Okay, okay so here's what I've gathered so far....

With the imminent arrival of my birthday, it's become harder for me to avoid blogging. I missed not doing a reflection of 2007, so I'm making up for it now.

So true to the title of the post, here we go -

... after joining work in 2007, I learnt more than I've learnt in the past couple of years. And I'm not talking profession-wise. I've learnt people are even more sneaky, contradictory and sometimes more caring than I give them credit for.

... I've seen pure joy in a person's eyes, thanks to me. There you have it. I didn't know how else to make that sound modest haha. The grinning-and-giggling feedback loop it causes is absolutely hilarious.

... I've learnt to say 'No', but nicely and when it really counts. I am, however, still in the process of learning not to feel guilty for saying 'No'.

... I've noticed (a few? some? all?) people are torn between the urge to stand up and applaud you for believing in your fairytale and yet at the same time, can't wait to rip it to shreds. Most of the time they give in to the latter urge.

... I believe, more than ever, in my fairytales and my reality. I'm allowed to have my dreams. If yours didn't work out well for you, then I'm sorry. But I won't allow you to take me down with you. If I have to fall, if my faith has to be shattered, then so be it. Till then.. don't rain on my parade :)

... You have to learn to laugh and let go - of people, of words, of occurences. Not allowing yourself to do so will kill you on the inside.

... Letting go ain't so bad!

... I'm learning the difference between acceptance and resignation.

... Accepting someone for who they are - warts and all, is terrifying but liberating.

... I've become so much more closer to my parents. It's lovely. I'm learning things about their personalities that I never noticed before. I'd have never accepted this, but I guess it's true that they sort of start to move into 'friend' territory once you hit a certain age. I'm lucky coz for me, it was a seamless transition and it was great.

... Growing up is alright. There's a bump in road ever so often and a scuffle here and there. But it's fairly doable :)

(PS - I still hate that Valentine's Day and my birthday is coming up, but I still want to be wished. I'll put that under the '...I'm learning to be more selfish' category, but that goes without saying :P)

The Big 2-3 and the Realisation of a Few Things.

Okay so as I turned 23 years I realised a few things.
Small digression : Yes, yes my birthday was yesterday..those of you who wished me and sent me gifts - you ROCK. You guys are mindblowingly awesome and to quote some dude who won an Oscar "You love me! You REALLY love me!"
Those of you who didn't wish me - You suck. Wish me now! Wish me now, dammit!

Okay okay so I realised a few things.

(This is a picture I took on my birthday dinner last night. It is my 'Mahi knows something now that she didn't know previously' a.k.a my 'Realisation' smile. Also I think I look pretty in it, so there.)

I was on the bus when a few kids hopped on. They were tiny. Really tiny. Like 1/5 my height, and they carried school bags that were literally as big and probably weighed about the same as them. This one girl with really long hair, flopped onto a seat, shrugged off her bag and then, stood up and started executing these really nifty dance moves.
It was ADORABLE interesting to watch.
As I watched I found myself starting to smile.
She seemed really into the dance. It was fascinating to watch her complete lack of inhibition and her facial expressions. She was quite literally marching to the beat of her own drum. I think I sort of envied her. She saw me smiling at her, she smiled back, continued dancing and finally sat down when her brother pulled her to sit down.
I think I sort of felt sad for her then. Life somehow gets to you sometimes, eh?

My parents got me this beautiful white gold ring with 3 diamonds on it, for my birthday. Its amazing how something so tiny can make someone feel so......beautiful and lovely and grown up.
I SO get the phrase 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend' now.
:D
(Note to future woo-ers - Be smart in your wooing. Flowers-shmowers. Think 'Diamonds'. Heh heh)

And speaking of wooing, if you must know, my Valentine's Day was absolute shit. Having to suffer through cramps, sitting for a test and then being stuck in peak hour traffic FOR THREE MIND-NUMBING hours is NOT my idea of 'bringing sexy back'.
I was SO not 'bringing sexy back' on the 14th of Feb.
I NEVER end up 'bringing sexy back' on the 14th of Feb.
Screw you St. Valentine. You know what St. Valentine? I don't even think you EXISTED.

Speaking of bringing sexy back, why the hell is everyone suddenly getting married, engaged, attached or in-the-process-of-being-attached?
Is there something in the water!?
Why can't I have some of that water, dammit.
Like you, Do I not bleed if I am pricked?
Like you, Do I not cry if I am hurt?
Like you, why can't I Bring Sexy Back, too?
(I'm sorry I'm loving the phrase 'bringing sexy back'. I can't stop using it!)

