35+1, I am that old huh. What is age to you? Age brings many other connotation in life depends on how you look at it. Am ashamed to admit that this +1, didn’t left any distinct mark in my heart. Of course I’m delighted by the well wishes, celebrations and all but I need something to strike my heart hard (as if death is not). I just need to wake up from this usual and start something huge. Is this what you call middle life crisis? 36 is way too young for that, no? *hunch and growl*. Apart from ‘rasa-rasa yang berbaur’ itu, the celebrations were way beyond my expectation. I guess Chenta smelt ‘rasa-rasa berbaur’ itu so he tried to make it up to me. Even if he was not, I would love to believe as it is:)
birthday present: another addition to his collections, shipped to his office under his name, ya tiada unsur suprise dan romantika de amor di situ. last yr saya dapat tv, last 2yrs saya dpt lens, you get it?
We had pre birthday dinner at our special place Aldiaf@. Special as many of our intimate family celebration were held here. Wah, new price list! Humangaii rm12 for baba ghanoush? Last time I think it was only rm6 rasanya.
Iman with the antique of Arab dining accessories
yang tinggal tulang kambing:)
On the day itself we flew to KK. The deals were simple, pool for Gebus, rest and seafood dinner for Mummy, that’s all. Stayed at P@cific Suter@, got 30% discount for gov rate. Yeay, boleh tambah satu lagi menu mlm ni!. Ya, baru rasa sedikit bangga kerja dgn company yg pakai batik on thursday.
As early as 2pm we changed to swimming gear and headed to the pool. Weather was extra nice, redup. The pool rests on the breezy seafront of Sutera Harbour. As if it not huge enough, we shifted to Magellan’s pool and only to be disappointed that although the slides are fun, the 0.9m pool is way too deep for gebus. Oh yes, guest can use amenities in both hotels.
the slides from far
kena sambut..
kembali ke pacific: gebus buat aksi mangga
By 5:30 were all dressed up (mengada kan..) and ready for shuttle to the city. I wanted to believe that dinner at so touristy rest was a special gift to me even though it was loud and clear that the main reasons were 1:near the shuttle stop, 2:well, tak kan nak dinner kat pasar filipina kan... 3:he wanted me to try slipper lobster!. Well, i prefer normal lobster hunny, but yeah.. i will try. It tastes weird, kind of heavy, like a mix between crab and prawn.
before dinner: moi at 35+1
As for you to know, in his last visit, Chenta suffered seafood-sick, vomiting till lembik and he had to go to the clinic for a jab. He ate variety of seafood so coudn't tell which one is the culprit. This time, he was all ok till he had the slipper lobster!. It took just few minutes, and he started sweating and felt dizzy. omg, I was so worried!. Nak kena gi klinik lagi ke? He stopped eating. Makan asam and just sat there dgn muka macam ayam berak kapur. Tidak, kami tidak ke klinik, dia tidak mahu and birthday girl kena habiskan all the food.
the feast:)
tapau cake and another celebration @hotel..
with this view...
The next day, we started early, at 6:45am dah breakfast!. by 8.00am Iman dah joya di pool.
1st!
happy
@11:15 headed to Manukan!. Last minute decision, but since sea quest (the operator) tepi hotel sahaja and mainly serves pacific and Magellan's guest, urusan sungguh senang.
menikmati angin laut.
Manukan is like a longer stretch of Redang. I didn’t snorkel so cant say anything about the corals but colorful fishes are easily spotted near the jetty area. They had this mini submarine that enables you to walk in the water but you need to be here early as they close around zohor time as the sea is rougher and keroh at noon hence less visibility and quite dangerous too.
I rent a tikar for 5 hengget and lepak under the tree breathing the breezy salty air. Well, birthday girl need not want extra tan ya. In contra, father and son enjoying the subtle wave on a low tide beach.
Balik manukan pukul 2.30 and Iman had another dip kat pool sampai pukul 4! Hantu air. Pukul 5 kami di bandar KK mencari udang kerin besar RM25/kg. Yeay... by 6:30 sudah checkin flight di airport. For a 1 night stay, I think we managed to do a lot of things in KK, no?
A week later, a good friend which I’ve not seen for more than 5 yrs, happened to be in KL and we met for lunch. Does he change or not? You bet! Soon to be Tan Sri, not only dressed well, looking all groomed and polished (as expected), but also spoke about work and family passionately. He looks so content; life must be treating him well and am happy for him. Saying goodbye was hard, if he is a she, I would hug her tight, filling my heart with all hers because I know, for us to meet again like this, entah bila.
Two weeks later, another dear friend spoilt me with an authentic thai lunch. All I want was a simple bagel with salmon from bijikopi but he insisted. I can’t thank enough.
As if those are not enough, my close buddy just pampered me with a facial and slimming treatment yo! We literally humiliated ourselves by letting the so called beauty consultant to pinch us at all the flabby and full of cellulite area and finger point the skin breakouts on our face! Hamek kau kiah!. Lepas itu saling mentertawakan diri sendiri over a good insaf healthy lunch at subway.
I always imagine that the older you get the lonelier your birthday will be considering the many lost along the way. At 36, I think I am still save, thanks to Chenta, family and friends (you know who you are). I’ve never been celebrated this way before and I think I can get used to it!*wink*
