Well, that’s another birthday over and done with and now I
can say I’m officially in my late twenties. Being twenty-seven last year, I
could get away with saying I was in my mid-late twenties, but once you reach
twenty-eight, you’re definitely in your late twenties. Cripes, I’m feeling ancient! XD
Mother had gone back to Hong Kong by
herself for two weeks to spend time with her side of the family at the
beginning of March, and initially I’d been fretting, saying, “But mother, it’s my
BIRTHDAY on the twentieth!” Mother had only calmly replied, “I’m aware of that.
Don’t worry, I’ll be back in time for your birthday.” I’d just grouched, “I bet
you won’t. Some ‘emergency’ will arise, and you’ll ring back to say, “Oh,
sorry, I can’t come back to Brisbane
after all. You spend your birthday by yourself.” XD
As usual, I’d tried contacting several school friends to see
if they were free to celebrate. With one primary school friend, Cass, we
enjoyed lunch together at the Underwood Coffee club, and I FINALLY enjoyed one
whole plate of yummy eggs benedict to myself without having to halve with
mother!! :D Lol, my previous food goal was to get to eat one whole plate of
food from Sunnybank Oriental/Dong Fong without having to doggy bag away half
for afternoon tea; that goal was met when I went with Merry and Jason for lunch
there one Sunday afternoon!
Usually, the parents and I take a short holiday somewhere
around the end of January, when dad’s work is at its quietest. However, we
didn’t go anywhere this year, because mother had planned to return to Hong
Kong. Instead, she offered to take me on a short trip somewhere
for my birthday!
Mother planned to go to Coolum. See, I’d been there back in
2004 back for my year twelve school camp, and I’d come back telling mother that
the beaches were beautiful and that if I ever had the chance, I’d take her
there one day. Obviously, what with the cruel and unfaithful God so wantonly
destroying my life with the disabling brain tumour back in 2007, I of course
wasn’t in any physical condition to take anyone anywhere, but I accepted her
offer, because mother would be able to take a stroll at the beach herself and
see how pretty Coolum really was.
Mother had originally planned a two/three night stay, but I
talked her out of it because (1) I wanted to enjoy my fortnightly Garbo
shopping trip with my carer/life coach/support worker/whatever they’re called
now :P before going there and (2) the first FX for 2015 was on the Friday night
(my actual birthday) and I really didn’t wanna miss that!
But first, she had her trip back to Hong Kong
first. On the night that dad and I were to pick her up, I spent like 1.5 hours
watching You Tube clips on the television, because dad had booted me offline
earlier, saying he didn’t want me staring at close-up things for so long.
When we finally got to the airport, dad pulled up at the
pick-up zone then got out, instructing me to wait while he brought mother back.
When I saw mother coming towards the car, I immediately got out and gave her a
huge hug! Then I held her at arm’s length, and said, “Wait, are you all still
here? Lemme check: a head full of hair, four eyes, one nose, one mouth, open
your mouth so I can see you’ve still got teeth; now, gimme your hands … have
you still got ten fingers? Alright, I’ll count your toes tonight when we get
back home and make sure you’re all still here.” XD
Soon, it was the Thursday to set out on my birthday trip to Coolum!
We left in the arvo, after I’d enjoyed my fortnightly Garbo shopping trip with
Roxana. Traffic was smooth and we made good time to the holiday place. Once at
the resort, the parents hopped out to check in, while I stayed in the car.
When mother comes back, she reports that we’ve been given a
free upgrade! See, we’d originally booked a single room and just noted the
place we’d have to drag in an extra bed to accommodate the three of us, but
we’d been given a free upgrade to a bigger room that had two beds! I went, “Cool,
mum, did you tell the manager it’s my birthday tomorrow and so he gave us a free
upgrade?” Mean mother sneered back, “Of course not; you’re not that special. We
only got a free upgrade because they’ve got vacancies right now and they can’t
be bothered moving a trundle bed into a smaller room for us.” Lol, like I
cared; a free upgrade was a free upgrade!
We hiked upstairs and checked the place out; it was very
nice! I was most impressed with the little jet spa bath located in the
bathroom; I was definitely using that, since we didn’t haveta pay the water
bill! Mother was very sceptical at first. “I dunno, it looks too high for you
to get in…” but I reassured her that I’d manage just fine, if dad stayed behind
me.
After checking out the place, mother went to explore the
beautiful beaches I’d told her about, while I watched television. I was very
impressed: our hotel came with Foxtel! I spent the afternoon watching some
rugby league commentary show.
Come dinner time, dad drove us to this main street that’s
supposedly internationally famous for its night markets. “Yeah, it’s so famous
I’ve never heard of it before!” I scoffed. XD
But first, there was dinner to be had. We passed by several
random takeaway stores, but in the end, decided on Pizza Capers! Yummo~
After that, we wandered the night markets. I saw some
ornamental wooden name plaque that I really liked and pointed it out to dad,
who suggested, “Try asking the seller for a discount.”
