15 Nov 2007 – It’s been a week, how time flies… I didn’t have high hopes for my birthday. It’s the first I’ve celebrated “on my own” in a long time, and to top it off, Yukiko who left a few days before for her vacation was not even around to celebrate it with me. Not that I’m the sort that makes a big deal of these things anyway. So yep, the day arrived and still I had no plans, save to dive.

And dive I did. It was a lovely day too, perfect weather.

This time my dive master was Bobo.

And Yoshi was there too.

We didn’t get to see as much as my previous dive at Rangali Corner, but still one mustn’t get too greedy. There was still a myriad of marine life to enthrall and enchant. One of the most magical aspect of this dive was that millions, ok thousands, no, more like tens of thousands of trigger fish were just suspended in the water, flapping their little wing-like fins. It was strange, they were like butterflies in the air and they were all around you. It was rather surreal… I really must set up my underwater camera casing to capture these images. And yes, actually come to think of it, when you dive, it almost feels like you are flying. You feel weightless, floating ever so effortlessly, gliding through the waters, everything slows down, and you are transported to another place, another time. The world as you know it drifts further and further away…

It was good that I left the day unplanned, no rushing to get anywhere, nobody to see, nothing to do – what a luxury considering the days leading up to it.

After a very relaxing dive, I just headed to Rangali Bar to have a drink. Rangali’s really nice in the day actually, especially the later part of the afternoon towards sunset. It’s sooo Café Del Mar… some light jazz playing, sand beneathe your feet, chill laid-back staff who are all the more so when you are a colleague, a late afternoon tea or an early pre-dinner cocktail, some light snacks if you so desired, an ample supply of cashews always on-demand for yours truly, fellow team members dropping by for a coffee or a meeting, a book to lounge with, a shisha or a cigar if that’s your fancy, games for the kiddies, or perhaps a milkshake, the balmy seabreeze, the gentle lapping waves, honeymooners deep in each others’ gaze, the distant hum from the dhoni, sigh… happiness…

And today I sighted Claudia from the Italian boutique having her umpteenth espresso for the day. She is reading Hosseini Khaled’s Mille Splendidi Soli (A Thousand Splendid Suns). Personally I think she’s the most gorgeous thing walking around the island, and today I told her so.

After my peppermint tea, I made my way to the spa.

Yep, Zafer has arranged a cake to be sent there for me. Like I said, I don’t like unnecessary attention. So basically I got there, took it out of the fridge, took a picture of it, cut it in half, foil-wrapped one half to take-away, left the other half there, and quietly snuck away. No candles, no song, no fuss.

My plans to make a quick getaway were interrupted though, I had to stop to behold this sight…

What a beautiful sunset God has blessed this day with.

And finally for dinner (a haphazard decision too I might add) there was some organization – dinner for five at Mandhoo. The dinner party though went through massive changes: Hiromi was on the late night shift, Yukie had the runs and Jason decided he had a headache. Oh well, whatever, those who are meant to come will be there.

So it was Rachael, moi, Khalida, Elli and Jinli (left to right).

I had the Grilled Tofu, and the Surf & Turf. Lovely…

And Elli, she ordered another cake for me! Ok, this time, there was no avoiding the candles, the singing, the well-wishes and all the bravado. Oh well… let’s be thankful and accept it graciously. And see, she creatively made a card out of a previous Halloween picture… she’s good that way, very nifty with not much. You have to hand it to her.

And here’s the team who made it all possible.

The chefs

And Rooman, one of the waiting staff. He claims he’s 21 and thinks I’m hot. Haha, I’m convinced he’s 13, but I agree with his deduction of me, very accurate indeed.

The girls took these on my camera when I visited the loo… love it.

And if you thought this was all, we’re not quite done. Over the next few days, I kept getting birthday pressies… there were so many I felt rather overwhelmed…

My roomies Rachael and Khalida decided to give me not 1, not 2, not even 3, but 4, FOUR presents!

Jinli got me these intricate yellow roses earrings.

Hiromi and Yukie-san, this GORGEOUS La Perla terry-towel beach bag I’ve been coveting. Apparently, as was the case with Rachael and Khalida, they had many lengthy discussions with Claudia and Dori at the Italian boutique picking out what I’d like… seems everyone knows my taste… bright, bold and colourful for Tiffany! Only trouble is, she’s almost got everything in there that’s bright, bold and colourful. Hee hee…

Ooh… not to forget, some really lovely Japanese mementos from Yukiko before she left.

And finally perfume, from Zafer and Elli.

Seriously I have not received as many presents in the last ten years as I have had this year. Feeling pretty special. Haha…

But before I end off this birthday blog, let me also thank all you special people who sent me virtual gifts and well-wishes of all shapes, colours and sizes… from Adeline’s pink daisy to Simon’s Say Cheese Sundae to Debbie’s yellow rose to Callie’s birthday cake, etc, etc, etc, my my, boy did I feel loved on the 8th. Wished it was my birthday EVERYDAY! Then again, most days I do feel loved. Fortunately for me, I am surrounded by tons of family and friends who let me know so on a regular basis.

This was a different sort of birthday. The first that I’ve had away from my family and William. The first that I’ve had where I’ve spent the most part of it alone. But no, I didn’t feel lonely, nor sad, not even bothered. Quite the contrary, I felt contented, quietly gratified. This was a happy birthday. Blessed blessed be.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 17th, 2007 at 2:11 am and is filed under Gratitude Chest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.