And so, the birthday weekend has come and gone. I wasn’t expecting a big blast, seeing myself as being stranded half way between two countries, but the celebration was better than I have expected.
Of course, I spent the 25th June (pencil down in your calendar, people) in Hong Kong. I still remember counting down to my birthday doing a a list of my achievements in the last 10 years of my life, eating some instant noodle as a form of celebration alone in my hotel room, and feeling insanely contented with life even though I was all alone. I have Facebook and Twitter to thank for.
So the next day in office, all was quiet and calm as usual, and then the whole department went out for lunch at a nearby neighbourhood cluster for some Korean BBQ food. It was surprising good, not to mention cheap. Perhaps that’s because we were at Taipo, which is so far north of Hong Kong, everything is almost half the price of city’s price tags. I also bought some of my favorite egg tarts, priced at an unbelievable HKD2.50 each (that’s like SDG0.40!) without a care of my expanding waistline.
There was a surprise cake… not so much of a surprise because I was with them when my colleagues bought it (I even told them which is my favourite), but they shocked me when they lighted the candle in the midst of a departmental meeting. So a red-faced me had to endure an entire Happy-Birthday-song in front of 15+ colleagues, whom by then knew I was still a “young” 30.
And so the next day, it was my flight back to Singapore. Have to wake up very early just to make my way to the airport. I was expecting to see a sea of passengers donned with masks, just like in a sci-fi movie, but to my disappointment (and fear), I was one of the handful who was wearing a mask. And the flight was a connecting journey for a load of Singapore-bound travelers from… San Francisco.
I am sure I was too paranoid when I donned this mask in a hurry while waiting to board the plane.
The flight was rather uneventful… except when a stewardess strode up my row of seats while I was asleep, asking my fellow passengers if it was one of our birthday. Of course they said no, and by the time I was awake enough to decipher what was being said, the stewardess shrugged it off as a mistake, and walked away.
Anyway, so I landed in Singapore, and soon a flurry of activities ensued as I rushed around to do my errands. Preparation for party, cutting my hair, buying clothes etc. I thought I would be able to have a relaxed time in Singapore, but it was more stressful than I thought.
Ah, but the end result was worth it. Very, very much so. On that Saturday night, the 27th June, I celebrated my birthday properly with a gang of close friends at my house. The theme was… well, you figure it out yourself. I will let the photos to do the talking :)
The party props. Feather boas ruled the night!
The sumptuous dinner spread that night, by Zingrill, the same good people who run Breeks. The food was very very good, and the price is similar to your typical half-past-six caterer out there. The service was also top-notch. Highly recommended!
Chris and Jessie, who didn’t stay very long this time round. I think my parties must have scared them. LOL.
My lovely Cheryl, who helped me a lot with the preparations for the party, gave me a wonderful gift; a framed threesome portraits of us and Shafik, whom at the time of party, must be crawling in mud at Tekong. Poor dude. I wished he was there.
Yali and Tony came for night dressed strictly to the theme! Yali, I think I still have at least half carton of your beer in my fridge :)
Niza and Anna were easily the best dressed for the night. Look at the shades of pink. I loveeeeeed it!
Dora made herself famous with her deliciously lethal drinks that night, and Terence got famous because of his impeccable photography skills (and unsuccessful attempts trying to keep his wife in check), hehe.
Eileen, I did invite you on my Facebook event page hor! I can do a screenshot to prove it :D
Mak, don’t worry about your bitchy self that night. I think my friends kinda looked forward to have you around, and those who don’t, probably deserved it. LOL.
Riyan came by complete with his crutches! LOL so cute. And he gave me the cutest present ever :)
I got to know Justin through the imfamous AWARE saga rage on Twitter, and we have been friends ever since. This was the first night I met the man himself, and he has a delicious secret up his sleeves, which I think he will reveal when the time is right. For a peak into that, check out his Twitter account!
After knowing him for years online, finally Dickson decided to show his face for the first time at my party. Okay, not very much so technically, but just for the record he was the FIRST to arrive… after mistakenly thinking my party starts at 6 p.m. Haha!
Terence Cheah, Tony and Terence Leong. I don’t know why they made me squat… and I don’t know why I agreed! It made me look hideous, really.
For the first time after years of inviting, Chee Leng finally came for my party. And I hope she didn’t get the shock of her life :)
Some of my SMC boys, Lucas and YK. Guys, hope your audition went okay. Sorry for not being able to sit down and chat properly with you two that night!
Mark and Charles also came that night. Mark, thanks for your lovely set of a gift, and Charles, thanks for lending a hand at the “bar”!
Elki and Willy. I just remembered… I think I have been taking my boas on and off in front of you two, saying it was too hot, for multiple times, didn’t I? LOL.
Tess! Thanks for coming! And please send my bollocks to Thomas, Lisa, Daniel et al for not turning up. I demand a make-up dinner when I come back to Singapore next :D
Aldo came along with a friend *ahem* LOL. Hope you didn’t feel too uncomfortable that night.
Liang Hin came along with Reuben for the first time to my parties. Hope it didn’t shock you guys too much. Liang Hin, I am not too sure about the “people magnet” part, but I will sure do my best in HK. Thanks for your kind words of encouragement :)
HOHOHO! I must buy lottery again. The elusive Jinguang actually turned up! Haha… okay, so he stayed for a grand total of five minutes, but that is better than none, right? Thanks dude. I am really happy to see you that night.
Ian who will be joining me in HK later than expected. But that’s okay, dude. Late is better than never, and parties in HK never stop!
Hey Raffy, thanks for coming. I heard that you just returned from a tiring trip to Germany, so really appreciate you coming by :)
Mark and Kitson, the latter who came so late and so drunk that it didn’t take too much time for him to terrorise the rest of the guests. LOL, we all still love you, babe.
And also a shout out to David who came and left early, missing the chance to take a photo. Now… did I miss out anyone?
So the next day, with the help of my maid, we cleaned up the place. I mistakenly thought my flight was at 8 p.m., when it was actually at 7 p.m. So it was mad, mad rush to the airport. And again, the flight was uneventful, until…
HAH! The cake finally arrived in flight, much to the amusement of my fellow passengers. Thanks, Niza, for arranging this.
And that conclude my 30th birthday celebration. Pretty mild, no? Hehe
And people… sorry if I wasn’t able to extend an invitation to you. The planning was very rushed, and since my current place is pretty small, I need to make sure everyone is comfortable, and that it won’t be a nightmare to organise.
Full set of photos on Flickr.
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