For the first time ever, I am proud to announce that I turned 32 on 19th October 2008. I have always been sensitive whenever someone asks me my age. And my favourite reply would be, “How old do you think I am?” which was a classic really coz some of my friends knew that, that would be the response. Previously, I dislike hearing the responses. Most of them guessed numbers that were beyond my actual age. That kind a make me a little upset. Not upset in a sensitive kind of way, but upset like, “What? Do I look older than that? Alaaaahhh..” Call it silly if you want, but I just didn’t like people to think that I am actually older than my age. I guess it’s the looks. Or is it the body. I don’t know. I mean, wouldn’t you be upset if you’re actually 26 and people thought you were 29? Of course I despised that. Good-naturedly of course.
But lately, that has begun to change. Some of my colleagues thought I was in my late 20s [smiling happily], and another thought I was 30 [smiling yet again… gleefully]. Long story cut short, I don’t get anymore replies saying that I look older than my actual age [except for that one time]. I like it. And I want to remain looking late 20s, or just 30 for a few more years to come. Hopefully.. [wishful thinking… hahahahaha].
My birthday fell on a weekend. A Sunday, to be exact. My parents were in town because Ayah wanted to buy a camera for my brother. They were also in town because they wanted to celebrate my birthday. They wanted to buy a cake, and have a short prayer accompanied by our close family members (consisting of my parents, in-laws, and my brother). And that could only mean one thing. I have to cook [sigh.. I knew it. I knew that I would have to do the planning, and the cooking yet again. It is just so tiring. But for Ayah’s sake – not so much for me, I agreed]. So I decided to cook Nasi Tomato, with Ayam Masak Merah and Dalca.
So on the Sunday, after breakfast, we went to Carrefour. This was the first time that I went shopping for grocery at that time of the day, and I find it rather pleasant. Not many people in Carrefour. There were many free counters. I liked it. So I bought whichever items listed in my shopping list [and also some items not listed there], went to Secret Recipe and bought the Classic Cheesecake [I prefer Capuccino but there were kids around, and I don’t think I’d want them to be eating Cappucino], then we rushed back to the house to cook. Alhamdulillah by 1pm, everything was on the cooker, waiting to be fully cooked. I went inside my room coz my boy wanted to have his midday napping while the maid fried spring rolls, curry puffs and tempura nugget [instant ones; I don’t have the talent to be making any kuih]. By 1.30pm, my brother-in-law and his family came. And at 2pm, my parents-in-laws arrived. And that was the whole family. So we recited some prayers, and after that, we ate.
By 6pm, I was so tired. But I fought the tiredness because my parents-in-laws were around. I need to entertain them, after all I am a good daughter-in-law [snigger.. ]. Then after Maghrib, Lin dropped by with her husband. She hated that my Dalca turned out alright. Hers didn’t [but her biryani rice was nice]. They left at 9.30pm. I was very tired at that time, but resorted to follow Bie to make his credit card payment at Citibank. And I took the kids with me. Why? Well, ONE: they hadn’t gone anywhere that day, and TWO: I want them to fall asleep so that when we reach home, I can just put them to bed.
We reached home at 11.30pm. The kids were both asleep. I cleaned up, said good night to Bie who was watching TV outside, and went to bed. It was a good sleep. And that was how I spent the day. Tired, but fulfilling. I must say, it’s been a while since I celebrated a birthday like that. And on top of that, so many people wished me happy birthday. It’s just so nice. Let’s see, it began at 12.04am, where I received a text message from Bie wishing me a happy birthday [he acted so cool about it on the day before my birthday that I wondered whether he actually remembered it], then the next day, quite a number of text messages and phone calls. It was nice.
Gift? Well.. I didn’t receive any, except for the birthday cake courtesy of Ayah. Yes one would think that my dearest Bie should give me something, but I don’t want to impose. I know that financially he’s not quite stable. The fact that he pays the house installments and relevant bills are good enough for me. But I can’t quite ask him for a present. Well, ONE: I want to be surpised, and TWO: I don’t want to impose. He needs whatever monies he has for other purposes, more important than my birthday gift.
