Happy Birthday! (to me)

*This will be an 18-SX post. Mainly because I'm old enough now. And I wanted to quote some messages I got verbatim*

It's been 22 hours. I'm still surviving, nothing bad yet.

My lungs still breath the humid air. No MI-related chest pains yet. Eyes still chinky-squinty needing the same prescription glasses. Still have a headful of (thinning) hair. And as far as I can tell, my genitalia's still functioning normally.

So, being 30 isn't as bad as I had feared (so long as I don't wake up tomorrow morning bald with my male appendage dead and wilted on the hardwood floor beside the bed).

This has been a swell birthday. I got a ton of birthday wishes via SMS, emails, voicemail (thank you all so much)(if you haven't, it's still not too late). From dear friends who miss me so much, the messages retrieved from my voicemail:

"Oii cibai. Where the hell are you? Calling to wish you happy birthday lar!"

"Fucker. Happy birthday!"

"Where the shit are you? So difficult to reach. Cheh..."

I feel so loved.

Got a beautiful gift basket from dear old sis, in collaboration with mom and dad. She even paid for it using MY credit card. Bwahaha. Okay, in all honesty, this was after her card was rejected because it was foreign-issued. She promises to pay me back. It's the thought that counts dear sis!

And then, aside from the wonderful surprise from Kris, she got me my dream car!!! A Honda S2000! The poor dear went around looking for a white S2000 but couldn't find one. But this colour suits me fine.

But seriously. I thought about this last night as I had dinner with friends. How one truly feels blessed, to be surrounded by dear, dear friends and loves ones. To have a wonderful family even if they're far away. Because, compared to this, all the riches in the world mean nothing.

Thinking about what I've accomplished in my 30 years, I feel lucky too being here. How a tubby homesick kid from a small town in Malaysia ended up in this hospital is beyond comprehension. I think luck, fate and the powers that be, have more to do with it than me. While I feel privileged and honored, I remind myself that I can't take credit for it. I recall that famous line.

If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants

And the giants who carried me this far, carry me still. My family who believed I could always reach higher than what I thought. My dear friends, old and new, near and far, who molded and shaped me into the person I am. And, the person fast becoming my primary source of energy, my dear Kris.

Thanks all, for a wonderful birthday.