Ok la, actually it's more like everyone fighting with me so as to not let me get cake on their face =P

Everyone grabbed me at the same part on my wrists... painful la =(

All got their fair share of cake faces, except for Boon Yee who defended himself with kung-fu chicken moves and Jase, who couldn't be there for the surprise because she had to go for soundcheck.

Thinking back now, I realize all the LIES, scheming and conspiracies towards me weeks prior to this... SO sweet laaa..... hehe...

Some of their famous lines?

Jase: I'll be too busy with my performance tonight. Probably won't see you at all today. But happy birthday la. (weeks before this, she was annoying me like mad by taunting me about what she had planned for my birthday)

Carmen: We're meeting on Sat? Oh yeah. For Jase's peformance.

Justin: (he simply stayed away from me for about a week.. didn't even talk to me online =/)

TC (when I asked if we were staying overnight): Huh? Stay overnight? If you want, then I have to go book a room now...
TC: I think I have a bottle of water in the car. I went shopping with my mum last week and she told me to always keep a bottle in the car. (the water was actually for the overnight stay)
TC (on the phone with one of them): So we're meeting at Coffee Bean?

Erin has got to be the worst of them all.

Erin: It's only your 22nd birthday. Let's get it over and done with.
Erin: Do we HAVE to go to Genting???
Erin: I have RM10 to spend on you. What do you want??

In the beginning I didn't listen to anything she said. It's Erin after all. But my soul can only take so much, and pretty soon it was distraught from all her taunting.

8.30pm

Headed to Arena of Stars after a quick dinner for Jase's performance. When she came on, we went to the front and screamed our head off while waving frantically. She totally ignored us. Hrmph. Well, later we found out that she couldn't even see a thing due to the strong lights. Okla, forgiven.

It was cool seeing her on stage in front of such a huge crowd. You can tell she's gonna make it big =) We actually planned to give her a rose, but after seeing other performers getting huge bouquets, shy la to give her a pathetic single stalk =/

April 23 - 12.30am

Back at the apartment, we camwhored, threw Cheezels around and played cards with kuaci.

Everyone was exhausted, and went to bed soon after.

10.00am

I was the first to wake up. Unbelievable but true. Well, that was before I found out that TC actually woke up at 7am and took a walk before coming back to sleep. He was selfish enough to not wake me up to share this beautiful scenery... aiyer...

Well, what else could we have for breakfast except birthday cake?? Chocolate Indulgence from Secret Recipe. Erin has fantastic taste =D The cake must be from the North Pole, because it kept melting the moment it was taken out from the fridge. The whole top layer melted sideways, creating a leaning cake, and the chocolate cream came out from all sides.

Look at the way Zaffri's eating it!

---@---

It was an amazing birthday =) Many thanks are due.

Jase, Boon Yee, Erin, Zaffri, TC, Kmen n Juju...

THANK YOU guys so much for making my 22nd such a wonderful memory for me.

Thank you for the flowers, the cards, the presents, the food, the night's stay...

And most importantly, thank you for being such a huge part of my life =)

I can only wish the best for all of you.

Also thank you everyone else for your cards, gifts, calls, SMSes, emails, friendster messages and online wishes. Really appreciate every single one of them~

---@---

7.30pm

Had dinner with my family at Shogun japanese buffet in 1u. I was already stuffed from the Secret Recipe meal we had when we came down =(

It is scary having buffet meals with my family. Really. Why? Because you never know what you're going to get "poisoned" with. Hehe. We add extra 'ingredients' and 'flavoring' to spice up each other's dish when the person has gone to take more food. Everyone checks their food suspiciously, and there was even one buffet where we were all reluctant to leave the table to get more food.

This round, my bro got mango juice and green tea added to his soup, I got wasabi in my ice cream =/ My bro even tried the direct method this time - he reached over the table to "serve" my dad sushi, but instead threw it into his green tea. I swear, I burst out laughing so hard, the salmon in my stomach turned in its grave.

My dad said it looked like a toyol!! Nonetheless, he actually took it out and ate it in pride. "My son serve me, sure I eat..." LOLZ!!

---@---

There were many signs that this will be a good year for me.
22 is, after all, my number =)
These days, the sky has been beautiful in the evenings.
Everytime I look up into the sky at sunset, I'm reminded of why we're all here in the first place.

To live.

22 on 22nd

It seriously feels like it was just last month that I celebrated my 21st by the pool.


Since then....

Many of them have gone overseas...

I miss them and wonder when, or if, I'll see them again





Some have returned...

and it feels as though they had never left

Most are still here...

But life has steered us towards different paths

Friends have become strangers...

and strangers have become my closest friends... special, important people in my life

It's weird how fate works...

It's freaky how time flies...

Soon it's going to be another year gone by.

My wish is only for all the smiles and laughter to be here to stay =)

Where did the magic go?

It seems like the magic is slowly losing its sparkle in my eyes as I grow older. It still makes me smile and feel warm all over, but I worry that I'm gonna lose that feeling one day =(

My favourite Disney movies of all time are The Fox & The Hound, The Aristocats, The Lion King, Pocahontas and Brother Bear. They were and still are capable of making me cry! I wonder if Disney will continue to make more of these beautiful cartoons in the future, or are they gonna move on to cold, nonsensical animations like The Wild?