Like I said, I like to be surpised. I don’t really mind if it is the least expensive gift, but the feeling I get for being surpised is most wonderful. I have to admit that after a while of marriage, there are no more surprises like that. Whenever he buys me gifts, it’s always, “So you nak apa?” And we would go together to buy it. Not really a surpise I guess, but it’s nice also. But I do remember the birthdays I had before I got married to him. I guess he did try his best to surprise me. The relevant ones I remember before we were married was one time when he fetched me from work. It was one of those working Saturdays. I opened the car door, and there was a teddy bear [which later I called Teddy-Bie] sitting on the passenger seat holding a birthday card. It was so cute. I liked it. Teddy-Bie is still around. It sleeps with Marsya now, as she claims that Teddy-Bie is hers. And then the Chanel Allure perfume he bought for me [my favourite fragrance, something I’d like to call, my signature], where he kept it in the dashboard of the car and he asked me to open the dashboard. I did. And there was the perfume. It was funny. He did try his best.
After we got married, we sort of went shopping for birthday gifts together because his birthday also fell in October [end of the month]. So it was like, “What do you want for your birthday?” thing. But these days, I just don’t feel like imposing for a gift. I don’t remember getting anything last year (it was the fasting month anyway) and I don’t think I’m getting anything this year. Takperlah.. one needs to sacrifice right? Insya Allah, when there’s rezeki, I’ll get what I want. He knows what I want, but tulah. It is not the right time to impose. I just hope that he’ll “strike gold soon”, then I can start showing him my wish list. But I do hope for a surpise. It’s nice to be surprised once in a while.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME..
But lately, that has begun to change. Some of my colleagues thought I was in my late 20s [smiling happily], and another thought I was 30 [smiling yet again… gleefully]. Long story cut short, I don’t get anymore replies saying that I look older than my actual age [except for that one time]. I like it. And I want to remain looking late 20s, or just 30 for a few more years to come. Hopefully.. [wishful thinking… hahahahaha].
My birthday fell on a weekend. A Sunday, to be exact. My parents were in town because Ayah wanted to buy a camera for my brother. They were also in town because they wanted to celebrate my birthday. They wanted to buy a cake, and have a short prayer accompanied by our close family members (consisting of my parents, in-laws, and my brother). And that could only mean one thing. I have to cook [sigh.. I knew it. I knew that I would have to do the planning, and the cooking yet again. It is just so tiring. But for Ayah’s sake – not so much for me, I agreed]. So I decided to cook Nasi Tomato, with Ayam Masak Merah and Dalca.
So on the Sunday, after breakfast, we went to Carrefour. This was the first time that I went shopping for grocery at that time of the day, and I find it rather pleasant. Not many people in Carrefour. There were many free counters. I liked it. So I bought whichever items listed in my shopping list [and also some items not listed there], went to Secret Recipe and bought the Classic Cheesecake [I prefer Capuccino but there were kids around, and I don’t think I’d want them to be eating Cappucino], then we rushed back to the house to cook. Alhamdulillah by 1pm, everything was on the cooker, waiting to be fully cooked. I went inside my room coz my boy wanted to have his midday napping while the maid fried spring rolls, curry puffs and tempura nugget [instant ones; I don’t have the talent to be making any kuih]. By 1.30pm, my brother-in-law and his family came. And at 2pm, my parents-in-laws arrived. And that was the whole family. So we recited some prayers, and after that, we ate.
By 6pm, I was so tired. But I fought the tiredness because my parents-in-laws were around. I need to entertain them, after all I am a good daughter-in-law [snigger.. ]. Then after Maghrib, Lin dropped by with her husband. She hated that my Dalca turned out alright. Hers didn’t [but her biryani rice was nice]. They left at 9.30pm. I was very tired at that time, but resorted to follow Bie to make his credit card payment at Citibank. And I took the kids with me. Why? Well, ONE: they hadn’t gone anywhere that day, and TWO: I want them to fall asleep so that when we reach home, I can just put them to bed.
