16 March was just like any other day. Not that birthdays have ceased to carry meaning. Cliched as it is, it is with whom you celebrate it that lends some meaning to it. It began on Friday night with a quiet dinner with Justin and Phing. Saturday morning saw Justin trooping down to the wet market at 830am to get ingredients for Sarawak laksa - yes he made it from scratch (save the laksa paste)! Had a few friends over for a small laksa party - some new-found ones, some old, dear ones - and I really appreciated the presence of each and every one of them.
After blowing off the ONE candle off my birthday cakeS (yes, Phing and Phong got me two cakes, bless them), we went to Top One KTV. The name makes the place sound really dodgy but really - this is officially our favourite karaoke place now 
Midnight came and went with more wishes - there is nothing more I could ask for, really
Okay, maybe just one more thing - but it was granted as well. Ernie called me to wish me a happy birthday! For the first time!
This birthday also saw me attending a wake and receiving news of another death, and a full moon party. I think the least, the very least I could do as a friend, because I can’t do anything else, is to just see a friend and to see if she is okay, to let her know that everyone around her loves her so.
I turned to James 4:14 (after a long absence) on my birthday:
Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
So, as I turned 26, I learned to appreciate my life a little more, and to cherish the people around me a lot more.