So once I had the fella’s attention, I told him, “My name’s
Emily, and I really like that plaque there. Can I have a discount, please?” The
guy laughed, saying, “Well, I can’t give you a discount on the plaque itself,
but you see this pretty strap? You can use it to hang the plaque up on your
door. Normally it’s three dollars, but I’ll give it to you for free if you buy
the plaque.” Done deal! Afterwards, carrying my wares back to the car, mother
again sneered at me, “The guy probably offers that to everyone just to get them
to buy the plaque.” Again, I didn’t care in the slightest; I thought the plaque
was really cool!
So, home (well, hotel), bathroom, bed. Goodnite and zzz.
I awoke the next morning around 7:30am. Heading towards the loo, I’m intercepted by dad,
who holds a chocolate cake under my nose. “I found it!” he crows, obviously
very proud of himself. See, I have physio at UQ every Wednesday. After my hour
of therapy ends, I bump into a bunch of old ladies arriving to take a balance
class. Mother has asked them to encourage me in my physio, so often when I
leave they’re like, “Oh, you’re doing so well” and “Keep up the good work!” When
I told one of these ladies (I think her name’s Jill) that it was my birthday on
Friday, she squealed excitedly, “Ooh, are you going to have cake?” and when I
answered her, “I sure hope so!” she told me, “Then you MUST get a choc orange
cake. They are simply the BEST.”
Anyways, my dearest dad being an early riser, he’d wandered
to some local bakery somewhere and really found me this cute little choc orange
cake!
I honestly can’t remember how we spent the rest of the day,
but by the arvo dad had tootled us safely back home, I’d taken a shower and
tootled online. Mother had hit the sack upstairs and dad was upstairs also,
although I’m unsure what he was doing up there.
I was born at 6:22pm,
and come 6pm, when neither parent had
ventured downstairs, yelled upstairs, “Hey, if you’re not coming downstairs to
celebrate my birthday with me, I’m coming upstairs to find you at 6:20pm in time for my 6:22pm birthday!”
My dad comes downstairs and says, “Mum’s still upstairs
talking to the solar hot water guy. I think she’ll come down soon.”
But she doesn’t! At 6:20pm,
I shove back my chair, determining I’m gonna hike upstairs and find mother so I
can pass my birthday with her, but dad says not to. “Don’t worry, he reassures
me, he’ll wait for it with me. See, isn’t my dad the sweetest? <3 (yes, I’m
a bona fide daddy’s girl ^^)
And the clock suddenly ticks over to 6:22pm! “Dad, I’m born!” I yelp, and for the sake of it,
emit several baby cries. XD Dad laughs, walks over to the computer where I’m
seated and gives me a gigantic hug and kiss. “Happy birthday,” he whispers into
my ear.
Later, when mother comes downstairs, having finally gotten
off the phone, I snipe grumpily at her, “What, you really couldn’t have gotten
off the phone for just twenty seconds to pass my birthday with me??” she just
snipes back, “I was trying to fix our hot water system, or are you wanting to
take cold showers for awhile now?” Haha, I wouldn’t: I’d have a bucket shower
instead! You know, boil kettle of water, mix with cold water (you test the
temperature on your elbow, of all places, to make sure the water’s not too hot;
I never knew that!) then tip over person. XD
Anyways, that night was our monthly FX!
After dinner, I get
tootled to church. Sitting down on one of the most left-hand side seats (the
cruel and unfaithful God also took away my left side side vision, amongst many
other things, and I feel slightly nervous whenever I sit and there are people
more to the left than me, because it means I can’t see them), several people
wander over and wish me happy birthday.
I will sheepishly confess that, because I’m writing this
almost six months after my birthday, I’ve forgotten what the topic was, but I’m
sure I learnt lots!
Even better, afterwards Tim and I got a birthday cupcake
each! I can’t remember did I ask were people gonna sing ‘happy birthday dear Emily
and Tim’ or ‘happy birthday dear Tim and Emily’, but we sang the latter.
Only did you know, that wasn’t the end of birthday
celebrations for me!
I believe everyone who knows me also knows of my absolute
obsession with the Despicable Me minions; last year, when the Minion movie
trailer was first released, I had three different Facebook friends all post the
link onto my Facebook wall; to all three, I screeched excitedly in reply,
“Yes!! MUST watch!!” Even better, a friend, Donna Baker (well, she’s actually
mother’s friend; they met when studying childcare together and mother already
had her nursing degree; later, Donna gets a nursing degree also!) offers, “How
about I take you to see that in gold class?