I wonder why everyone seems to think I'm a party animal. Almost everyone who heard that I spent my birthday having a quiet dinner with friends, responded with "What happened to your party animal days?"
I hate that. Coz it makes me sound like Paris Hilton, who yuckily enough, shares the same birthday as me. If you draw comparisons between the two of us, I will shoot you.
It also brings to mind the image of a inebriated me, wearing leopard print clothes, drunkenly staggering around (which I assure you has never happened, ever....well at least not all at the same time.)
Anyway that made me realise that I'm quite homely.
Who woulda thunk it?

That's all for now, folks.
Have a good weekend guys!
Oh, and Gong Xi Fa Cai (that's 'Happy New Year', coz it's the Chinese New Year. What? You didn't know? Shame on you. That's also all the Chinese I know.)

My BIRTHDAY post =D

HELLOOOOO!!!!!

=D I'm 22!
I feel old!
Ok, not not really, I merely exaggerate, you know me =)

Gosh, I don't quite know where to begin...

For all my dear lovely blog buddies...thank you so so much for the best wishes..This sounds cheesey but I really feel loved...thank you!


OK, ok let me tell you how my day(s) went-

16th Feb- I got terribly depressed. This is just something that tends to happen a few days short of my birthday, I don't really know why..But this time around it was worse.
My moms relatives had come to Singapore from India. One of them being a 75 year old lady (uh-oh moment no.1). A 75 year old lady who can't walk properly (uh-oh moment no.2). A 75 year old lady, who, upon landing, promptly proceeded to fall and fracture her shoulder (dum dum DUMMMM)
So guess where they stayed? For the 3 days.
Go on, guess!

Thaaaaaat's right.

So needless to say, the mood around the house was pretty bleak. Mom was slightly ill too, so there were no gastronomically exciting preparations either. (Mahi must have her favourite food prepared on her birthday, but she is not a selfish brat, ok??)

So dad came home after work and saw my depressed face.

"Come. Sit here. What's wrong."
"Nothing.." -deep, depressed sigh-
-Nods in an 'Ahh I see' manner - "This is about your birthday?"
"Yeeea...Maaaaybe"
"What do you want."
-small voice- "Chocolate cake"
"Ok, what sort?"
-small voice-"Chocolate Mousse Cake"
"Ok done."
"How come you're being so agreeable??"
"It's gonna be your birthday, so I'll be nice to you for one day =) "

He then told my Mom "P, I'm getting her a chocolate mousse cake tomorrow if you already haven't planned anything."
My mom started smiling all secretively and that's when I knew..I knew.
I was gonna get me some choc mousse cake the next day =D.


17th Feb- At midnight a whole bunch of phone calls started coming in. I felt like a telephone operator!
"Happy Birthday Mahi!!!"
"Thank you, please hold!"
"Happy Birthday Mahi!!"
"Thank you, please hold!"

I had classes the following morning from 8 am to 5 pm..to me this was THE crappiest way to start off a birthday..I'm not exactly what you'd call a 'morning person'. To me waking up at 6 am is just inhumane. It's wrong.
But uni went well!

I'd like to share something with all of you. It was ...unreal.
To cut a long story short, there were quite a few things that could've gone awry but surprisingly, everything went smooth and well...it was like Lady Luck was smiling down on me.
I was in the cab on my way home, and in my mind I said "Thank you God, for making everything go well..Thank you for today.."
And the most amazing thing happened.
A small portion of the dark, rain-filled skies parted at that very moment and the sun shone down strongly on the side of the cab that I was sitting at.
I dont know how to describe it..I felt so blessed ..
I hope everyone experiences something like that at least once in their lives...It's indescribable.

Well, anyway I got home, has some mousse cake (=D)..
Dad was sweet, he got me Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink". It's a book I've had my eye on but never really told him!
Mom gave me some money, my bro gave me a hug (bloody cheapskate!!!), Kelso gave me a lick on my cheek and amongst the many gifts from my friends I got some um..unmentionables!

The nicest surprises were these-
- A phone call from a fellow Blogger whom I feel I've known for ages
- A beautiful beautiful bouquet of Gerberas from another fellow Blogger (if I told you who it was, you'd say "Get outta here!!!!")
- My aussie friend Sheetal stopping over at Singapore just so she could meet me on my birthday!.
- A wonderful email from another blogger (whom I hope will become a regular commentor here) - Phone calls from everywhere!

Since the elder ladies were at my house and since it was my birthday, I touched their feet for blessings and they all started muttering feverishy "May you get a good husband."
I mumbled to myself "Yea I'd better or I'll be one hell of a pissed off girl."
The old lady started telling my mom "I have a grandson...very handsome..he looks like white man!" My mom just gave her a look. I could have sworn she rolled her eyes, it was hilarious!

I then went out with my girls for desert (I say screw that dieting) and drinks (empty calories shmalories) and danced on cheesey 80's music!
It wasn't anything hardcore but it was very very pleasant and comfortable and I went to bed a happy girl..



Whoever said it only goes downhill from here, was wrong. Or didn't have the privilege of having friends like mine.


Thank you all!
Hugs!