19th of May marks my 36th birthday. It was a quiet one, just like I had hoped for. Celebrating at this age is not much fun anymore. You are aware of your age, your health state as well as your mental state. You are in denial of the natural process of aging. You wished to neglect the numbers and move on but to no avail. You pondered long in front of the mirror and sometimes saw no reflection, but only a shadow. You then peeped into the wardrobe and sifted through your clothes, and took time to look at the old ones which reminded you of your youth. Sometimes, you try them on hoping you'd fit into them again, just a flicker of hope to recapture some moments you had in them. This was also the time to open that dusty treasure box, also known as time capsule. Tucked amongst others are all my birthday cards from siblings and parents, love letters, pictures, object d arts, souvenirs and notes. The tainted colours and the fading prints are proof of the once upon a time it once belonged to. Tears soon welded up my eyes and ran through my nose, not as a result of deep reminiscence, but more to the dusty state the things were. Sneezing continuously, I soon found myself deep in my thoughts recollecting episodes of those confusing yet awesome years. Since it is my 36th birthday today, I think I will let some of the purple monsters and green ogres
(No, I'm not talking about Barney and Shrek)which have been feeding on my state of being, out of my closet.
Unveiling The 36 Not necessarily in chronological order.
1. Have sweaty palms.
(imagine me in the exam hall)
2. Married to a guy who has sweaty palms too, if this isn't fate I don't
know what is.
3. Went to the same school as Michele Yeoh.
4. Loved English.
5. Abhorred Maths.
6. Played truant in the sick bay many times, hated the ledger.
7. Forged my father's signature one time for failing spelling and maths in
one month.
8. Got away with it. I would like to think I did.
9. Tricked my sis into eating a big spoonful of pure cocoa powder, she thought Milo.
10. Rubbed some minyak cap kapak on her eyes to wake her up so we can both play.
11. Owed the mamak roti some amount of chikedees money amounted to 10rgt.
12. Paid off the hutang but got caught by mak.
13. Fell off the drain and saved by the same mamak roti.
14. Again fell off the drain(10 years later) on the way to the bus stop, witnessed
by all the U students at the bus stop, including future husband. Climbed up
with clothes soiled as well as pride.
15. Went on a first date right after that, with cuts on my knees and grazes
everywhere.
16. Limped throughout the date.
17. Was involved in a car accident, had a concussion.
18. Begged the lecturer to extend the dateline for thesis.
19. Bribed her with Raya cookies, succeeded.
20. Witnessed future husband almost drowning.
21. Missed a bus stop and realized was the only one left on the bus.
22. Was taken captive by the bus driver for a few hours.
23. Managed to put senses into the driver's brain and allowed me off. Walked back.
24. Was accused of being alone in a car with a boy, but in fact it was with a few
female cousins who came for a visit at the hostel. (do you remember this kak
lin, k. yong?)
25. Got into a lot of trouble because of that.
26. Had to march back to the hostel accompanied by people's scrutinizing eyes.
27. Matric card was confiscated.
28. Was called to the Head of the security guard office many times due to this.
29. Case settled with conditions applied.
30. Studied classical guitar but terminated the idea after 3 months. Constantly had the
strings drenched and the music sounded differently.
31. Went on a shoestring budget trip to Europe with a sole less shoe.
32. Coloured the shoes new with a permanent dark blue marker pen.
33. It became a spectacle in the London Tube.
34. Left a big bag of sweet oranges at one of the shops in Cameron Highlands
(I know I have to give this a mention, my sis is still mad at me till today.)
35. Love the smell of paint and petrol. Filling up my car is very therapeutic. Best!
36. Love the smell so much, I kinda tend to paint a lot. Painted the gas stove coz
hsbd bought the wrong colour, painted the fridge, the chairs, the walls, the lesung batu and some parts of the cabinet. I am like a child with crayon when I see a can of paint!

Ahaks! makes me laugh every time when I think back, sometimes angry too. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my uneventful youth. Taught me many first hand lessons on friendships, inanimateships and fishandchips. If I had to go through it all again, I would try to omit a few instances but retain most of them. With this pensive thoughts I end this long reflective note with some pictures of the Birthday lunch we had at Chilli's. Do I make cake for my birthday you might ask? Of course I don't. I get them free form Chilli's every year. And how do they know it was my birhtday, you might wonder again? Well I flashed them my IC and demanded a cake from them, that's how! he he he...I know, pathetic kan.