Thursday, July 2, 2015

24-Karat Years Old

It's that time of year once again, where people come to celebrate you with food, presents, and everything in between. Whether you like it or not, we all turn a year older - might as well enjoy each and every single one of them. This is how I celebrated my 24th.

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I got my iPhone at last!

May 14, 2015

Let's start with the day before my birthday, where I celebrated with my friends from Kwantlen. I gathered Candice, Taamisah, her friend Jesmine, Rachel, and Samantha took the sea bus to Lonsdale Quay. To me, this was a remarkable day because this was my first time riding the sea bus (for real). Making our way to the station, I didn't realize how many people relied on the sea bus, especially around the 11AM-12PM hours. Not knowing which seat had optimal viewing, we ended up sitting by the hallways, with minimal views. There was absolutely nothing that could have brought me down, I was too excited for my first time on a sea bus. In reality, it's basically a miniature ferry, but to me, it's a whole new opportunity. Makes you appreciate the variety of transit available within BC ^_^

Once we got into the place, we made our way to the Cheshire Cheese, a restaurant with a random selection of food. There offered curries, pastas, and of course, fish. I went with the special of the day, which was a salmon and pineapple burger with teriyaki sauce - that was delicious. Some other surprising dishes that I would love to try if I get to go there again were the vegetarian stew (the aroma got to me) and the chicken fettuccine... Never underestimate one's menu.

After lunch, we walked around the Quay, offering various shops which included a Saje, groceries, and walls upon walls of alcohol. After browsing around, we ended up getting frozen yogurt. I opted for this kale popsicle from a stand within the shops, which was, definitely interesting. There was a tingling sensation after every bite. You could tell it wasn't a crowd pleaser, especially with all of the ice that was built up on it. But anyways, the day was a smash, and by around 3PM, we felt a little bit tired. But before hopping on the sea bus, we managed to get some photos taken by this awesome chess board, with the pawns:


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Myself with Miss Willms

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Game face mode: on

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The King & The Queen

And since the day was beautiful, we had to embrace the sun's appearance by bathing around, looking at the stunning view. Despite violent winds, we had to take a group photo, but first:

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My friend got me VS as a present d";

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There is our group photo, with Taamisah in a dress(!)

Aside from the pink bag, I also got a handful of cute cards (most of them with dogs), a gift card, and this lovely set of chocolates:

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Chocolatas, incredibly addictive

That resulted the afternoon, departing after we landed on the downtown dock (we managed to sit by the windows, with some breathtaking views of the water and the Lions Gate Bridge. Funny story, we were heading to the skytrain back home, and I noticed that the next train was about to leave within a minute. So Miss Willms and myself ran fast as possible to grab, while Taamisah, Jesmine, and Samantha were slowly walking to the skytrain (Candice grabbed a different skytrain). While we managed to get onto the train, the doors were closing just when the three of them just reached the doors. It was the unofficial 'goodbye' for the day.

Afterwards, I went out with my friends for the night. It was an excellent day, and it wasn't even my birthday.

May 15, 2015

The day has come! And how else do I get to celebrate it? With work and volunteer. I know, nothing too exciting, but that's what happens when you grow up (isn't it a shame?) Regardless of what happened in the afternoon, I knew that I shared my birthday with one of the teenagers at volunteer, which I thought would have been exciting - he didn't show up. Oh well, still had a fun time as we had a singing and dance party in honour of the missing celebrant. With songs ranging from Minecraft to My Little Pony to even Frozen, I must say it was one excellent volunteer session.

One thing I was looking forward to was the family dinner. Don't know what your traditions are when it comes to birthdays, but my family loves to put on a party for our extended family. Most of the cooking takes the whole day, even my aunt took a day off just to cook (deeply appreciated). Assisting her was my grandma's caretaker, Dianne, who's main dish were these beauties:

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Chicken Lollipops

Never seen or even heard of this before, but I assume this is a Filipino dish of some sort? They are a sight to see, don't you think? Breaded with fine crumbs, a convenient handle comes along to dip it in a rich and creamy tartar sauce. You think it's off at first, but you'll be wanting more afterwards. If chicken is not your thing, perhaps pork:

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Barbecue Pork

I am not usually the biggest pork fan, but this is always the exception. Drenched in sauce for hours, this dish is all about the flavour. I don't completely know what my aunt puts in the sauce, but it's the fan favourite. Don't think anyone else tries to make Barbecue Pork skewers other than my aunt. She is truly a master chef. Ain't it beautiful? Moving onto the next pork dish, infused with shrimp comes a classic:

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Deep-Fried Wontons

There is something about this classic, but remixed. I don't know about you, but I don't usually see deep-fried wontons other than at family gatherings. Other than rice, it is essentially a staple food that never disappoints. Whether you're the health nut or the calorie counter, no one can escape the temptations of the deep-fried wontons.

To wash it all down, Dianne made a punch for a limited number of guests (the focus was on the food),  while I sticked to something that my friend Jiahong gave to me:

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White Wine

Yes, I was the only one who drank this wine, but it was tasty. It's sweet, the grapes must have been extra juicy, because it went down so smooth. Who knows, maybe I'll drink this bottle all by myself whenever I need some party in me. And how else is a dinner complete without one of my favourites: cake! The opening photo of this post showed my birthday cake, showing my 24-karat gold iPhone (I wish). I can't believe my mother got it for me, I was happily pleased. And although it was my birthday, someone else wanted to blow the candles:

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Boy want a piece of cake too

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With a face like that, how can you say no?

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Make a wish boy

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Uncle & Nephew

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Look how happy he is!

That phone may have been made of fondant, but compared to the iPhone 6+, the details are on point. To show you how similar, just look at them beside one another:

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Almost the same

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Now if I could only actually use it

Family gathered for the party, which is always the best. But the cherry on top is when you see friends from your childhood. Pratima and I have been friends since we were young, where I would go to her house to play computer games and dress up like witches (they were fun outfits). Now, she is married to another childhood friend, Paul, who took a photo of us:

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Precious Moments

Crazy how life works out, eh? Seeing your old neighbours getting married to one another - that's truly remarkable and adorable. I may not see her that often, but I do appreciate the time we get to spend together.

Also at the party was my cousin from my father's side, Alana, and her daughter, Ally. I also don't see them often, but it's great to see them once again before they went on summer holidays (who knows where they are now). Anyways, here is our photo:

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Cute cute

And of course, there is one more photo to include in this post. The photo includes mostly my cousins, my uncle in the background, and Ardie, a family friend who is studying abroad from Indonesia. The photo may be blurry, but it's still one heck of a photo:

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Not even clarity can stop this good looking bunch

I had a great year of being 23, and can't wait to see what 24 will bring to me. From surprises such as my cousins Anthony and Mina making an appearance to getting phone calls and messages from my siblings who were unable to attend the festivities (it really was my day). So here's to an exciting year coming my way... Which includes currently taking Microeconomics in the summertime! Awe yeah, a good start.

2 comments:

  1. Aww Sheldon! What a nice post! Glad you had fun on your birthday and pre-birthday! You deserve the best. I loves playing together with you when we were young. :) You'll always be my little brother <3

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    1. Thank you Pratima! May there be more adventures coming out way :"3

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