On Turning 24
Not too long ago I’d always been excited about the growing number of my age. Sweet 16, forever 18, golden key 21. Then it stopped. I’m not excited about growing up anymore. It’s just not funny saying I’m forever 18 any longer. Before people start to classify me as belonging to the mid-twenties, here’s a reflection on my turning 24 (mostly thinking back of silly-but-poignant random incidents, or little little achievements):
1. This is my 5th birthday spent abroad. That’s more than one fifth of my lifetime. Whoa.
2. I’m still very much wide-eyed (even though my eyes are small).
3. People no longer find it funny when you attempt to make lame jokes like the above.
4. Money, career and maybe even love is of secondary importance. What’s most important is extremely fundamental, and is my father’s most asked question to me: do you move your bowels everyday?
5. Don’t underestimate the power of healthy bowel movements. I had to provide a stool sample recently after getting stomach flu and let’s say I’d rather take 10 injections instead!
6. Having seen 7 colleagues being laid off barely into my first year of work, I have started seeing the workplace as incredibly cruel.
7. During my first 7 months in Shanghai, I mistook the softener for liquid detergent. Yup, so for the entire 7 months my clothes smelled good and was incredibly soft, but never cleaned.
8. Some construction worker stole my wallet and I ran after him. I managed to get my wallet back but on hindsight it was so dangerous.
9. I followed a stranger from near the Space needle in Seattle to the Museum of Flight, and took a bi-plane ride with him.
10. I followed 2 strangers from Wreck Beach in Vancouver to downtown and was treated to Poutine.
11. I dropped out of Singapore Institute of Management after 2 or 3 months.
12. I very nearly went to University of Queensland in Brisbane instead of Fudan University in Shanghai.
13. I peed in my skirt in Primary 1 because I didn’t dare tell the teacher I needed to go.
14. I’ve made several big purchases this year that amounts to 16,000RMB (Nikon D80 and Macbook), some other settlements for 10,000RMB, and 2640RMB on my teeth.
15. I have 2 crowned teeth i.e. fake teeth above real molar stumps. Now toothpicks and floss are part of my daily routine after some meat delight, and I think twice before biting on crab pincers. I swear never to use my teeth to open beer bottles again.
16. I’m a university graduate now.
17. I’ve learnt to cook, although my chopping/slicing is nowhere near experienced.
18. My first official job is a (Content) Editor.
19. After 23 years of being fearful of pets bigger than fish and terrapins, I now live with 2 adorable dogs. I feed them, play with them, sleep with them. walk them (or they walk me), and keep a close watch on dilating anuses to lead them into the bushes, but I’ve never picked up their poo (and hope I never have to!).
20. I own 3 websites, 3 computers, and too many cameras. Next up is a handycam.
21. I now fit (mainly) XL clothes, which coincides with my initials.
22. I’ve gone without showering, changing my clothes, nor brushed my teeth for 3 days.
23. My Chinese still sucks. But my bargaining tactics still work.
24. I’ve started shopping on Taobao.com (like Ebay but far far better) and I’m hooked. Never thought I’d be a sucker for internet shopping but here I am, keying in figures out of my bank account to buy things based on pictures on words.
I am very thankful to Frankie at Frankie’s Place, the homeliest Singaporean restaurant in Shanghai, for being so generous on my birthday. We were served birthday mee sua, ang ku kway, and Tiger beer on the house! I haven’t even had a bowl of birthday mee sua for the longest time, ever since my mother got angry with me back when I celebrated my birthday with my friends back when I was 16.
I’m just glad I’ve found a home away from home, and found family in this adopted city.
This is a long overdue post, but at least I made it in time for the new year.
Happy 2010 folks!
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