Letters from the Equator

I don’t really have memorable birthdays, I think. And I don’t know if we should always have memorable ones. But I think I’ll keep this one to mind, though it was quiet, not like the fourth of July. Perhaps my memory is failing me, but I’m not too sure what happened on my last birthday. I remember that it wasn’t very eventful either. I got to celebrate it sort of over drinks with en sun and wei liang at the sea park mamak stall. And i probably had dinner with my parents, and went out for dinner with Lee Lian.

One birthday I do remember was when I was 17. That was when my friends poured a pail of water over me that tasted like it had paint inside… the poster art kind. Then they proceeded to pelt me with eggs and brought me over to a friend’s house nearby, where I got cleaned up and wore a t-shirt which they bought for me for my birthday. I can’t remember which t-shirt it was now. Perhaps I still have pictures somewhere.

I think I was the one who started the whole egg pelting thing… yeah… i started it on Wai Seng’s 16th birthday. Mine was sort of the grand finale of the whole egg pelting practice. I think Wai Seng was actually thankful that we had fun at his expense. Kean Phoay got a little less egg when his turn came around, but not much. En Sun didn’t get eggs, but Kean Phoay pushed his face into the cake, much to the horror of his mom. Mm-mmm…..

Another birthday I do remember very fondly was my 20th. I had just started school at the University of Kansas, and being apart from a certain girl made things a little more distant than just the miles. But I got a package from her one day and it turned out to be a card and a simple jigsaw puzzle, when put together was a cartoon with the words “Happy Birthday”. I think that’s the birthday I treasure the most.

My last birthday I celebrated in the U.S. was also kind of memorable. Most of my birthdays are really low key, and this one was no different. Lee Lian had just graduated, and it was a miracle that she got to come visit me. So, there were 4 of us… Kyle, Ben, Lee Lian and I…. I think… and we went to Liberty Hall to catch a movie. I think it was about some gangster who was a really nice guy, and it’s just a story of how he tried to make ends meet for his daughter and sad-case friend. But I think what made it fun was that the theatre gives away free tickets and video rental membership and a free drink to folks on their birthday.

This year, I got something living. It’s a bamboo plant from Ikea. Somehow I can’t seem to hide the fact that I’m into Ikea though I don’t exactly personify that part of me in public. It’s just that the Internet is too widely accessible. They wanted to get me something for the apartment that would stay there for awhile… then they could actually see it grow each time they came to visit. That actually makes a lot more sense than belgian chocolates. I do enjoy nice surprises.

Thanks, guys… for the bamboo plant. Here’s a photo of it as I promised.