Now doesn't that sound so exciting? It was my birthday gift for myself, and it was also timely that one of my good friends from highschool was getting married there on the same week. I have been planning it since around 4 months back (of course, since I had to apply for a visa and book a ticket), and I was expecting it to be an awesome birthday adventure Down Under. It did not disappoint.
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| Getting lost in the streets of Melbourne |
It was my first time to travel so far by myself (the farthest before that was to Guam, U.S.A.), and I spent most of my 10 days there "getting lost" in the streets of Melbourne, taking solo walking tours and experiencing the city on my own. The day itself was pretty memorable: I spent the day walking around Melbourne, camera and map in tow; it was also the day my iPhone fell into the sewer (on a rainy day!), died for a couple of hours, and was revived miraculously a couple of hours later. That night, my friend Kat gathered some of her friends and family to have a buffet dinner with me at Kitchen Workshop. It was a simple get-together with old and new friends, and a great way to cap off my 30th birthday celebration.
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| Birthday dinner with new friends |
Of course, there were the little heartwarming moments that made my birthday extra special: a Skype call from my family in Manila at 12 midnight on the dot; and a birthday cake with a humongous candle care of Kat's family, when we got home from our dinner. :)
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| The biggest birthday cake candle I've seen in mah life |
It was an epic event in my life; it was when I truly focused on myself, did things that made me happy, and the time when I looked at life in a more positive way.
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| I found ♥ in the streets of Melbourne |
Every year, I celebrate my birthday very differently from the previous one. Maybe it's because so many things change in a year and my interests also change; maybe it's also because I get restless a lot, and I always want to improve on my life experiences.
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| Spent my 29th birthday here with these kiddos |
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| My family and friends who helped me with my birthday outreach! |
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| Spent my 30th birthday at Relik with THESE kiddos. LOL. |
Every year is special, and every year is always fun. :) This year, though, I decided to just spend my birthday here in Manila. I also didn't want a big party. Big parties entail big funds (which I am trying to spend responsibly for my future haha), intense planning (which I do not have time for because of work), and high expectations (which I cannot afford to have, because I will just be setting myself up for disappointment).
And so, this year, on an insignificantly numbered year (31), I was planning on having a laid-back birthday. No big plans. No big expectations. I was satisfied with just having a simple celebration with friends and family.
However, so much has changed this past year: I've met new friends, gotten even closer to some of them, and drifted apart from some others. 2012 was also the year I met and got to know my boyfriend, Ton, so that's a big and happy change. :) My family and I have also moved to a new house (a house I designed, hurrah!), and I've been reassigned to a new project. All of these factors come into play with what the heavens have got planned for my 31st birthday.
First-off, my boyfriend wasn't going to let my 31st birthday be insignificant, that's for sure. Ton is a show-stopper, and he was not going to let my birthday be another run-of-the-mill inuman. Haha. Secondly, my family missed having to celebrate my 30th birthday with me, and they weren't about to let this one slip past their fingers again. And lastly, my loyal and loving staff from my current project has never celebrated my birthday with me in the past 3 years of working with me (2 years ago I spent my birthday in Baguio for the Panagbenga, then last year I was in Melbourne), so I really didn't know what to expect, spending my birthday at work for the first time. I guess I expected to just work. Haha.
February 25, 2 days before my birthday: I made last minute plans for a small get-together at Relik, during their Akoustika Mondays. Nothing big, just something to relieve Monday stress. :) We used to be regular patrons of Akoustika...as in, EVERY MONDAY NIGHT we would be there to drink, relax and sing. We've been busy lately, though, so we've been absent for quite awhile. I thought a pre-birthday celebration would be a nice time to come back. :)
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| Thanks to those who were able to come even with the late invitation! |
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| Thanks to the Entourage boys for singing for me! :) "Mr. Brightside" never sounded so good! Haha! |
February 26, the day before my birthday: Since we were all up late on a work night, I told Ton that I wanted to relax the following day. We just had a simple dinner at Grams Diner, then proceeded to Bugsy's to make an appearance at his co-worker's birthday inuman.
I was telling Ton that I could not feel that it was my birthday. It was like a normal day/night for me. 31 is a pretty odd number, and after passing the milestone of 30 years, I didn't think that another year would really be more significant. Haha. I guess I was having the birthday blues. After years of trying to avoid that damn thing, it sneaks up on me again.
But that would soon change. As soon as we reached the top of the stairs of Bugsy's, shouts of "Happy Birthday!" and "SURPRISE!" greeted me. My friends from high school, college, MBA, the Entourage, and my family, were there! I was amazed at how Ton got everybody together, even if he just met some of them once. He really has the ability to remember every detail of my life, and every person that I introduce him to. Turns out, he has been planning this for about a month already, and he contacted everybody through Facebook (of course).
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| SURPRISE! :) |
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| Even my family was there at the party! (sans Laurence. Hmp) |
February 27, MY BIRTHDAY!: Having had a blast at the party the previous night, I wasn't really expecting much on my birthday itself. I planned to have some food delivered to the office for a simple salo-salo with my staff; and then dinner with my family at Village Tavern. :) I guess my staff had other plans; after being on "birthday leave" for the past 3 birthdays, they weren't going to let me off the hook so easily on my first birthday at work:
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| Di pa ako nagsusuklay, may surprise na! |
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| Sweet! |
They also tried to distract me by taking me on a site inspection so early in the morning! I had surprises waiting for me at the project site as well:
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| DATEM workers singing me a happy birthday! :) |
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| Spent around 30-40 minutes walking around the site, clueless about the surprise waiting for me back in the office... |
Coming down from the site, I saw all of my site architects, engineers and staff lined-up in front of the office, waiting for me:
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| They all had a WHITE rose for me! Parang debut lang! Haha! |
I honestly thought that that was all there is to it: my staff giving me roses one-by-one, getting a photo taken with each of them, and hearing birthday greetings and wishes from all of them. The biggest surprise was still waiting for me behind the door, though. I looked back towards the office and there was Ton, standing there with the 31st (red) rose. ♥
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| The look of love and surprise! Haha! |
It was the sort of thing that I only saw in the movies. I couldn't believe it: I finally experienced my very own movie moment. It's what I have always hoped for, and it happened! To me! It just goes to show that I really should never underestimate the wonders of life: I thought things couldn't get any better, but life just handed me a big: "Hah! I proved you wrong!" in the form of roses and cake and good, well-meaning friends and family. And of course, in the form of a tall and charming Bisaya named Ton. :)
Daghang kaayong salamat. Gihigugma ta ka!
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| Very happy birthday girl |
It was a very happy birthday indeed, one filled with so many unexpected twists. Last year, I remember blurting out (to no-one in particular): "It will be very hard to top THIS birthday!" Somewhere out there, God said: "Challenge accepted!" and proceeded to draft out a plan: a better birthday for Lesley, 365 days in the making.
I am humbled by all of the blessings I have received this past year. Words cannot describe the gratitude I feel. This birthday has been GREAT beyond expectations! And I know that next year will be even better; that is God's birthday gift to me year after year after year after year. :)
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