Getting Closer to 40

Today is my birthday. I am working but I think I will get to dine at the English Tea House or some other joint tonight. I love the English Tea House but I feel like something Italian – tomatoey and cheesy. It has been a long time since I ate any pasta dishes. I did eat a generous helping of lasagne in KL, before Christmas. But that was almost half a year ago.

It was nearly a year ago that I came back to Sabah. I touched down on the 20^th of May, 2011. It has been one mighty roller coaster ride that I am not wishing to hop on again. I came home to see my Dad who was fighting cancer. At that stage, he wasn’t really fighting; it felt more like he was surrendering to whatever that was coming. After my Dad’s passing, I began to enjoy my family’s hospitality/attention even though technically, we were still in mourning. I was even planning for a wedding! Things soured though and by mid September, I was dumped unceremoniously.

By the end of the year, I began to experience a change that I would never wish on anyone. As news spread, I became the rejected and used product that I am now. I actually found this more painful than when two doctors told me that I was in very bad shape. The health problems immediately ended my chance to work in KL. When I got better, the job was no longer there. After Chinese New Year, I was deemed fit enough to work as a Dish Pig and there, I stayed.

Recently, I read the birthday post of an ambitious Sabahan blogger. He listed 26 things he had done when he was 26. His list was quite impressive. May be I should get a move on and start doing a long list of things for when I write my birthday post next year. Since I am a lot older than that blogger, my list of things to do would be quite long! One thing that I really wish to accomplish is to use Asian style toilets like a pro. It is not because I aim poorly but I still get an ‘F’ for that right now because I simply can’t perform, full stop. I also wish that the reverse culture shock experiences will start to dwindle over time.