"Thanks, guys. I appreciate it."

Seventeen birthdays later and I reach physical maturity. Somehow, it doesn't seem as exciting as one would think it to be.

But yes, I'm finally of the age to...

... Buy cigarettes.
... And alcohol.
... Drink legally.
... Watch M18 movies in cinemas.
... Go clubbing legally. *sniggers*
... Apply for a driving license.
... Be charged as an adult in the court of law.

And I think that's about it.

Woop-tee-doo.

I confess, I have a bad memory for events. That, and birthdays. Call it selective memory, but I don't exactly remember unfortunate events that well (notthatimsayingthatbirthdaysareunfortunateeventsbuthaveyouseenyourbirth? thatssomelifescarringmomentthere).

But I digress.

Dad wasn't a fan of birthdays himself. He always told me that it wasn't exactly a "great" thing that you were born- It was the buddhist belief in him speaking; Nature's way of telling you "hey look! you've been good enough in your previous life, so you're now a mortal! Try harder next time though, because you're nowhere near immortality! :D"

I think that was an excuse for him to disregard birthdays. Ironically, I found myself doing the same thing year after year.

(I hereby apologise to anyone whose birthday I've forgotten over the years- I'm making an effort to remember now.)

Still, birthdays have always been a special occasion for me. You'd think that it's the only day you feel special, huh? Or maybe that's my perception. Nevertheless, adaptation and upbringing have probably made me the way I am today.

Memorable moments of my life have been far and few.

Age four saw my weaning off the pacifier and milk-bottle-drinking. It was a tough time, really. Dad and Mum was all "you're a big boy now, son, and big boys don't use pacifiers". There were the dreadful pacifier withdrawals. I would ask them about the urges, and they'd tell me that "it'll pass". Funny how i believed them then, because I still have these urges every now and then.

The only thing keeping me away from them is the fear of addiction to the strange plastic device- What can I say? I'm a sucker for these things, pun intended.

I remember age five too,when I was woken up by Mum in the middle of the night. Dad apparently bought me my very own Mercedes Benz 1:8 model car. That, and -tons- of soft toys. Bears, crocodiles, fruits (?), and even Donatello the ninja turtle (LOOKIE ITS ANOTHER DON LOL -.-). I still have some of those to this very day. His words that day still ring.

Fast forward.

The eighteenth would be slightly different from the rest, as it would seem - I would start the day off with a bout of mahjong with Mich and the rest of the guys.

We were to start at 9, and I arrived early...

... At 10.

The guys were great- Their hands too. You could see Neng Hao winning almost every game, his hand impeccably strong every single game. 'Tais' naturally came to him. There were too many 'peng peng hus' for any comfort.

My chips kept dwindling... But no matter. I was given a discount on my supposed 'loss' - A late birthday gift. Nice.

It was closing 6 when I got a phone call; I was supposed to be at Ang Mo Kio in fifteen minutes.

What?!

So I rushed from Kallang to Toa Payoh, hoping that I would have the luck of reaching the latter in ten minutes.

I didn't.

The bus had to spit and splutter in the midst of the bustling traffic, flustering every passenger onboard. That would make the second of a bout of break-downs I were to face in the near future.

Just my luck, really. So I got down near Toa Payoh, and boarded the next taxi I could find. And then it had to rain. :)

Fish & Co. at AMK Hub finally reached my sight half an hour later as I bounded up the busy escalator. A middle-aged woman gave out a snarl while unpredictable legs brought me up and past her in an alarming speed, threatening to throw her off balance. She didn't fall though.

Boo.

Long story short, I reached, we ate, and I got PRESENTS (yay!).

Amongst other things, I guess I got my present - Jerico, Jasmine, Darren and Dom makin' fun of each other, Jasper and Lynnette jokin' around, Pam and Xuan gossiping (as always)... Yeah, nothing beats a good gathering with these guys. That would be the best present of all.

