TAKE A RIDE ON THE WILD SIDE

On the 25th of November I turned 27…in another three yrs time I’ll be 30 and damn!! Don’t I look fine or what!!? Laughs! Birthdays were never of any real significance when I was growing up….or were they? Since my elder brother and sister were born on the same day but three years apart. They always had their birthday parties together. I don’t remember having a birthday party thrown for me after I got into secondary school,…just another reason for me to bitch about how unfair life was to me…another large piece of wood I would throw into the already burning fire of the rebel youth that was me. Yes I was listening to the sex pistols, slayer, metallica, getting into fights in school and at home (my brother dislocated my jaw once)…wanted to kill my family. And I so hated my second language teacher I wanted to rip her head off and shove it some place where the sun did not bother shining.

Yes I wanted the attention…or maybe I just wanted the presents…and the cash gifts that came along with turning one year older. Can you blame me?!! I still remember one year when my folks threw a nice party for my siblings and my brother got this really nice watch from dad. So I kept hinting at my dad for a watch for my birthday as well…for all the effort I put into “getting” that freakin watch…I got zip, jack, nada nothing! For the people out there that know me pretty well…I’m a person with very few regrets. But if I could go back in time and fix something, it would be if I could just have matured a little faster.

What are birthdays? I think it’s a day and a date to remind myself that I had time. Time to do all that I wanted. To turn my dreams into reality. To cook the ultimate meal for family and friends. To dive into the deepest oceans with the pretty corals and rainbow colored fishes. To sit on the perfect beach with my closest friends, chilling out and watching the sun set. Taking a picture that does actually tell a million stories. Painting a picture that’s totally enigmatic.

Its also a period that allows me to think about many things and perhaps lead me in a different direction in life. The last few years of my life have been the best. I found that my religion offered me more then I expected it to. It freed me from burdens I did not really have to carry all by myself. It offered me joy and happiness that nothing material or even the greatest of emotions could give me. And it gave me a new purpose in my life. I mean I always knew that I was good at many things, I loved being around people and making them laugh and smile and I had stuff going for me but it did not really mean anything. But believe me folks when there’s purpose…servitude means so much more.
I had this surge of Joy in my heart that I so wanted to share with the people around. A different kinda Joy…something only God can give.

And when you give back to your Maker through the gifts and talents he has given you, it’s the best feeling ever. I mean yeah sure I was busy at work just like everybody else but I always made time for God because I wanted to. Time its such a precious commodity that so many of us take for granted. We spend so much of it thinking only about ourselves and our own personal happiness. We become selfish…self centered and certainly in my thought very Singaporean. We spend our time asking ourselves difficult questions that we’re just going to waste more time answering. Questions like “when am I going to die?”…”what’s going to happen to me tomorrow?”. Why concern ourselves with things we will never know the answer to.

People always ask me how I deal with the cancer. First I tell them that my religion and my deep faith in it tells me that I’m going to a better place and death is just the beginning of something beautiful. And then I tell them that death is inevitable, there is no way anyone can avoid it. So why worry about something that’s going to happen anyways…its just that in my case I probably will die from cancer if the bloody unhealthy food in Singapore does not get me first…*grins* I would really rather concern myself with what I’m doing with the time I have rather then waste it away doing nothing but worry about something that’s not even worth worrying about!!!

Hey!! I’m not saying there’s anything totally wrong with being responsible and taking care of ourselves. I’ve always also made time to be happy doing the things I love. I have traveled, taken some very nice pictures, cooked nice meals for friends and am still working on that painting!!

A whole year… I wish I could give you a year in months, weeks, days, minutes and seconds but I cant be bothered, anyways what difference would it make. I’m just glad I’m not one of those people who complains about not having enough time. Give them a couple more hours and they’ll probably still be complaining.

So what did you do with all that time you had? did you finally manage to do something you’d always wanted to do? Did you do something good that made YOU feel good? or are you waiting for something to happen…and if it does not happen are you going to be bitter and angry. Are you waiting for your birthday and that present? Seriously folks I think we can give ourselves gifts, ticker day parades and smiles on a daily basis through life lessons. We can learn maturity….be more gracious…take a lot less things in life for granted…see beauty in simplicity and with every lesson learnt…every day WILL be YOUR BIRTHDAY!

Thank you for riding with me.