I’ve never seen a movie in gold class before; isn’t that
when you get to sit in really comfy seats and can order food? When Donna
replies yes, I almost implode with excitement, say yes, please take me and
isn’t it June 2015 like tomorrow?? Donna laughs and says it’s only like July
2014 and that I’ve got about one year to wait. Still, three months after my
birthday this year, Donna contacts me over Facebook and shares two photos with
me: one is a photo of our GOLD CLASS
tickets, and the other seems to be some kinda outfit. I ask her what the clothes
are for, and she replies that she was bought me a costume to wear to the movie;
how exciting! I only have one question: Um, why did you buy me a Spongebob
Squarepants jumper? Donna: Oops, I just saw it was yellow and thought it was a
minion! XD Not to worry, problem easily fixed and jumper switched for a minion
one. XD
We watch the movie at the Garden City cinemas; before that,
I only knew you could watch gold class at Carindale!
Donna was awesome: apart from buying me a costume to wear to
the movie, she also bought me a fireman minion! He’s got three sirens attached
to him; when pressed, he’ll go, “beedoo beedoo beedoo!” and the sirens will
light up!
So after a loo trip to get changed, Donna tootles us off to
the Garden City cinemas! Turns out the gold class section is to the left of all
the other theatres; when we arrive there, Donna uses her mobile to take a
selfie for us under the gold class sign, just to prove that we were actually
there. XD
And I’m super-impressed: you sit in RECLINER ARMCHAIRS; talk
about luxury! After I find the lever to prop the footrest up, Donna takes a
photo for me and I immediately Whatsapp it to mother, saying, check this out!
Even better, for that particular session, we have the ENTIRE CINEMA to
ourselves!!
The movie itself was awesome; I mean, what’s there not to
love about the minions?? I’m not really sure how much Donna watched, though;
the few times I glanced over at her, she was busy typing away at her smart
phone! XD
For that occasion, Donna had ordered us both an ice cream
sundae; when we’d arrived, I’d first checked with the movie attendant that
there weren’t any nuts included in that sundae. Nope, all safe. We’d asked for
them to be brought to us at the beginning of the movie, and when they arrived,
we’d both taken photos of then tucked in lest they start melting. I’d giggled
to Donna, “I sent the photo of the comfy armchair I’m sitting in to mother, but
I’m not gonna send her this photo; if she sees it, she’ll never lemme eat ice
cream again!” XD Later, though, I did Whatsapp it to Aunty Deana, along with
the caption, “If you show my mother this, my life is forfeit.” XD
After the movie, Donna gave me a hand to the loo, where I
managed just fine by myself. Then it was lunchtime! I’d heard Warrigal Square
had recently opened a new HK-style café just opposite Woollies, and asked Donna
how about lunch thee? She agreed, but only after arriving did I learn she’s
actually allergic to MSG!” Oh, you should’ve told me earlier,” I groused at
her, “we could’ve gone somewhere we could both eat!” I also check with her
that, if she accidentally consumes some MSG, she won’t suddenly
explode/combust/anything drastic like that, because like I warned her, if she
suddenly has some kinda reaction, I have absolutely zero medical knowledge at all;
all I’d be able to do would be to ring triple zero and scream for help. XD
I ask the waitress showing us to our table what the set meal
is for today. “Chicken fried udon,” she begins, and I’m thinking, “Score!” but
then she finishes, “in XO sauce.” Dulp, I can’t eat spicy food. Instead, I
trawl through the menu and choose a roast pork baked rice with a cold milk tea.
It’s beyond delicious and even better, Donna lets me eat the whole thing in one
go and doesn’t demand I doggy bag half home for afternoon tea! :D For herself, Donna
orders a plate of spring rolls. I watch her carefully over lunch, and phew, she
shows no sign of exploding/imploding/anything dramatic like that. XD
Only by the time she drops me off home, she’s in a rush to
get to work! A quick hug goodbye, a huge thanks, and I’m left to make my
tentative way back to the computer, which thankfully I make safely without
having to land flat on my butt.
And thus ended my birthday celebrations for another year! I
really don’t understand Jehovah’s Witness people, who don’t celebrate
birthdays: what’s not to celebrate about the special day when you first popped
out into this world?
I will confess to feeling slightly nostalgic, though. With
Despicable Me coming out in 2010, Despicable Me 2 coming out in 2013 and the Minions
movie coming out this year, that’s presumably the end of the franchise, and I
will haveta find something new to obsess over. Well, all good things must come
to an end…
But wait, there’s more! I just opened the Internet Movie Database
website to check out the release dates of Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2,
and apparently there’s gonna be a Despicable me3 in 2017!! *explodes with
excitement* my obsession with the minions may be able to continue!! XD
Well, my only gripe about watching this Minions movie in
gold class was that it was just too short! Ninety minutes relaxing in pure
luxury surely can’t compare with finding something Lord of The Rings length and
watching that in gold class!
Well, I’d better draw this post off to a close; I’m starting
to waffle on about everything else here but my birthday. XD Let me just say
that I had an awesome time celebrating my birthday, and I will try to accept
being someone in my late twenties gracefully!
Next post here … well, our church camp happens very soon;
maybe I’ll pen something about that afterwards? Anyways, until then~
Cheers,
Em. ^^
