These past few years, usually a fortnight after the new year, me and my dad would routinely invite our circle of friends and relatives over to our house for a dinner. This year wasn’t exempted. I myself personally has gotten over the term ‘birthday party’ and refer it as plainly as dinner to my invited guests. A night to mingle around with the people important to me.
To my close friends, we commonly refer it as ‘The January Thing’. A January event which obviously happens each year at my place so far where I officially celebrate a year knowing that I am not getting much younger.
To friends who noticed the presents that piled up in one corner addressed to me, I apologize for not telling you beforehand that it’s a birthday dinner. Your presence, each and everyone of you who came, wanted to come but couldn’t make it, who came last minute, is the best present I could receive.
It’s really a great feeling to know your different social groups have something in common. Like how a friend from this group knows this friend of mine from another group. I had a couple of this coincidences that night. The worst thing is to find a friend of mine sitting alone… devouring the dessert that I made alone… (I made Konkkayu jelly with mom’s assistance)
Birthday cakes were spared this year as my dad and I didn’t had high regard on whether we had a birthday cake or not. My birthday is only a day after my Dad’s if you are just curious why we tend to celebrate this occasion together.
More or less, the tendency to invite every friend you know is charming but the idea of me trying to point out my friends to my mom would be devastating. You know how moms have this tendency to know every piece of your life which you try so hard to keep a secret. Some people call it privacy.
On this night, I feel I am being judged by the horde of aunties I never really quite knew sitting in a group. I go in and out of the house trying to make sure each and everyone of my social groups are alright with the food, ambience, mosquitoes parading outside my house etc.. But it’s good to know at the end of the night, everyone had a good time except my maid who’s going to do a lot of cleaning up.
After the dinner, we went over to Shen to club and then a late drink over at Cocoon. It was a packed Saturday night with most of the people I had know idea existed in a small city called Kota Kinabalu. By 3, I felt like sleeping. Really sleeping and felt like puking. Thank god I didn’t.