Blow Your Mind | Jamiroquai

“So, I guess we are who we are for alot of reasons. And maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.”

— Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

Two weeks til the end of the summer break, and I'm left thinking, "If only I had the time & energy to do much more." Looking back at the past few months, I am actually quite happy at the way things turned out. Sure, there were a number of minor goals that I didn't get to fulfill; nevertheless, what has transpired up to this point is more than enough for me. E-mails have been pouring in regarding the start of the semester, signaling another cycle of organized chaos of which I'm more than happy to dive right into now, after months of being on holiday. However, as most, I'm not looking forward to the sleepless nights that accompany the exam period, or being glued to journals & textbooks & the ever-reliable Google as I slave over my dissertation. I'm still a little iffy about what I'm planning to base my dissertation on - the initial topics that I was actually quite excited to study were unfortunately thrown out when I got the e-mail from Dr. Santos regarding the topic guideline - and to be honest, I really don't want to be thinking about the final-year project at the moment when I should be enjoying my last fortnight as a free woman.

Speaking of 'woman', my birthday this year was definitely one to remember. I got to ring in my twentieth with some of the most wonderful people I've been blessed to be friends with, along with great food & one hell of a time. I always thought of doing something grand, along the lines of MTV's My Super Sweet Sixteen, but I always end up just inviting my friends for dinner & drinks after (non-alcoholic for me!), which, to be perfectly honest, is the best way to celebrate. I decided to have my birthday dinner the night before since Dinah was going back to Brunei on the date, which turned out to be a fantastic way to also celebrate Danial's 21st. At the very last minute, I called everyone for dinner at Ben's, since it was the only place I could think of at the top of my head. It was quite a hassle though - I couldn't make reservations for us since we were a larger group - and we had to be there extra early to make sure they had a table big enough for us. Despite that little hiccup, it turned out to be quite a night (there was an ever bigger hiccup later on, but I shall keep that one to myself ;P). Although I've seen these faces so many times (not enough, sometimes, if you ask me) we never fail to entertain ourselves in new ways. No words can describe the hilarity of what went down the hours leading up to midnight, and no photos can fully display our silliness.




Our birthday cake, courtesy of Audrey.
July babies!

Danial & I starting a new tradition, maybe? :P

Est 2005.





Everyone who made the night unforgettable (:Photos courtesy of Rafiq & Shevie.


The next day I woke up, hoping to feel, or a least think, differently. Wiser, even. To my disappointment, there was no profound change, no life-changing epiphany, no switch being turned on or off signaling my crossing the threshold of no return, not one thing. Then again, what else was I expecting? Certainly not the fairy godmother to bippity-boppity-boop my life into something out of Sex & the City *cough* So there I was, lying in bed with a stiff neck & a crink in my back from sleeping in the wrong position (or that could also be attributed to my staying out til 3am the night before in 5-inch-high pumps), feeling the same way I did when I turned 18. Yup, I was still pretty much the same kid I was back then. And just as I was about to roll over to go back to sleep, I see a blinking red light peeping out from under my pillow. My Blackberry. Oh yes, Facebook notifications. And Twitter mentions. And numerous texts, BBM-es, & Whatsapp-es from so many people I couldn't even scroll down anymore. With a smile, I make a mental note to spend my night thanking everyone individually as I tuck my Blackberry under my pillow again and fall back to blissful sleep.

To those of you who took some time out of your day to wish me Happy Birthday, no matter how simple, thank you for all your kind words (: You made my day, and quite possibly, my decade!