you know you have "arrived" when you celebrate your birthday in a chinese restaurant, the kind that people go to celebrate birthdays of OLD people. haha...! 

it was my idea. it is a great restaurant. have to "call to reserve place or else no seat" place. what stood out was the outstanding service. i love great, prompt, courteous service. then again, who doesnt? so here's a salute to all service staff who takes pride in serving well! 

my family doesnt do silly things like getting cake and getting the restaurant to play "happy birthday" song over the sound system.

but... it didnt stop them from "pirating" some1 else's when it was played. n i had to shish them to stop being such "cheapskates"... it's some1 else's birthday song for goodness sake!

but then, we broke out in fits of laughter when an employee walked in from outside saying that they didnt manage to play it on the speakers outside (the huge group of people celebrating that person's birthday was outside) so the birthday person didnt get to hear any of it when his/her cake was brought out to him/her. indeed, the song got played out for me instead. haha. 

yes i had a great birthday so far since the celebrations started. 

here's a summary of what happened so far-

key highlight: i OD-ed on tiramisu. the coffee liquor and cream in those things are near lethal!

finding a nice dress that is not too revealing is so very tough! it takes hard work and commitment to not compromise! 

went to restaurants with great waiters and waitresses. 

eat and eat.

slept alot

spent half day with God

got overwhelmed by His love and blessings. 

touched by the MANY MANY got b'day greetings from many many people.

am pretty booked up till b4 i leave for staff summit. it's an impossible task to rest or lose weight during this period!

b'day celebrations will continue till i m ready to give way to Christmas preparations. HAHA. 

see what i mean when i blogged about self-absorption during birthdays? sigh...

----

"RESOLVED, NEVER TO DO ANYTHING WHICH I WOULD BE AFRAID TO DO IF IT WERE THE LAST HOUR OF MY LIFE" - Jonathan Edwards

----

sometimes we get so caught up with the task of evangelisation that we failed to love the person into the kingdom. while setting faith goals, timelines, getting commitment, strategies, dividing up the job...be careful not to dehumanise. 

----

what is an axolotl (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) ? 

"water monster" and the "Mexican walking fish," 

has amazing traits, including retaining its larval features throughout its adult life, a phenomenon called neoteny. It lives all its life in the water but can breathe both under water with gills or by taking gulps of air from the surface, and the ability to completely re-grow lost limbs. Axolotls have played key roles in research on regeneration, embryology, fertilization and evolution. 

is near extinction.