Knocked Out Of The Park!

Today was a blessing. :)

After church, got home and I actually took out the ironing board and ironed some of the really crinkled clothes from the last round of washing. It was also cuz my CNY dress (the one I bought for CNY two years ago I think) that I was planning to wear at night was crinkly too. Haha. Ironing is actually fun because it feeds my fake OCD as I can see the crinkly parts getting non-crinkly. Hmm, maybe ironing can be a therapy session for OCD ppl haha. 

Then after that, I skyped my parents while eating left over curry from dinner a few nights ago. It was such. a. great. skype. session. They were in Kuching. As always, it was full of cousins and aunties and uncles. The whole day I've been getting all these awesome food and ang pao and cousin photos in the Sleepless Foodies whatsapp group (a totally crazy whatsapp group with like 16 relatives omggg so many ppl, so many PHOTOS every day!). It was after dinner then for them, so they were just sitting around and playing taboo. I actually joined in and it was just so funny listening to them and watching them. I went unheard most of the time. But it was just so.. nice. To hear the banter and the silly laughter my cousins have, to hear the ridiculous description and answers for the game. It was.. normal. Like how it's supposed to be. Just that I wasn't there. Got to talk to my mum and dad, a treat!! And talked to a few aunties and uncles. Including Aunty Ping, so funny the stuff she asked me. "How's Coke?" "It's Cork, not Coke -.-" haha. It was like almost 2 hours of randomness. When I said bye, I was so sad!!! :'( But I was so happy to have skyped with them though. Thank God!!! Thank God man, especially when you think of the circumstances that led to the skype session. It wasn't planned or anything. I was just whatsapping my mum about how long you can keep raw chicken in the fridge for before it goes bad. And she asked to skype. See? God is good. :) 

Anyway. After hanging up, watched a bit of the Ireland vs. England rugby 6 Nations game thingy with Edel and the lads and others. (Ireland didn't play so well. Frustrating to watch -.-). Then got ready for Andrea's place and left for dinner wearing my newly ironed CNY dress hehehe. ::PRIDE:: (pride cuz I ironed it. not cuz. it was pretty or anything haha). Andrea had planned the dinner. Picking out the restaurant we would get the food delivered from, getting everyone to let her know what they wanted to order beforehand, ordering the food the day before, buying paper plates and cutlery and such. And she had said that the dinner was to celebrate the first day of CNY as well as my birthday. She had even put a "happy birthday" banner on the wall!!!!! :') Anyway. We waited for everyone to arrive. Kaumal came last after work. She walked in carrying a guitar in a bag. I was sitting on the couch in the living room, and if I looked right, I could be looking at the front door. So I did actually see the guitar. And Sunil, sitting next to me, was like, they're not even doing it discretely. He asked me if I saw it and I said yes, and I just said that I could pretend I hadn't seen it? Haha. In my mind I was like awww, they're gonna use that to sing me a happy bday song!!! 

So anyway. Dinner. Yummy food! Had chicken chow mien, thick noodles with sauce. Quite good la. :) Liked the thickness of the noodles. I ate really slowly. -.- Then we were sitting there chatting. Then Kaumal came in and she turned off the lights. And there was an awkward pause, Sam was like "KAUMAL!", and the cake was coming in but hadn't reached the living room yet. No one started singing. So I started singing my own bday song. HAHAHA. It was such a pretty cake oh!!!! And I couldn't think of a wish! I was so nervous under the time constraint to think of a wish before the candles went out! Haha. Photos photos. Group photos using continuos timed shots! FUN! 

