24

I don't know when it started but I had started to dislike my birthday. I started thinking of it as a reminder that I'm getting older and a countdown to a timely death should I not encounter any untimely ones. I didn't like the idea and that made me start to dislike my own birthday but me being me, I can't think the same way for other people. I celebrate the joy of other people's birthdays because to me that's something a sign of other people's maturity and their wellbeing. I don't think that makes any sense. Heck, I'm not completely sure why birthdays are joyous and I'm too lazy to Google that to learn the psychology behind it now.

Anyway, Ryan Ryan and I share the same birth date so it while I was happy for him, it kinda made me happy for myself as well. I suddenly dropped the negative ideas I had about my own birthday and I looked forward to the dinner plans I made with Ryan Ryan, Rachael, Debbie and Leonard.

But boy did I have quite a surprising birthday. On the day itself, I went to work like usual and I didn't expect anyone but maybe the managers to know (because Steven is often on Facebook after work). I accidentally left my phone in the car and my mom drove off to work with it so I was disconnected from the social network and I was completely oblivious to whatever was happening which was good because that way I wasn't distracted from my work and the stuff I wanted to accomplish that day. It was the start of the month so I had to change the promotional items on display in the store. While I was doing that, one of the staff members suddenly called out to me. He came over and wanted to show me a magic trick so I thought why not. At first I thought he wanted to practice his toy demonstration but I noticed that the deck he was using is is own poker cards. So he told me to pick a card from the deck and I had to guess if it was a red or black card. I said black and I thought to myself, the card in my hand was definitely gonna be black. He turned the deck around to show me that it was really an ordinary poker card deck and asked me to turn the card I picked around. Writen crudely on the card was, "Happy Birthday Max!". I was stunned, I was so shocked my brain farted and the first two things that came into my mind was, "This card isn't black." first, then "How did he know it's my birthday?" I came back to my sense and I thanked him for the wish before asking him how he knew. He said Steven had announced it in the Whatsapp group and everyone is wishing me a happy birthday. His magic trick really caught me off guard and it really made my day, all thanks to me forgetting to bring my phone to work.

In the evening, Leonard, Rachael and Debbie came to meet up with me. I had to go out to the central park to get my phone from my mom after work. After that I hopped into Leonard's car and we headed for dinner at Eat Mor (previously named Momo Paradise). Ryan Ryan's class ended early so he was at the restaurant early and there wasn't a lot of customers so he got get us a table. We got ourselves seated and Debbie took our birthday presents for Ryan Ryan and me. Ryan Ryan's present was shared between Rachael and Debbie as for mine was just Debbie's. Ryan Ryan then revealed that he and Rachael has also shared to get me present. This embarrassed me because I didn't think of getting Ryan Ryan a gift but luckily I have backups for such situations. I have some unopened toys I got that I had planned for such events. We chatted idly as we ate our steamboat buffet. After we were done, Ryan Ryan and I opened our presents. I was joyous because Debbie got me the Lego Star Wars General Grievous Buildable Figure. She actually remembered the small silly stuff I tell her work, that made me feel blessed. Ryan Ryan got a Donald Duck figurine USB drive. When we were done, Rachael and Debbie went home whereas Ryan Ryan, Leonard and I went to Chatime because we talked about the freebies some places give on your birthday month. Ryan Ryan went to register for a Chatime BCard and I was gonna redeem my free drink but to my dismay, I had lost my Chatime BCard. I searched my wallet but to no avail, I had really lost my card. I tried to recall the last time I used it in hopes that I can go there and find it. After a while Ryan Ryan and Leonard went home.

The next day, I quickly put my plan into action. Ryan Ryan was gonna drop by to pass me the birthday present he and Rachael got for me. I went to Daiso and bought a rectangular frying pan (that you use to make rectangular fried eggs, usually for sushi) and I wrapped the Star Wars Metal Earth model I picked for him. Then I added in a Lego Batman Batwing polybag that I got and wrapped them together in the frying pan. Then I put the frying pan in a bigger box and put in old Lego ang paos from 2015 to act as weights and then wrapped the whole box up. Ryan Ryan came later in the evening with a big surprise. He said he had arrived at the shop so I took his present with me and I walked out to the entrance and to my shock he was carrying a big husky plush toy. I was left speechless and my brain farted a couple of times. I really didn't expect to get a plush toy. Ryan Ryan mentioned how Rachael and him tried to find the shark plush I had said I wanted from Ikea but they were sold out, so they got the husky instead. Three friends who remembered the small silly things I say and they got them for me. I felt really blessed and happy. I passed Ryan Ryan his birthday present and then we parted because he had a dinner to attend. I decided to name the husky 'Max' because that was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw it.

While last year's birthday was quite healthy, this year's I can say was materialistic? Hahaha. I found it seldom that I get birthday presents for my birthday, it was usually meals and hang outs. I do occasionally get present from one or two people, like the M&Ms dispenser I got from Mae or a box full of Pokemon cards from Marcus long time ago.

This year I didn't really celebrate my birthday with my high school friends like usual. This time we went to myBurger Lab in Seapark and I got the free burger for January babies promotion. I had a Heartattack, a juicy beef burger with three slices of cheese, tomato, mushrooms and caramelised onions with a side of mash potatoes. After the early dinner we went to Marcus' house to play a bit of Naruto and then Saboteur.

I didn't exactly celebrate my birthday with my college buds as well. I went to Wilson's house to shoot a video and that was pretty much it. After I went home, Wilson messaged me saying that they forgot to give me the birthday present that they got for me so I'll have to get it from them the next time we're meeting up.

I had dinner with my family at Morganfield's in e@Curve. Unfortunately the service was pretty poor. The staff were friendly and patient but my mom made a fuss and a scene because we were waiting for our meal for over an hour and a half. It was not them to blame because I had a Groupon and many other people were ordering the same thing, going there to eat at peak hours had our orders held back. But still, an hour and a half was just too long. The management however still treated us to a bowl of soup and dessert (because of my mom) so that's fine. At the table the only person who was upset was my mom, my dad who usually get hangry didn't make a fuss (probably because he was being entertained by the Mr Bean episodes that were being played) and my sister was busy on her phone. So it was a so-so okay but kinda disappointing birthday dinner I had with my family.

Thanks to my friends this year, I suppose I can say that I have new views on my own birthday. I don't dislike it as much as before now. So here's to a good year ahead until next. Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday!