Another Year Older!!

Last Saturday I turned 31. WOW! Im in my THIRTIES now!!! gulp...But can I just say that I don't really feel any different? Well, no, I lied. I do feel a bit older. You know how they say when you get to your 30s, your body starts to cheat on you? I was in denial when i was 30, cos uve JUST left your 20s. So to me, 30 is the age where ur not supposed to be considered in your "30s" yet. It's still new & fresh into the 3-0, it simply doesnt count. But now i think it's really happening! My body is starting to feel different. I do really think now that I need to exercise (i still haven't) if i wanna be able to eat as much as before. My tummy stays bloated & hard even after trips to the toilet and just the other day, i had to buy a size 11 jeans instead of the normal 10 :(

I am also unable to stay up too late without getting soooo very tired the next day. The other weekend, when we're doing the movie marathon, we stayed up till about 5 in the morning and i need the whole day next day to recover. Even felt nauseated and all. Im old...

But it's all good. Im still happy to celebrate my birthday cos it means presents, cakes and i get to pull the "I can do whatever i want cos it's my birthday" act. My ultimate gift this year would have to be my ticket back home from Michael. He surprised me with an early birthday present so that I'd have time to plan my trip. I was supposed to be celebrating my birthday with fam & friends back home but because my boss didn't let me leave that week i had to change my tickets a week later. Tak kisahlah, asalkan dpt balik! woohooo!!! So I'll be coming home on the 13th May!!

Another sweet gift that Im enjoying so much is that the week before and the week after my birthday, I am not allowed to do anything in the kitchen or any housework for that matter. Michael has been doing all the cooking, cleaning, washing and all. I am so getting used to this and my tahap of laziness is probably at its max. Especially after the end of my birthday week, i'll be off to Malaysia & be pampered by my family & all the good food KL & JB have to offer!! I soo can't wait! :)

So the nite before my birthday, Michael organised dinner with his family at our favorite Indian Restaurant in the Shire. As always, the food's oh so yumm and it was quite a fun nite!

With my SIL, Vicki & her hubby Darren



With Jess, the family's masseuse



Sweet Thea & her hubby Jake (it's their kids that we babysat!)



The Tiramisu birthday cake that my MIL got, not realizing it's got alcohol in it! So we didnt have any :( I normally wouldnt really care if i didnt know but this one smells pretty strong and everyone was pointing it out!(means more cake for them!) Imelda felt really bad but it didnt really matter cos we're TOO full anyway from the saffron rice & cheese na'an & the rogan josh lamb. Besides, Michael bought another cake for me on the way home that nite and we ate it all by ourselves!!!



My birthday on Saturday started out with a nice pancake breakfast at home. Then i went shopping! Mostly for choccies that my family specifically asked for. We also had a lil bit of everything for lunch cos i couldnt decide on where to eat. So, we had a lil bit of pizza, a lil bit of sushi from the sushi train, lotsa hot chippies and more.

Later that day we headed to the city for a play at Surry Hills. On the way, Michael made an unexpected detour to Hungry Jack's drive-thru and got us VEGIE BURGER (my favorite!) for pre-dinner snacks. This is one big & yummy vegie burger, i tell ya!

The play, Ruben Guthrie , is about a guy who's trying to quit drinking in this heavily drinking society. It was excellent! We heard the radio interview of the writer the other day on how he himself actually quits drinking and it very much relates to our situation - Michael that is and thought we should check it out. I know that Michael was having a really hard time here with his family & friends when he's trying to stop drinking. But watching the play reminded me even more of his struggle.

Over here, drinking is SO BIG. It was really hard for me to understand at first how everything's gotta be about drinking. When people catch up, they'll ALWAYS ALWAYS drink. At BBQs even during lunchtime, drinking would be involved. I was invited to the office Xmas drinks and all they had was free alcohol! Fathers and sons will bond over a case of beer. I was in awe the first time I saw Jake's son bringing him a bottle of beer from the esky! It was actually to them, a pretty proud moment. It's just their culture and it's very acceptable and normal to be drinking over everything, everywhere.

When Michael explained the disapointment on his friends' & even his father's face when he said no to their offer of a bottle of beer, i just thot that it's so so silly. Why can't you bond and have fun without alcohol rite? But over time im really understanding it all. It is such a must in socializing here. If you've been surrounded with family & friends who do drink, you'd be really left out when you don't. That's what Ruben Guthrie's all about and that's why it relates to Michael so much. He's spent his whole life growing up surrounded by this culture of drinking. His comparison to us is like this - from what he experienced, when we Malaysians catch up, there's always great food involved and LOTS of it. It's always makan, makan, makan. That to him, is somewhat what drinking is about here.

So, a lil bit more about the play that i wanna share! hehe..The venue is very cosy. It's jz a small room, only about 4 rows, and we hafta seat really close to each other - long rows of comfy cushy benches and we're really up close to the actors. I was a lil bit ter'culture shock' when they actually did an X rated scene! Full on action and sounds, only NOT naked! So that's a bit of an awkward moment for me being SO close and all :p But overall it's jz excellent & pretty funny too!

After the play, we stopped by Rockdale, famous to us for its halal KFC. We couldnt resist but getting a bucket full of finger lickin yumminess!!!! I think it's a pretty perfect ending to my 31st birthday :)





Thanks all for the thoughtful & sweet birthday wishes & prezzies!!!!