Celebrations of all kinds

Well, so I went out with some of my close friends to celebrate my birthday on Saturday. Just some of the Stanford people, plus Joanne from dance. We arranged to meet at 6.30pm at City Hall, and going to Suntec to eat. We ended up eating at an international buffet at Suntec City Convention Center, because some of the guys wanted buffets. You can guess how large their appetite are. The decor was really nice and cosy. We were initially seated at a large 10 person table, but there were this cosy cushioned counters, with the sofas on three sides, and opened only on one side. It seems to fit around 6 people, but being crazy Stanford students, we somehow decided that it'll be fun to all squeeze in tight around this small, cosy looking counter. So we did. It wasn't too tight, with still enough space, although we needed to clear our plate pretty quickly to make space for everyone's food. The food was not too bad, but not impressive. The dessert, however, was actually much more interesting, and way better. Durian cream puffs, with real durian paste, kuah lapis (Thousand Layer Cake), lots of fresh fruits, and chocolate cake made a good round up for the dinner.

Shuzhen has her birthday one day after mine, 4th of August, so it was kinda like a double celebration. The guys got her a pair of earrings while they got me a Gundam Seed model of Freedom Gundam. I always wanted one, but was always too cheap to get myself one. But somehow, they made a gamble that I'll like it and bought it for me. It was definitely a good gift. I'm going to put it together and paint it sometime this weekend. We spent most of dinner catching up with the latest news and gossip, and talking about old times. After dinner, some of the people left for other parties, leaving Shuzhen, Zhihao, Jason, Hon Mun, Chris and me. We wanted to go get some coffee, but the entire Marina area was packed because of National Day rehearsals. Everyone was there, and there was no space to sit to get coffee. We ended up sitting at the Esplanade, talking and chatting, before leaving around 11pm.

Oh, the air-conditioning there is amazing. Very cold and very soothing. Have to try it out.

Today, had dinner with Tanya at Crystal Jade at Suntec. She just started work at IDA, which is located at Suntec Tower Three. She's been ill for the past weeks, with dengue fever and other stuff. What a way for Singapore to receive her after being away for so long. We chatted about her job, what I was doing, how she felt being back and what plans she had for the future. Many unknowns, which we'll take strides to solve. She then went to watch "Bewitched" with Harold, while I left for Marina Bay to meet up with the other Stanford guys.

Why the Stanford guys again? Coz we were going to Marina Bay to do the countdown for Singapore's 40th birthday. There were lots of fireworks, different singers performing on stage for a huge crowd. The singers were like Tanya Chua, 183 Club, and some other up and coming Taiwanese pop stars, along with the winner of Singapore Idol. The guest of honor was PM Lee Hsien Loong, and Minister of Defence Teo Chee Hien. We stood around, listening to the performances and waiting for the fireworks. The fireworks were okay, choreographed to old National Day celebration songs played by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. It wasn't very impressive, given that no one really cares about how well it fits with the music, but rather how bright and varied the fireworks are. So, for most of the 15 minutes which the fireworks went on, it was rather boring, and only at 2 points in the middle and the last finale part which was pretty impressive. I've seen so many firework displays that it has to be at least a dazzling sight in order for it to be anywhere close to good.

After the fireworks, everyone started leaving, so we went out for porridge in Chinatown. We'll be watching more fireworks tomorrow, but not before I get another game of ultimate frisbee pickup at Clarke Quay.