Then. we were eating cake and stuff. Then I asked Narina to take a photo of me and Sunil and Jesse and Yong. And Sam and Kaumal came in, Kaumal holding the guitar in the bag. And I was like, oooh a song for me! Then Sam took the bag from Kaumal and she handed it to me and was like "nah". My brain loaded for a second and SNAP. "OMGOSHHHH. ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?!". I was. So. Shocked. So surprised. THEY BOUGHT ME A GUITAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!! Denise, Pei and Tur have got guitars for their bdays and stuff and I always was like "yer, I also want". And now I have one! OMGGGG. SO. SURREAL. I couldn't believe la really. I still kinda can't. I took the guitar out of the bag, they also gave me a cd of guitar tutorials and picks as well. I was so touched I actually kinda cried you know. OMG. A GUITAR! One I can call my own! A nylon stringed guitar. Just. :') 

The fact that Sam remembered me mentioning that I really wanted a guitar is really touching. I'm sure I've only said it a couple of times way before this. I only really miss my guitar when I'm homesick, and I was only really homesick before Christmas, closer to the start of uni. Because life is simple when you're just trying to bend your fingers to get a chord, and try and strum and sing at the same time and failing, and saying ouch when your fingers hurt. So when I'm homesick, I'll get emo and listen to songs and be like, I wish I had my guitar (technically my bro's guitar) with me. And she spent a long Friday (my cleaning day) in town looking for my gift. 

Wow. Just the thought that they (Sam, Kaumal and Andrea) put in so much effort for my birthday. I feel... so unworthy of it, so surprised that they care enough? I dunno. I don't know what I feel. I just feel so BLESSED man. Seriously did not expect that at all!!!!!!! Maybe it's cuz these ppl, I've only known them for a few months, not even a year. So I don't expect much. If it was Steph walking in with the guitar bag, I probably might've assumed it was my present, because I've known them for so long and we're so close. You know? I dunno. I'm really. Taken aback by all of it. By the fact that they care. :') :') The guitar, for the record, is from Sam, Kaumal, Sunil, Jesse, Andrea, Narina, Adib, Wani, Yong (that's everyone that was there) and also Jerome who's in Dublin I think. I just felt really blessed oh. Really really grateful I could cry. An amazing gift, but most of all, just the thought they put into it. 

I know I'm ranting. But I really don't know how to express my gratitude I feel. That feeling when you're just, eyes fly open, jaw drop down, hand fly up to mouth. That SHOCKED feeling. Then the immense rush of gratitude. Maybe it's cuz this is the first time I'm reacting properly to a surprise. Maybe this is what it's supposed to feel like. Whereas all the previous surprises I've gotten were kinda awkward cuz I'm just an awkward human being and don't know how to react and I'm be like. "Ohhhh. Brb, put my bag away. *leaves* *comes back* then THANK YOU." Hahaha.  

So yea. That was my first CNY away from home. Yesterday afternoon before the CNY "reunion" dinner with the seniors, I was skyping Jason. I didn't feel anything for CNY at that time yet. As in, I didn't feel like it was actually anything significant for me though I tried to make it so, just because there were no cousins, no crazy non-stop fireworks, no amazing food, no family, no lion dances. And I went on FB after a few days of not going on. And on my news feed, the first three posts were photos and statuses about CNY and the reunion dinners (团圆饭) and the food. And I actually teared up, wanting so badly to be in Kuching with most of my family (Kel is in Korea!), cuz Kuching is epic with the Sunny Hill and the cousins all in a sardine can sleeping on mattresses/stuffed in a car going to eat, and the bbqs and the fireworks. It's such an empty feeling not having all that with me this CNY. But you know, as I scrolled through the news feeds on FB, I realised that it's many people's first CNY from home as well. That we're all going through the same thing. But, we're all making it through. :) I just feel so blessed. My first CNY away from home, away from family, without cousins or ang paos or amazing food or lion dance or any of that. But I made it through, and so did everyone else. And we will continue to do so for the years to come while we finish our education. :) I dunno. We're growing up I guess. 

I'm swept away by God's kindness towards me. Air knocked out from me by God's grace! I feel that He's showing me that I can survive here, that I can last here because there are people here who care about me. Really just. Wow. 

So. Despite the fact that the very tip of my left forefinger kinda feels a bit blistered due to me YOLO-ing and touching the glass covering the gas fire place in Andrea's house with Kaumal (but oh well YOLO right? :P), today, was an absolute blessing. 

Happy CNY people! :D Thank you God. 

Mon 03:27 11/2/13