shutterbugISm

A pleasant surprise was hatched in a shroud of secrecy complete with radio silence, secret code names and a whole bunch of people whom have come together to give this ole' bug a wonderful surprise @ Pasta Inc tonight :D

Given that I turn 30 only on next weekday Wed, the close friends have been in cahoots with Ms Clover (since last week apparently) in arranging a celebration at the lovely Pasta Inc restaurant tonight where the order of the dinner was lovely Italian Pastas, delicious appetizers, sweet desserts, great wine and most of all, being in the fantabulous company of the people that are close to our hearts :) Of coz, an ad-hoc KTV & rounds of Victoria Bitters @ Sharky's ended the night perfectly...

Ms Clover has really outdone herself this time with this surprise party coz she hid it rather well from the prying mind of this kaypo shutterbug who kinda sensed something was going on but half clueless as to what exactly has been planned. The details were mind-boogling so to speak b'coz of all the coordinations she have to arrange but I have to admit, she's really good in looking quite nonchalant while making sure everything is going as planned.

The only clues I had were her odd insistence of having dinner somewhere near town (we hate to go squeeze with the weekend crowd unless necessary) and her dressing-up to go cheong Mustafa afters today. The question on my mind is when but as to what and how... hehehe... I already have some clues....

Meeting everyone @ the restaurant was a feeling of comfort and loved coz I really missed spending time with them and they are the people that are of paramount importance to who I am today. Hahaha... so was it a surprise then? Nah... but it wasn't important compared to being able to spend time with and being in the presence of these friends Ms Clover and I have placed very close to our hearts.

Thank you, my dearest friends, for a wonderful celebration and for your generous & thoughtful gifts tonight!

Reflecting on the question of turning 30 this year, I would have to say that life still goes on but in the past 29 years of my life, I have experienced nothing but blessings upon blessings... yes there are always trying times and times when I'm defeated to the core and lost all motivations to stand up and soldier on but I wanna give thanks to God for seeing me through those times, for sending me selfless friends and aid in my times of need, to give me the words and actions to push me onwards to who and what I am today.

30 is just a number. What counts is who are you inside.

Lastly, to my beautiful Ms Clover.... thank you for organizing this surprise celebration. Even though I have suspected something already but I know from experience not to burst the bubble until it was fully formed :p but still, what touched me more is how you managed to organise and pull this dinner off despite being very busy @ work and having other commitments to boot. Thank you very much darling :D

Will update this entry with photos when the rest have posted :p

*in ref to this blog post earlier, the Canon 5D mk2 miniature has actually became the REAL THING, courtesy of Ms Clover :D I'm highly favored and greatly blessed! *

-------------- Update: 17 / 05 / 09 ---------------