They showed no mercy though - I had to stand on a chair while the staff sang me a birthday song. I got a balloon too! And the cake was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. It was just like my MacDonald's party back when I was 5 (except we had fish and chips instead of burgers, and... never mind).

And for the record - My weirdest birthday gift to date is no longer a toothpick (this is another story for another day); It is now a pair of polka-dot boxers. No prize for guessing who chipped in.

To top everything off, I got whipped-creamed. Yum. On the bright side, at least it was full-cream. Gawd knows I scoff in the presence of the lactose-intolerant.

.
.
.

Y'know, birthdays always remind me of how meaningful and interesting that life could turn out to be, and that one shouldn't waste any time at all in pursuing his greatest dreams.

I thus promised myself to dedicate myself to the betterment of oneself for the upcoming year, via the instilling of discipline and perseverance amongst other things.

After all, life is lived but once, and birthdays mere milestones to record our stories. And I quote, "life is made bearable by the stories we save and tell".

So I went home and got wasted.

THE END.

"Hello again."

I'm back.

The past few months have been eventful, to say the least. I actually accomplished more than I had expected, workin' my ass off so hard.

For one thing, I just finished my stint with DBS Vickers Online. I've never been so afraid of economics. So there I was, in the big cruel corporate world, and guess what?

Life has never been better.

Sure, 9-5 hours were a tad monotonous after a while, but good lawd, the stuff you learn is GOLD. The seniors and bosses are amazing - It's nice being the little kid for a change with everyone pampering you, kinda.

It must have been fate that threw me in, really. No one really believed that I was really seventeen, which is... comforting. The next youngest would be Fabius, at 20. Do the maths. Apparently, the requisite for the post of an assistant administrator would be either a diploma or an A' level certificate, of which I have neither. It must have been dumb luck.

The guys had almost zero politics, which is such a breather. That, or I mght have been totally oblivious to it. Being a temp. contract employee does have its fair share of benefits. I was assigned to pick up the ropes from some of the other staff, who were dealing with trading in the stock-market.

To say that I was taught plenty would be an understatement - there were constant tests to make sure I knew my work. I'd never loved learning so much. Every piece of information that I could get my hands on was absorbed. And my superiors obliged with the parting of their knowledge. Jennifer, if you're reading this, thank you.

I have found my calling to learn again.

And I have had much to learn. Some of these would come from some of my kids. Maybe it's dumb luck once again, but I have had the rare opportunity to hold classes with some of these bolsterous ones.

Being a tutor to a class and not on a one-to-one basis does take its toll. I finally realised how hard a teacher's job can be - I respect and give condolences to each and every teacher that has ever taught me. The unruliness, the lack of respect, the rhetorical questions, the mischief, oh... The horror!

It's Karma I tell you, because I see myself in some of them.

You'd be surprised how intelligent the little tykes would be these days. Being an egotistical bitch myself, I admit that I rarely think anyone's intelligence superior to mine (don't look at me that way, some of you are equally guilty). Yet, I've already found two kids of which are the smartest little brats you'd ever meet. I believe they're much smarter than me; Twice as anal though. They've got a good start - One's ten while the other's eleven.

The workload could kill, but I'm actually enjoying myself. Alot. Out of the house by 8am in the morning, back right before the stroke of midnight, sometimes even later if there is an event that stretches (random odd jobs at an event management company pay for my whimsical buys). Never mind that, OT pay's enough to cover my fatigue.

I'm so cheap.

What can one do while waiting for polytechnic admission but work? I've already slacked my ass away durin' the hols - Two weeks was more than enough. The third week got me more restless; The fourth made me tear my hair out from boredom. So what does one do? Apply for 20 jobs, throw CVs around, attend about half of the interviews and hope they pick you.

Perturbing, isn't it? Work in a nutshell, heh.

Which reminds me, I ought to choose a course for polytechnic soon. Great.

I'll get to it sooner or later.

Probably later.

I'm out.