I had a blast well into my 24th birthday.
There were no elaborate celebrations or fancy gifts but there were abundance of well wishes and thoughtful messages from the people who matter. So thank you everyone who made my birthday a little more meaningful.☺
As I grow older, I find that I prefer smaller get-togethers. (Is this a sign of ageing?) Nonetheless, in the days leading up to the actual day, I met up with two very special ladies.
I've known Sab for a good 5 years now. I got to know her through Mel but we kicked off pretty well from the start.
I still remember when we took that Creative Writing class together back in our freshman year. (I was secretly embarrassed to share my works with the class, by the way.) Because we lived in the same area, we became KFC regulars.
Although I don't eat meat anymore now, we are regular lunch buddies because our workplaces are located relatively nearby. We also featured in Mel, Kat and Hannah's documentary project on mixed blood descendants.
Come to think of it, we do have quite a lot in common!
A week before my birthday, Sab took me out for lunch and we managed to snag that 1-for-1 deal at Manhattan Fish Market and Starbucks before returning to our offices.
A day before my birthday, I met Drea for dinner! Our offices are also fairly nearby so it makes meeting up more convenient. (I foresee monthly dinners since we've sort of booked a date for next month already.)
As fellow school mates specialising in journalism, we probably took the same modules but were never in the same tutorial class so there was no chance to get to know her better until our final year where we worked together for our final year project.
Drea is that one friend I can talk to about everything. Maybe because we've been in similar positions.
It seems we always take turns giving each other advice but it's never, never dull with her.
Then came the day itself.
I had already planned to visit Hawa so I dropped by her place in the late morning. Her mom cooked me some roti jala. (It was heavenly!) But the woman forgot I don't take meat so she served me a bowl of curry with 2 pieces of chicken in it. I had to remind her and it was somewhat comical seeing her reaction!
After 3 months of not seeing each other, I had forgotten how animated she is but seeing her then reminded me of all the good times we had working together.
I also finally met baby Shafirah! I can't decide who's luckier - Hawa for having the sweetest baby, or Shafirah for having the coolest mom.
I also met the cats I've been dying to meet! All those times I had to depend on my mere imagination when Hawa described her 4 (then 5) cats to me are finally over.
My next stop was to IKEA to meet Fana!
She treated me to some small bites and a slice of cake because the birthday girl a.k.a me said she's entitled to some cake in celebration of turning a year older. And of course, Fana was more than glad to grant my wish.
After that, we spent some time walking around IKEA and I am now more sure than ever that I need that display cabinet. You also wouldn't imagine how long Fana took to decide on some blinds, only to not get any in the end.
I also got to meet Zephyr! He resembles his mummy so much! Unfortunately, Fana had plugged him out during his nap time so he was cranky for the first part then fell asleep for the rest of it.
(This is one of the two photos we took. Now that's a record-breaking 4 photos we have with each other.)
I was super happy to be able to spend my birthday with my greatest takeaway from my short stint at AVA. I don't think I ever expected myself to make such good friends but it's true God places people in your life for a reason.
Side track but IKEA is about my favourite place to be in. I'm constantly thinking about how I can switch up the house so that we use whatever limited space we have more efficiently. But although the showrooms were another heaven to be in, catching up with a colleague-turned-friend was way more precious.
There were no elaborate celebrations or fancy gifts but there were abundance of well wishes and thoughtful messages from the people who matter. So thank you everyone who made my birthday a little more meaningful.☺
As I grow older, I find that I prefer smaller get-togethers. (Is this a sign of ageing?) Nonetheless, in the days leading up to the actual day, I met up with two very special ladies.
I've known Sab for a good 5 years now. I got to know her through Mel but we kicked off pretty well from the start.I still remember when we took that Creative Writing class together back in our freshman year. (I was secretly embarrassed to share my works with the class, by the way.) Because we lived in the same area, we became KFC regulars.
Although I don't eat meat anymore now, we are regular lunch buddies because our workplaces are located relatively nearby. We also featured in Mel, Kat and Hannah's documentary project on mixed blood descendants.
Come to think of it, we do have quite a lot in common!
A week before my birthday, Sab took me out for lunch and we managed to snag that 1-for-1 deal at Manhattan Fish Market and Starbucks before returning to our offices.
As fellow school mates specialising in journalism, we probably took the same modules but were never in the same tutorial class so there was no chance to get to know her better until our final year where we worked together for our final year project.
Drea is that one friend I can talk to about everything. Maybe because we've been in similar positions.
It seems we always take turns giving each other advice but it's never, never dull with her.
Then came the day itself.
After 3 months of not seeing each other, I had forgotten how animated she is but seeing her then reminded me of all the good times we had working together.
I also finally met baby Shafirah! I can't decide who's luckier - Hawa for having the sweetest baby, or Shafirah for having the coolest mom.
I also met the cats I've been dying to meet! All those times I had to depend on my mere imagination when Hawa described her 4 (then 5) cats to me are finally over.
She treated me to some small bites and a slice of cake because the birthday girl a.k.a me said she's entitled to some cake in celebration of turning a year older. And of course, Fana was more than glad to grant my wish.
After that, we spent some time walking around IKEA and I am now more sure than ever that I need that display cabinet. You also wouldn't imagine how long Fana took to decide on some blinds, only to not get any in the end.
I also got to meet Zephyr! He resembles his mummy so much! Unfortunately, Fana had plugged him out during his nap time so he was cranky for the first part then fell asleep for the rest of it.
(This is one of the two photos we took. Now that's a record-breaking 4 photos we have with each other.)
I was super happy to be able to spend my birthday with my greatest takeaway from my short stint at AVA. I don't think I ever expected myself to make such good friends but it's true God places people in your life for a reason.
Side track but IKEA is about my favourite place to be in. I'm constantly thinking about how I can switch up the house so that we use whatever limited space we have more efficiently. But although the showrooms were another heaven to be in, catching up with a colleague-turned-friend was way more precious.
It was home for me after that!
The day ended with dinner with the family. Mama had a fall that day so we couldn't head out to anywhere. Instead, we bought zi char home.
It is simple meals with the family that seem to carry more meaning. There was so much food, and my brother was very participative in the conversations at the table. (It is very unlike him. He'd usually be obsessed with his game.)
The day ended in laughs. But as it drew to a close, we welcomed the brand new day with happy birthday messages to the teeter.
She turned 27, but still my favourite person to celebrate with year after year.
It is simple meals with the family that seem to carry more meaning. There was so much food, and my brother was very participative in the conversations at the table. (It is very unlike him. He'd usually be obsessed with his game.)
The day ended in laughs. But as it drew to a close, we welcomed the brand new day with happy birthday messages to the teeter.
She turned 27, but still my favourite person to celebrate with year after year.
~~~~~~~~~~
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