According to my mother, I was born on the eve of Chinese New Year and she used to tell me that I have a "snake head" and a "dragon tail". When I was very young, I didn't understand what she said but as I grew older, I finally got it. To those who don't get it, it basically means I was born on the last day of Year of the Dragon at 2pm in the afternoon, on the eve of Chinese New Year (the Year of the Snake). But I think she got it all wrong because when I googled, I was born a day after Chinese New Year and not on the eve LOL. I think she got the dates mixed up but it doesn't really matter anyway and yes, I was born in the Year of the Snake.
And yeah, today is my birthday! How old am I? Some people prefer to keep their age a secret but not me. I just don't see the point of keeping it hush-hush. Forty one. I am 41 years young.
In Malaysia, the youngsters would call me an "aunty". Why aunty? In Malaysia and Singapore, an aunty is any woman who is roughly 15 (or more) years older than you. Like for example, if you are in your twenties, it is common for you to call a woman in her 40s an aunty. It's a sign of respect like in the western world you refer to such woman as "madam". However, some women do not like to be called aunties because they will think you just called them old. LOL. It's funny, really.
As for me personally, I don't mind if my young relatives call me that but if you are not related to me, I would prefer you to call me by my name or if you are really young or a teenager, go ahead call me aunty. However, if you are in your twenties or thirties, call me kakak (elder sister), please! One of my pet peeves is being called an aunty by someone who is obviously older than I am! It happened to me several times, good God.
Words of Wisdom
So that I am in my forties now is there any wisdom to impart to the younger generations? I am no wise woman but if there is any piece of advice to be given, it's this...
“We all spend our twenties and thirties trying so hard to be perfect, because we’re so worried about what people will think of us. Then we get into our forties and fifties, and we finally start to be free, because we decide that we don’t give a damn what anyone thinks of us. But you won’t be completely free until you reach your sixties and seventies, when you finally realize this liberating truth—nobody was ever thinking about you, anyhow.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
What a gem. I wish I wrote that. Elizabeth is right. Stop wasting your time trying to please anyone. Stop worrying about what people think about you. I wasted many years of my life trying to please people and trying to fit into a "mold" of what people think I should be.
What people think about you is none of your business. Spend your time to pursue the most important thing - seeking God.
How I Spent My Birthday?
No fancy celebration. I don't like parties and I rather spend it doing something simple and meaningful with my family. The first thing I did was to bring my family to eat Sarawak kolo mee. We found this restaurant/hawker centre serving kolo mee after a relative recommended it to us. I have been looking everywhere for a place that serves kolo mee but most places that I found do not serve kolo mee with that distinct authentic taste. I am a Sarawakian and I am choosy about the taste!
Looks nice and the taste is not bad at all. I rate this 7 out of 10. Not bad at all. And I am happy because this restaurant is just a couple of kilometers from my apartment.
There is no birthday cake for me but I bought some pineapple tarts because I have not eaten this for a long time. (A great excuse to indulge in unhealthy food).
Gifts? No gifts too and I don't mind. I have everything I need and I am not in the habit to keep things I don't need. I am a minimalist way before such lifestyle becomes trendy. However, I did buy a couple of shirts because I need to replace a couple of old ones.
And finally, I sketched a self-portrait. Recently I set up a personal art gallery at home and this self-portrait will be up on the wall too (my husband put it up as I typed this).
The Progress Photos In Animated Gif
This is the first time I created an animated gif and I think I will use this method to share the progress photos in my future posts. What do you think?
Thank you for visiting! What do you think of this post? Please leave your comments below.
My previous posts:
Preliminary Sketch Of A New Portrait
A Trip To The National Planetarium
Gong Xi Fa Cai | Wishing All Chinese Steemians A Happy Chinese New Year
Valentine's Day | On Falling In Love
Our Family Attended Team Malaysia MyJuniors First Event
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