Let's do Magic and bend that straight-ass spoon

A Year Older

Turning 26 yesterday turned out to be painless. In a way, it was depressing for me cause its where you really, really know that there is no turning back but you just gota move on forward and get older and older. And when you reach 55, your boobs would have defied gravity, your kids would probably forget about you and enjoy their young, adult life while you're battling up and coming illnesses suddenly popping up like mushrooms.

Depressing? hell yeah

Sitting up in bed, I suddenly felt that wave of nostalgia coming over me. I mulled over my past achievements in life since the very day I was hustled off to Kindergarten over at my old neighbourhood, Bedok. Since then, we moved house twice from Bedok to Tampines and from Tampines to yes, Tampines again (a few blocks away in case you were wondering).

I too did some moving of my own, from getting bullied daily in Kindergarten to being 'invisible' in primary school. I would never forget the day when at 9 years old, I got my first period while putting on my school shoes. I nearly fainted before I was seized by a serious bout of stomach cramps that had me buckling at my knees. My grandma, bless her, kept on saying 'this is amazing!" (in malay of course) repeatedly, yet bundled me off to school despite my pleas. True enough, I fainted in school during the anthem and had to be carried to the sick bay aka teachers' common room. From then on, every month I would black out either in the classroom, canteen or stairs due to the pain.


I finally carved a niche for myself in Secondary school being the much hated or beloved headprefect. I was active in sports and stage activities and while I was not your brilliant child protegee, I did manage to pass through school with good grades enough for me to pursue Mass Comm at the local polytechnic. In between, like most teenagers, I was grappling with annoying baby fat which I lost while in Secondary school, my fair share of acne, self-confidence taking a hit every now and then and of course, bad friendships with mean people who capitalise on others' misery.

Armed with 40 % remaining baby fat, I finished my diploma before working for a year or two doing freelance writing and promoting cable products at a cool workplace in Wisma (still to me one of best working experience I had), earning big bucks- unusually high for a dip holder. I enjoyed my job but was under pressure to utilise what I have studied in school; my communications qualification. So I left a super great job for Perth Australia, where the grass were literally greener and the air smelled fine.

I discovered that independence + being broke cos I mismanaged my funds = to a stronger person and I became happier (yep, being broke ended up making me a happier person) cos for the first time, I felt that I have finally found my inner strength. Of course it helped that Felicia and Adelene were sharing my plight as well and knew what it was like to scrimped.

After graduation, I nervously flew to Sydney having secured a 4-month internship with PR company, Mango Communications, of DDB. I didn't get to make coffee, but did product releases, coordinate events and liaise with the media there among other things. Expensive it may have been, the experience was worth it. Mom wasn't too thrilled about it at first, cos she was hollering on the phone about how getting my honours would have been the best decision instead of working in Sydney for a couple of months. Still, she supported my decision with the much needed funds to survive the city's expensive standard of living.

Best of all, I made great friends with people like Nina, Sri, Rizal and further strengthened my 11-year friendship with my good old pal, Es. Though we have our occasional bickerings, Es is really one of those friends who will stand by me no matter what. It saddens me that some are not able to accept Es as who she is but all i can say is, they're missing out on a great person.

I was so glad to be home but the ever nagging feeling of securing a job was never far away. I knew I would have a hard time getting a job. You could land a job anytime. It could take a week, a month or even a year cause in 2003, times were bad and unemployment rates were soaring.
It took me 6 full months of juggling temp jobs before I landed a permanent position at Original Media. I was hired to kickstart their event management arm and though it was hard, I was glad of the breakthroughs i made. It was then that I got to know Mel, Shuling and Gary. We didn't gel at first cos I thought they were so the 'attitude' but it turned out they thought I was the one looking all snotty. Amazing but after that we got on famously before Jocelyn joined the company soon after. A year later, I moved on to another job in the broadcast industry.

I believe whether or not you wake every morning feeling enthusiastic about your job is largely due to your working environment and colleagues. You could have a great job but if your colleagues suck, you'd still wana tender that letter sooner or later. So I have a feeling I really love my current job cos of the people I work with. People like Didi, Marinah, Rosie, Natra, Yati, Zalinah who always make my day with their infectious and sincere personalities. Of course it helps that my job is far from boring.

Right about the same time I landed my new job in Feb last year, I got to know this guy with whom I instantly clicked with. Though he did not make a big impression on me when we first met, the way he handled Felicia's famous 20/20 questions about his job was pretty savvy, cool and sweet. The way he haughtily ignored me during the three-way conversation at coffee bean was rude, uncalled for and annoying. He redeemed himself when in earnest, hee offered to walk with me to the train station. 3 months down the road, after several rejections, he became my first boyfriend at 24 and we are now 3 months short of a 2 year relationship. Now I really know it always pays to wait and not rush into just about anything just so you have anybody and not someone special in your life.

Of course, my life is typically hitting the highs and lows. Being an adult, you're inundated with money woes, a crappy salary, PMS, weight gain, occasional constipation, squabbles plus dependable friends, a caring boyfriend, great family, financial independence (better to have some money than to have no money at all).

Maybe being a year older is not so bad after all. I was definitely a late bloomer, finally coming to terms with my insecurities and not letting anything or anyone faze me. Still, cos I'm human, occasionally I do get affected by the things people say or do but Ive learned to better control my impulses now. At the back of my mind, I am always reminded of the goodness of people in my life and those I have met along the way. People who are real and sincere in their intentions. I am truly fortunate in this lifetime.

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This blog is dedicated to all those who know me, my dearest family and friends who have always cared for me and really accepted me for who I am. I love you and I salute you for making me a part of your lives.

Colourful details were edited out due to lack of space

posted by GirlAwake @ 11:25 PM