A Celebration

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional. ~ Chili Davis

It is an interesting quotation, isn't it?

I am a year older today. And what better way to celebrate it than with my students in this Hari Raya mood? So I told them to bring their kuih raya cookies and in return, I provided them with food and drinks. But of course they had no idea that it is my birthday. They thought that it was just a common Raya get-together ;)

D2D1 and D2D2 were first because they have class with me on Wednesday morning.

Both D2D1 and D2D2 students were so noisy that they disrupted Mr. Rajen's class (he's conducting speaking exam next door). So I told both D2D1 and D2D2 to go downstairs and bring the food with them. Sorry, Mr. Rajen T_T

In the afternoon, D3D2 students were the first to arrive since they usually have class with me at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays.

This picture was taken by Amirah Syafiqah, who happened to sit at the far end of the table. That's why she is not in the picture. Thank you Amirah :)

Zaki's cookies were the most expensive of the lot. They're butter cookies, after all!

Afiq, Kashfi & Zaki

I learned from Kashfi that Afiq's birthday is today. I had always thought that Afiq looked a bit like Vince Chong (Afiq is from Malay-Chinese parentage), and it's a pleasant surprise that besides looking similar to Vince, he also shared the same birthday with the well-known singer (and me, of course).

And it's really fascinating to watch him turn bright red right before your eyes when he was being teased by his classmates :)

D2D1 dropped by shortly after D3D2 had left.

Meanwhile, D3D1 waited outside the room and I told them to come in, but they were a bit reluctant. At first I was puzzled by their behaviour, until all of them came into the room with a birthday cake and sang 'Happy Birthday' together.

cutting the cake

It was weird. How did they know that today is my birthday? I never told any them! But after thinking for quite some time, I finally figured it out. Fara Wahida is Shahida's roommate. Both Shahida and her boyfriend Khalid were my students last semester and I had told Khalid that we both shared the same birthday. Khalid and Shida, thanks for the birthday wish that you sent via sms.

Fara Wahida had the nerve to ask me about my age. So I told her to guess and she said that I am twenty-six. Twenty-six?? Oh well, that means I look younger than my actual age. I'll take that as a compliment :)

photo courtesy of Akmal

And D3D1, thank you very much for the delicious cake.

P/S: Dear all, thanks for the numerous birthday wishes on my Facebook wall, Myspace and also via sms. All of you really made my day. ^_^