Turning 21 #2

21

A number that could represent anything. 21 stalks of roses on Valentine’s Day, 21 steps from a finishing line, 21 grams of fat you consume everyday, the price of that ridiculously expensive fancy appetizer at a fancy restaurant, 21 times you played your favorite song at one time, 21 minutes you took to read a relatively short paragraph of that book, just because you couldn’t grasp what the author’s trying to tell you.

But, for me, 21 is just another number. Another number that shows I’m ageing by the minute. Last year, it was 20. The year before, it was 19. This year, it’s vingt-et-un (that’s French for 21). The night before I turned 21, Pika, Shewa and me went to go to see kunang-kunang of Sg. Kuantan. That was kinda a birthday celebration for me, minus the cake and presents. I have a theory for my life. The older I get, the less presents I get for my birthday. I don’t lose sleep over this because people are not obliged to buy people presents. Besides, it’s the thought that counts, right?

Fireflies only live and breed on certain trees, such as pokok api-api, nipah, and another that I couldn’t recall. That’s what the pakcik boat told us. Fireflies that flicker faster are the males. We saw this pair of a male and a female on a tree, all by themselves. The rest of the colony is on the next tree. Ehem ehem. I also saw a pair of males closely together on one part of a tree. Haha. I was thinking ‘Could insects be homosexuals?’ when Pika/Shewa pointed out that there’s also another male there. Well, maybe they were watching their version of football, on their version of couch?

Here are couple of pictures before we got on the boat.

Shewa & Pika - the 2 people I can't live w/o in Kuantan

Roommates who suggested to go there in the

first place. Why did I pose like that?

After we got on the boat:

Shewa on the phone with somebody,

Pika being goofy. See the reflections of light

in the water?

Yellow arrows = fireflies. Pink arrow = not. Pardon the horrible picture. I had to resize it.

2 nights after that: my impromptu birthday celebration with the girls. Total Secret Recipe cake slices bought: 4. All different ones. Caramel cheese, white choc macadamia, American brownie, raspberry yogurt cheese. We also stuffed ourselves silly with Nestle Mat Kool’s rainbow ice cream – the whole tub, Gardenia Jumbo size and F&N Orange. Yeah, it’s not a grand one, but who cares? We had a good time.