Happy Birthday to Myself

Me and Joleen's main course, shrimp n chick pasta.

Appetizer, boneless wings.

John's main course, steak burger.

Charlotte's main course, Fish n Chips.

For some people, birthday is the most important day throughout the year. But there are also a minority of people who think otherwise. And yes, I belong the to latter category. As for me it's just another ordinary day in my life. You may be asking why, why would I have such thought? Well, I would say it's due to my family background. My parents rarely celebrate my birthday. For them, it's a "secondary" thing to do in their priority list. My mum told me that there's no need to throw a party on my birthday. She said it's simply a waste of time and money. Instead, she would rather me focus and do well in my studies and reward me with something else. That's why, I never receive any gift on my birthday. I didn't really understand why me and my brothers were trained and raised in such way. But in recent years, after my graduation, I started to understand the reason behind it. The reason is simple, it's the "priority" in life. I learnt that mum was trying to tell us "studies" and "career" are the most important thing throughout our life. She once said, once you have the ability to earn big bucks, you can do whatever you want and buy whatever you want, wouldn't that be sweet, as if everyday's your birthday? I know some of us may not agree with her way of teaching because it's kinda "unreasonable" and "old-fashioned". But it doesn't matter, because she has succeeded and her children did capture her good intention, though our childhood was a bit miserable as compare to other people.

Few days ago, it was my 24th birthday. I wasn't expecting any sort of surprise and as usual, I wasn't particularly excited about it. Instead of waiting for other people to surprise me with gifts and cakes, I was actually thinking, "how about throwing a party and invite all my friends to join and have fun"? But the plan failed in the end due to last minute call up by my company to fly for another two days, which one of the two flying days happened to be my birthday. So I was left with no choice and I spent my birthday in the air flying the aircraft. I didn't tell the cabin crew about it, nor did I tell my captain it's my birthday, or else, they'd have sung a birthday song to me. I let my birthday pass unrecognized, and I was telling myself even though there's no official party or wishes from others, it's indeed an amazing and extraordinary birthday. Why? Because sitting in the cockpit flying the aircraft has been my dream since I was young. And no one, including myself, could have imagined that after 24 years, that little Jameson who once had a big dream in his childhood days, is flying the real aircraft bringing passenger from all walks of life to their destination. Wouldn't this the biggest gift in my life, having to see the dream has finally come true, and amazingly, it happened exactly on my birthday! Of course, for some people, it's a pity that I need to work on my birthday. I was having the exact same thought initially. But hey, think carefully, it's indeed a birthday present from God who has enabled my dream of flying to come true and it also bears testament to my mum's hardwork and teaching

Tonight, the 29th of September, after three days from my birthday, was a night of celebration for my 24th birthday. It was a simple celebration, no cake, but then I was happy because it's a night worth remembering because I was accompanied by the people who care for me. Special thanks to Charlotte for celebrating with me even though you weren't feeling well. And not to forget Joleen and John, our special guest for the night and their presence was truly the icing on the cake. It was my pleasure to have you all attended the dinner. Thanks guys, cheers.............