birthday snippets
Tomorrow's my birthday (argh, one step closer to being over the hill!) and various people have asked me what I want for a present. I actually feel more thankful about all these questions than receiving any gift, because there isn't anything that I badly want, and it's clichéd but true - the affection and the thought behind these questions from my friends and family is really more than enough.
My friend C, for example, is coming over tomorrow to cook me a special lunch: instant noodles with luncheon meat and a runny egg! I have never had anyone cook me the Chinese traditional meal of mee sua noodles with an egg before (my mother was not one for this particular tradition) so this is a big thing for me, especially because this particular combination of cheap, junkie processed food is fantastically tasty and one of my comfort foods, as C particularly knows. Since J is stuck in a Tower of Work and can't spend most of the day with me, I was all set to sit around at home tomorrow morning, surrounded by daily mundanity. C's text message earlier tonight about the noodles has shone a light of happiness for me to look forward to, and now I can't stop smiling, imagining brunch tomorrow.
I'm also going to get a much-needed haircut. My usual stylist is out of town but I'm so desperate to cut my hair before I leave for London that I'm just throwing myself at a random stylist in the same salon. I've been faithful to my usual stylist for the last three years or so but when my curls turn uncontrollable even with the aid of a hairdryer, that's the time to see someone, anyone, who can wield a pair of scissors skillfully. And what better time to get a new 'do than on a birthday? Perhaps after that I'll grab one of my angpaos that the parents have given me and actually permit myself to indulge in some retail impulse-buying.
And then there's Pizza Hut tomorrow night, where I'm having dinner with my family and J. My friends and (most of) my family have sniggered at my dinner request, but I hardly ever get to eat it and I really have a (not so) secret love for it, so dammit, it's my birthday and I'll have Pizza Hut if I want to! Whatever happened to those nostalgic times back in the early 1990s when Pizza Hut was considered a special treat for kids and teenyboppers? I've always looked upon it with great affection - it reminds me of happy times with family.
This looks like it will be one of the most low-key birthdays I've ever had, but I'm so excited about it for once (compare this with my emo sobfest last year, but my friends and J really came through for me on that one); it's beautiful how the simplest things can bring such happiness.
My friend C, for example, is coming over tomorrow to cook me a special lunch: instant noodles with luncheon meat and a runny egg! I have never had anyone cook me the Chinese traditional meal of mee sua noodles with an egg before (my mother was not one for this particular tradition) so this is a big thing for me, especially because this particular combination of cheap, junkie processed food is fantastically tasty and one of my comfort foods, as C particularly knows. Since J is stuck in a Tower of Work and can't spend most of the day with me, I was all set to sit around at home tomorrow morning, surrounded by daily mundanity. C's text message earlier tonight about the noodles has shone a light of happiness for me to look forward to, and now I can't stop smiling, imagining brunch tomorrow.
I'm also going to get a much-needed haircut. My usual stylist is out of town but I'm so desperate to cut my hair before I leave for London that I'm just throwing myself at a random stylist in the same salon. I've been faithful to my usual stylist for the last three years or so but when my curls turn uncontrollable even with the aid of a hairdryer, that's the time to see someone, anyone, who can wield a pair of scissors skillfully. And what better time to get a new 'do than on a birthday? Perhaps after that I'll grab one of my angpaos that the parents have given me and actually permit myself to indulge in some retail impulse-buying.
And then there's Pizza Hut tomorrow night, where I'm having dinner with my family and J. My friends and (most of) my family have sniggered at my dinner request, but I hardly ever get to eat it and I really have a (not so) secret love for it, so dammit, it's my birthday and I'll have Pizza Hut if I want to! Whatever happened to those nostalgic times back in the early 1990s when Pizza Hut was considered a special treat for kids and teenyboppers? I've always looked upon it with great affection - it reminds me of happy times with family.
This looks like it will be one of the most low-key birthdays I've ever had, but I'm so excited about it for once (compare this with my emo sobfest last year, but my friends and J really came through for me on that one); it's beautiful how the simplest things can bring such happiness.