the eve of thirty

On the eve of the day of the big three-O, a troop of work colleagues stormed into a serious internal work meeting I was in with a cake and a loud chorus of the birthday song. It took me a few seconds to register that it was a pre-planned surprise for me; even the meeting was somehow part of the plan. They chose the eve of the big day because they somehow thought I'd taken the actual day off work. These peeps must be really pleased with themselves for executing a successful surprise finally after so many failed attempts on other birthdays previously. Well done!


The chocolate cake they got for me. Even huge chocolate fans like me found the cake too rich and sweet to have more than a little slice.


Many left well wishes and funny messages for me on the card, including JJ and Tres from Pablo's Cafe. Apparently, the Hokkien Aeroplane Housemate (HAH) took a long time to practise drawing a monkey for decorating the otherwise plain white envelope for the card.


Here's me cutting the cake.


Checking out the cool 'thirty' card and opening my present.


The HAH started a 'retro-rose-tinted-with-gold-frame-Ray-Bans-for-the-MCP-fund' and managed to pool together enough money to get me that much coveted pair of sunnies I blogged about last X'mas.

I must admit I looked rather hostile when the gang swarmed into the small meeting room. I was focusing very seriously on the work meeting and was about to blast at whoever was interrupting the meeting until I finally discovered the scheme. Not that I am rude but it really was a shock for me! Albeit a very pleasant one. There were a few videos taken which I will share when I've had some time to do some editing.

That same day, I was chauffeured to a candlelit venue for a homecooked dinner of lamb racks cooked to perfection. As part of the pre-birthday celebration plan, I got to participate in the making of a berry meringue which turned out super yummy for a first attempt.


Left: Candles were everywhere.
Right: Entrée - smoked salmon, olives, pâté and crackers.


I had a very generous serving of the lamb that was cooked to perfection with some mushrooms and sweet potatoes on the side.


Dessert - berry meringue. It was hard work beating up the egg whites until they were huge mountains of white fluff before folding the berries in. My virgin attempt that turned out better than just being edible. It was delicious.

I got to open up more presents after the sumptious dinner. More of things I'd been wishing for! I got a Crumpler seven million dollar home for my camera gear and the Diana F+ set complete with all the lenses. Woohoo!!!


The bag in a cool grey colour with red trimmings.


This is like a giant plastic toy set.


I had a fun time opening up the Diana set and checking out each little plastic part that came with it. Now I just need more time to actually play with it.

All these even before the three-O hit! More to come!