Lamenting Thirty

As Ooyah will always exclaim these days: “OH ME, OH MY!!!”/ “OH MANGODDDD!!!!” (oh my god)
….has it been FOURTEEN days already since 2009?

Looks like I’m done with resolutions- didn’t make any- and don’t plan to ever again. Let’s just go with life on an ad hoc basis, yeah?

And I have been missing in action for so long because the evil work bug has hit me again, and it has hit me hard. I have been going home at 6 or 7pm everyday only to finish admin work (form teacher duties, departmental programmes, coordinating the school’s conversational Chinese/Malay programme, overseas trips et cetera, et cetera…). Which means lesson planning and marking are diverted to=> home sweet home, and then reverted back to school the next day.

I think I should change my job title to ‘admin executive’, and not so much ‘teacher’. It is a misnomer, and may I please have a 9 to 5 job? Please?

With all the work piled up (already???), I’m not even in the mood to celebrate my own birthday. I don’t feel like spending on myself, or being spent on, or going for feasts… it doesn’t help either that I move from ‘the late twenties’ to ‘the early thirties’.

Yes, I turn three-o today. How depressing.

Forseeing that I would feel this way, my best friend Geet suggested that we should go out and celebrate the last ever night I’d be in my twenties. I was actually hyped up about celebrating last night. I ended up finishing my work at 6.00pm, energy zapped out, nursing a reccuring cold and megawatt migraine, plonked myself into bed and slept until 10pm. But- by God- that was the most satisfying sleep I’ve had in days! How dandy is that?

And I actually feel different. Like I’m behaving the way thirty year-olds behave. Pshaw- I don’t know how to explain it, it just feels different. Being in the twenties certainly means and feels differently from thirties, right? Now the word ‘youth’ is totally out of my league- it is not applicable in any context at all now (other than my vocation of course). I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing, it could be good… it’s just a different feel. I’m sure those of you who have ‘crossed the bridge’ know what I mean. Sigh. See? I’m blabbering nonsense and repeating myself already. Is that substantial proof of old age setting in or what?

I remember feeling this way last year, one degree less depressed because then, I was feeling sad about it being the last year in my twenties. Now the inevitable has happened.

 A glimmer of hope appeared in the form of a letter from ICA today. Yes. The passport people. I told my husband- this would be the best gift EVER- maybe they decided to be lenient (it’s my birthday whaaaatttt….) and lift the ban. I excitedly read the letter and whaddya know?

It’s a notification for me to make a new IC since they figured- 16 certainly looks different from THIRTY, correct?

Bummer. Thanks ICA, for playing YET ANOTHER nasty prank on me.

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I was asked by the husband what I want for a present this year, and like the last, I REALLY don’t know. Sure, I did take a look at fab bags and dazzling diamonds, but I just didn’t know what I want. Just- give me a little bit more time, okay, and I’ll decide eventually.

Thank you to my dear friend Kakkin for the wonderful surprise at school today- the balloon certainly did attract some attention, and the cactus: they’ll be a reminder to me, to be resilient and formidable (so NO ONE can make me do anything against my will!) Thanks to Fauzia for the jewellery box- I will strive to fill it up and reward myself with jewels regularly! And thank you to my dearest Ibu for the beautiful natural pearl necklace,bracelet and earring set which I will never permit myself to buy- I truly treasure it and it will be an heirloom to be passed down to my daughter and her daughter and her daughter……… thank you all for the wonderful gifts. My thanks also go out to friends who actually remembered my birthday and bothered to wish me a happy birthday; I am truly touched!

So maybe I will feel a lot better about being thirty tomorrow. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Oh yes. More admin work I’m sure.

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