I've never really had a strong connection with Mickey Mouse himself, but the legion of cartoon characters that were created because of this mouse fulfilled my childhood and is now emotional and mental... erm.. torture. Do you know how much I wanted Stitch or Koda to be real?? And how about John Smith, Beast, Aladdin and the rest of the prince charmings? All nonexistent!! ACK!!

Disney On Ice on 11th April brought back so many memories.. beautiful songs and beautiful characters, with Mulan being one of the best parts. But overall, it somehow seemed to lack certain feeling...

And I think that's just me losing the magic.

Sigh.

How can anyone outgrow Disney..?

---@---

Now, theatre plays I'm growing into. ROJAK was interesting, entertaining and one skit in particular downright freaky. I loved the twisted endings, the controversial issues and the sarcasm in many of the skits. Each story had a message to convey, the freaky skit being the one I had trouble figuring out. Even my dear insider friend Erin The Stage Manager doesn't know =.= All in all well worth the money and time, and I'm looking forward to their next play. KLPac's surrounding area is quite pretty at night btw, but someone got jealous of my photography skills and is thus keeping all the pictures for himself....

I love you~

You may never get to read this....

And I may never get the nerve to tell you this to your face....

But I still want to express how much I love you~

And how much I appreciate every single thing you have sacrificed for me.

I want to promise you that I will not let you down

I will try my utmost best to give you the comfortable life that you deserve.

I want to give you back in double everything you have given me

But I'm sorry... I doubt I can.

Because you have given me SO MUCH

It would take me 2 lifetimes to give it all back.

Forgive me... for any hurt I've caused you

I only ever want to see you cry for how proud you are of me....

Happy 57th Birthday, Daddy.

09.04.06

I made breakfast for dad today. Goes without saying that he would encounter some of my weird creations =P
On the menu:
- melted cheese+ham+peanut butter toast sandwich (left)
- melted cheese+egg+ham toast sandwich (right)
- kaya+banana toast (middle)
- cheese sausages
- scrambled eggs
- guava juice

While I was snapping these pics, dad was looming hungrily over me rubbing his stomach =/

FINALLY!! He gasps in near starvation.

I haven't cooked for him for some time now, and it felt really good to do it again =)

After breakfast, he was happily stuffed and decided to sing his digestion through. He took out his guitar (which he hasn't touched for some years) and claimed "Today I will give you your first guitar lesson!"

And he proceeded to sing Happy Birthday to himself =/

He got so caught up in playing and singing that I never got my first guitar lesson today. But to see him so happy was more than anything I could ask for.

Later on bro called and declared that he was in deep dept and could only afford to go to the hawker stalls tonight. And that this will be a combination of my dad's birthday and mine. I agreed to the plan and was feeling quite worried for him. When we met at night, he proclaimed "April Fool!!" and I didn't know whether to smack him or throttle him. We ended up at Wong Kok SS2 and needless to be said, I got my cheese baked rice =P

I can't think of a good ending to this post because I'm zoinked from staying up till 5am for the past 3 days. Let's just make this short and sweet... *lights out*

Cake Me!!

Okla so I've been abit of a bad blogger.. You somehow realize that when a certain blog that was started after mine already has more than double the number of entries I have =/

Alright, so for the past 2 months, I've been on a Secret Recipe Challenge. My initial challenge was to try all of SR's cakes by the end of 2006. But recently my big mouth opened and I said I would finish it by 22 April. Erm.... at the current rate I'm going, I'm now stuffing my big mouth with duck feathers...

Because TC was being a lousy research assistant, I thought that I had 53 cakes to complete (and now he's gonna blame it on the poor SR cashier). So after I counted only 34 cakes on the menu, I fired him and officially set a new date for myself... July 28 2006, which would make it about half a year from when I first started =) Here's part of what I've accomplished so far...

Lemon Cheesecake.. apparently was the 'Cake of the Month' during March... wonder why it's still around in April...

Has delish melt-in-your-mouth cheese, but I didn't like the bits of lemon skin (or at least what seems like lemon skin) in the lemon sauce. Choking hazzard!!
4/10 quacks

Eh, the Lemon Cheesecake Kit Kat better la =P

Front: Tiramisu
URGHH can someone please explain to SR what a TIRAMISU is??? This is nothing but a coffee cream cake with too much cream =(
0.5/10 quacks

Back: Chocolate Indulgence
Creamy, rich Belgian chocolate with layers of white chocolate... oooooh rwraw!! *salivates*
7/10 quacks

Durian Durian
Ok I'm a durian lover, and this definitely did not have enough durian. Kudos for using real durian flesh though. Wouldn't mind trying it again since my dining partner ate it all up.
2/10 quacks

Classic Cheese
Mmmm... mascarpone cheese + cream cheese + chocolate sponge = ooolala
I remember it being good, but I don't remember the taste.... hmmmm......
5/10 quacks

So... Anyone up for more cake time with me...? 1-800-BITE-ME