Birthday

Today was pretty much like any other day, except for the fact that we celebrated Andrew's birthday at Little Bali.

Jade had been planning the event for 2 months now. She wanted to give Andrew a very memorable birthday party, and so has been sneaking behind his back, planning this party for him. And she did very well to conceal the event from him too. Until the moment he saw us, he no idea that anything was planned. And he was really happy to see his friends coming out to celebrate with him.

I left the house at 1855hrs to make my way over to Little Bali, which was located at Lock Road, which is near Alexandra Road. I had earlier calculated that it would take me about an hour to get to the place from where I was, so I had left the house when I did to arrive punctually. Punctually being 2000hrs.

However, being the scatterbrain that I seemed to be these days, this walking genius cleverly crossed the road to the bus stop opposite from where his house was. So what's wrong about that? Well nothing, except for the fact that the party was the other way. It took me quite a while before I realised I was headed in the wrong direction.

When I realised what I did, I gave my head an almighty smack, which drew the attention of several passengers on the bus. They must have thought I was some kind of nut job. I quickly pressed the bell, and alighted at the very next stop. Since I had planned my journey very precisely, I knew I was bound to be late if I took the bus again.

With all options exhausted (actually I had many other options, but was lazy), the only choice left was to request help from my creator. No, not that Creator. He's for more important things and cannot be disturbed for such trivial matters. I meant my father.

I gave him a call on his cell, and thankfully, he was headed in the same direction I was going, Alexandra! It was really fortunate, because otherwise he would not agree to send me anywhere. My other Creator must have helped a bit too. Thank You!

I took a bus back home, and after a bit of a wait, my father's car appeared in the distance. I got into his car and we were soon on our way. There was a bit of a jam when we entered the expressway, but the traffic was still moving so it didn't worry me all that much. I knew we would get there, albeit later than sooner. Still, I was grateful. At least I wouldn't be late.

And late I wasn't. I arrived promptly at 2000hrs, on the dot! Coolio! I was a bit hesistant to go to the reserved table, because there would be people there that I wouldn't know. Then God pulled another string of his. The moment I got out of the car, Adeline got out of hers and waved to me. How fortunate! And so we walked in while her husband parked their car.

A teenager greeted us as we entered the place. First thing I noticed about her was that she was cool. I absolutely loved her hair, which was basically like mine (long, swept acrossed the forehead), but with so much more flair. Even though her clothes were last seasons, her hair made all the difference. And yeah, I shouldn't be commenting about fashion, considering the way I dress.

We soon got to the table where most everyone was already seated. I gave an almighty 'Hello!' to everyone at the table, before going around to introduce myself to everyone. I met lovely Susan, whom I've heard a lot about from Jade (what about cake time?!). I also met pretty Ji-Young, whom Jade also mentions frequently. I met all the other friends of Jade/Andrew as well.

And apparently, I had gained some fame as Smurfie. When I introduced myself to Susan, she went, 'Oh I know who you are! You must be Smurfie!'. More or less the same with the others. 'Ah, you're Smurfie!'. Which was kinda cool. Even though I no longer will be known as Mark, Smurfie is quite a unique nickname. Well, rather then Egghead...

Not too long after we sat down, the couple arrived. All of us present gave Andrew a big greeting, which surprised him greatly. It was really lovely seeing that look on his face. I was really happy for him, as all his friends came out to celebrate with him.

After greeting everyone, they finally sat down at the table. We order drinks and requested for the food to be served. While that was happening, everyone brought out their gifts for him. I almost gave myself another great smack, because the genius that I was forgot to bring the present I had gotten for him! What an embarassment! But I got away, because I was the kid. Hehe.

The food came in due time, and we tucked in. I must say, the food was half decent. From what I read on food blogs, the place didn't have the best of rep for good food. It was more about the ambience. But I liked the food, and helped myself to it shamelessly. The highlight of the meal was the fried mantous! Oh, mantou mantou, I love you. Those mantous can make me weak in the knees.

So we had our meal, chatted quite a bit. Everyone was laughing and talking and generally having a good time. I really enjoy being in that kind of situation, whether it involves me or not. That vibe that people give off, it makes me smile.

After the meal we basically mingled. For a moment everything on my side of the table halted, because a cockroach had come flying at us and the girls were freaking out. Using my super fast thinking and kick ass ninja skills, I trapped the cockroach under a plate. Ha! Take that you flying abomination! I must admit I felt kinda cool when I did that. It's not often you get to show off your cockroach trapping skills.

And soon after that, we had cake! It was the birthday cake for Andrew. It was a chocolate cake with a biscuit bottom and a jellied top. The jelly on top was so that a design could be put on the cake. The design was... a monkey! How cute is that!

After everyone had their fun commenting about the monkey, the candles were lighted and we sang Andrew a birthday song. Then, it was cake cutting time. With all the cake slicing skills of an ogre, Andrew cut pieces of cake out for everyone. It was kinda fun, because people got to choose what part of the monkey they wanted. Susan got the eye, and Gerry got the frontal lobe (brain). I got the sinus cavity. Charming.

After cake, we mingled somemore. Pretty soon though, and one by one, people started leaving as it was getting late. First it was Ad and Stephen (her husband), then it was Karen (I think that was her name) and Gerry. Then Susan and her hubbie, then the Indian couple whose names I completely forgot!

It soon came down to Jade, Andrew, me, Ji-Young and her husband, Boris. We requested for the bill, and after settling some finaces, we got up to leave. We saw that cool (and cute too) girl as we came out, and she got cabs for us. Ji-Young's cab came first, and after a long wait and another cab later, ours came too. We cabbed to Jade's place first, then I cabbed home.

Right now I'm rushing to finish this entry cause my stomach is killing me. I hate tummy aches! Alright folks, I'm going to go. I've gotta nuke the head! Au revoir!