New Year and my Birthday : Jan-15

This year, my birthday was splendid and eventful.

It kicked off on the last day of 2014 when some colleagues were so nice to make deliberate arrangement back to the office and brought me out for lunch at Jurong Point.  While in the restaurant, Joey even secretly sneaked off and bought me a birthday cake for me to spend a few embarrassing moments cutting it.  It was a quick and simple lunch but the thoughts to celebrate for me were just wonderful.

That evening, the family gathered at Benny’s place for a year-end dinner.  Coincidentally,  Shin Yang had baked a fruit cake that day and some hesitation, she decided to bring it along to share.  At Benny’s place, Jackie was quick to offer the idea to the kids to convert the cake to my birthday cake.  And before returning back for our New Year Gongyo, the gals carried out the cake and sang the birthday song.  As a result, I had the honour to cut my wife’s tasty birthday fruit cake, specially baked without butter in consideration for me.  How nice!

After our midnight New Year Gongyo came the highlight!  I started to request for my presents… With much hugs and kisses, my presents were finally ‘delivered’ to me.  It was always such a nice feeling unwrapping presents, I got a pen engraved with my name, a superman T-shirt and 2 colourful shorts.  Just lovely!

The good thing about having birthday on a New Year’s day was that everyone would be in the same festive/celebrating mood as you.  It was also not so embarrassing for me as I could easily returned with a “Happy New Year” when someone wished me “Happy Birthday”.  On New Year’s day itself, Mama prepared my Birthday “面线” breakfast with a double dose of eggs and plenty pig’s “spare parts”… :P

Something unique this year was a NTU friends gathering at a vegetable farm in Lim Chu Kang.  The key spotlight was the fish pond where the kids really enjoyed fishing since the hungry fish never seemed to stop visiting the hooks.  Everyone got a least a chance to experience catching a fish and it was a pleasant feeling revisiting a long abandoned hobby.  After fishing, these “more than 20-years” friends also did not forget to cut a cake for me and treat me on the face!

The only uneventful thing that happened that day was when En’en fell into the drain and scratched her leg.  She was crying so loud that the neighbours must had thought some kids were been kidnapped.  Luckily the farm trip did cheer her up a bit.

Last event of the day was our usual double celebration with Papa where family would gathered for the traditional cake-cutting and present giving.  This year we had missed Ally as she was painfully down with HFM ulcers and was sleeping soundly after Hong and Dor brought her for a car ride.

It was very nice to be loved and my heart was filled with gratitude to have such a special birthday and wonderful start for the year, 2015 is going to be a good one, we will make it great!