The Best Birthday So Far.

Usually, the normal thing that would happen on my birthday is this: the clock would strike 12, I’d receive messages from my parents, and that would be it. The day would continue on like normal, just like any other day. And that’s how I thought it would be this year as well. I’d pass some things on to my friend, we’d talk for a bit, and then I would go back to my room and that would be that.

But they had other ideas.

Just a little after 12, her phone rang, and she picked up the call… and answered in Mandarin (thanks Christina for the heads-up :p ). She doesn’t do this often, and this was most curious. As soon as the call ended, she started getting all fidgety, and I asked what’s wrong. “Oh! What? Nothing!” Then she looked over my shoulder. I was starting to wonder what the hell was going on, so I turned around… and was greeted by a group singing “Happy Birthday”, carrying a cake.

*sniff sniff* It can make a grown man cry.

“I smell like Chocolate Indulgence.”

Even after a nice, long shower, I still smell like my birthday cake. Having it stuffed on my face once was an interesting (if gooey experience), but twice? Particularly when the icing has melted. Damn you, Nath. I’ll get you for this, just you wait.

The updates are on their way… as soon as I get the pics from Souffi. Dude, hurry up!

I’ve Found Her.

We finally met up today, after weeks of delays and cancelled plans. There was no rush, no running involved. It was calm, carefree, relaxed. There was no need for the normal greetings, the hugging and the gossip.

“Hey, you,” I said.
“Hey, you,” she replied.

It all fell into place. We instantly felt comfortable with each other, the coziness, the camaraderie. It was interesting to feel that way, considering the last time was before she left for Germany last year.

We updated each other, while she weaved through traffic with her Kancil. Laughter filled the car, and I was constantly looking at her smile. Ah, her smile. So full of energy. It gives me goosebumps as I realize how much I’ve missed her smile. Even as we reached Bangsar, the teasing and the laughing never ceased. It felt so natural, like we had been meeting each other every single day.

Our breakfast there was perfect. There was a soft breeze, and our spot was under a row of trees, the shade and the green providing a nice respite from the blistering morning heat, the noise and the dust. The wind messed up her hair, and I pulled a few strands away from her eyes. She looked at me dreamily and smiled her smile. We talked and talked, sipping our teh tariks and eating our roti canais. She spoke of her life in Germany, her friends, her host family, the crazy things she has done. I talked about my course, the change, the crazy shit that happened to me. The teasings continued. Her laugh was soft, sweet. Warm and full of life.

Oh Noes. I Is Been Tagged!

Whoa. I’ve been tagged. Uhm, how do I go about this? Just… type it out? Type it out and post it up? Okay. Well, here goes.

May 1, 1997

1) How old were you? A few months away from being 12.

2) Where did you go to school? Sek. Keb. Selayang Utama. It was too small, there were too many students, the teachers couldn’t spell the word “seventeen”, the discipline teacher had a very long and colourful criminal record, and it got on the Ministry of Education’s list for practicing racial discrimination (I swear I am not making this up). Other than those things, it was an okay school.

3) Where did you work? Sek. Keb. Selayang Utama. What, studying for UPSR wasn’t work?

4) Where did you live? Good ol’ Selayang.

5) Where did you hang out? In the living room, directly across the TV.

6) Did you wear glasses? Yeap, been wearing it since Standard 3.

7) Who was your best friend? Azlan Mokshyn. At least, I think we were best friends. We hang out a lot, we had somewhat same interests, we liked the same movies, and I always liked to hang out at his place and go through his movie collection (he had a killer stash). Does that qualify as being a best friend? Hey, what can I say? UPSR pun belum habis lagi.

8 ) How many tattoos did you have? Ooh, is that the sticker that comes inside every packet of Mamee, where you can stick it onto your skin?

9) How many piercings did you have? Gila ka? I was frickin’ scared of needles!

10) What car did you drive? Good ol’ Tamiya cars. Dash Yonkuro FTW!

11) Had you been to a real party? Yeah, a few. Involved lots of cakes. And, um, balloons.

12) Had your heart broken? Nah. Too young for that. (Same as Gan’s answer.)

Excuse Me, Is This Bullet Yours?

I noticed something yesterday while I was cleaning the store guest room. There’s a hole in the wall the size of a 20-sen coin. There’s also a perfectly circular hole torn in the curtain, and a windowpane is missing. I know, I know, there’s nothing terribly exciting in noticing these things, other than the fact that I have too much time and nothing to do. But the thing is, they’re all perfectly aligned together. I’m talking a perfectly straight line here, from the missing windowpane right up to that hole in the wall. The hole in the curtain is perfectly circular, and there are no stretch marks or tear marks anywhere. It also has a very strong, acrid smell.

I asked my mum about this when she came back from class. It’s probably nothing, I know, but that hole in the wall just came out of nowhere. No nails were nailed in, no furniture was put there, nothing. She became very curious and asked me to show it to her. She looked at it for a while and after a few moments of silence, softly said, “Hmm, must be from the bullet.”