We reached home at 11.30pm. The kids were both asleep. I cleaned up, said good night to Bie who was watching TV outside, and went to bed. It was a good sleep. And that was how I spent the day. Tired, but fulfilling. I must say, it’s been a while since I celebrated a birthday like that. And on top of that, so many people wished me happy birthday. It’s just so nice. Let’s see, it began at 12.04am, where I received a text message from Bie wishing me a happy birthday [he acted so cool about it on the day before my birthday that I wondered whether he actually remembered it], then the next day, quite a number of text messages and phone calls. It was nice.
Gift? Well.. I didn’t receive any, except for the birthday cake courtesy of Ayah. Yes one would think that my dearest Bie should give me something, but I don’t want to impose. I know that financially he’s not quite stable. The fact that he pays the house installments and relevant bills are good enough for me. But I can’t quite ask him for a present. Well, ONE: I want to be surpised, and TWO: I don’t want to impose. He needs whatever monies he has for other purposes, more important than my birthday gift.
Like I said, I like to be surpised. I don’t really mind if it is the least expensive gift, but the feeling I get for being surpised is most wonderful. I have to admit that after a while of marriage, there are no more surprises like that. Whenever he buys me gifts, it’s always, “So you nak apa?” And we would go together to buy it. Not really a surpise I guess, but it’s nice also. But I do remember the birthdays I had before I got married to him. I guess he did try his best to surprise me. The relevant ones I remember before we were married was one time when he fetched me from work. It was one of those working Saturdays. I opened the car door, and there was a teddy bear [which later I called Teddy-Bie] sitting on the passenger seat holding a birthday card. It was so cute. I liked it. Teddy-Bie is still around. It sleeps with Marsya now, as she claims that Teddy-Bie is hers. And then the Chanel Allure perfume he bought for me [my favourite fragrance, something I’d like to call, my signature], where he kept it in the dashboard of the car and he asked me to open the dashboard. I did. And there was the perfume. It was funny. He did try his best.
After we got married, we sort of went shopping for birthday gifts together because his birthday also fell in October [end of the month]. So it was like, “What do you want for your birthday?” thing. But these days, I just don’t feel like imposing for a gift. I don’t remember getting anything last year (it was the fasting month anyway) and I don’t think I’m getting anything this year. Takperlah.. one needs to sacrifice right? Insya Allah, when there’s rezeki, I’ll get what I want. He knows what I want, but tulah. It is not the right time to impose. I just hope that he’ll “strike gold soon”, then I can start showing him my wish list. But I do hope for a surpise. It’s nice to be surprised once in a while.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME..
3 comments:
Yes, I do hope he strikes gold too. I mean I know that providing for the family could be a daunting task, especially if you work on your own.
Eh, anyway, as they say, it's the thoughts that matter, not the value of the gifts. I think at the moment, maybe he can give something as simple as a card and as cheap as a... errr, name card? Dunnolah, just my mind wondering.. :)
Happy Belated Birthday to you.. Also, Selamat Hari Raya, maaf zahiriah dan batiniah ya... Wassalam
Thanks, Pisces Man. A card would have been nice, wouldn't it. I dont know. I dont mind anything. As long as its a surpise. A nice surprise.
Thanks for the wish..
Happy belated bday wish to u too, Ija, many happy returns and best wishes.
Hmm...hadiah eh....nak kasi yg murah2 nanti u tak suka, and nak kasi yg mahal2 nanti kopak plak budget per month. How about writing a letter to tell u what he feels or say something sweet just between u and him. Thats kinda romantic too. But yea birthday gift shopping is a good idea as long as the one who wanted the gift did not force the one who buy it beyond what he/she can afford.
Whatever it is, being with each other on the special day is priceless.
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