Thanks to the birthday trio – It has been a long long time since we have such a large Wahbiang gathering! It is so good to reconnect with some of my best 2-decade longtime buddies from my old school and working days. The old boys were talking about their fat and the new gadgets (cars, iPad, iPhone), the girls were chatting about their kids and work. This is one clan of people I love so so much!

2nd July 2010 is a very very very special day for
me! First, it marked my 2nd Anniversary in Hong Kong! (And on
this 730th day, I completed my bond! Yes, I am a free man
now!) What’s more, I received my 100th HK Visitors today!!! Best of all, my 100th Visitors are my best pals from Singapore – Duuk, Juliana, Zach
and Kalinda! (yes…they are the members
of the Wahbiang Clan!) Since Joanne Ang (my 1st Visitor back in 2008 July),
I have been wondering who and how long will it take me to receive my 100th Visitor… I am so glad that
it is this group of friends who crossed this significant number! What a perfect number and timing to celebrate my freedom and stay in Hong Kong! And not to mention the perfect clear sky we have in Hong Kong today! Fate is just so magical!

Just when I thought that I had the strangest birthday-cum-race event, Felicia knocked me (and my guests) off the chair with these finale "mini Joe cakes"! Trust me, this will be the first and last time you see my face printed on these cakes. I almost fainted when I saw the waitress serving out these "Mini Joes". Not sure how the rest of the guests felt – but it is certainly very very awkward to have my guests licking, biting and swallowing my face.

Yes, I did wished for an uncanny birthday. But not to this extent. This is worse than having a pie on your face. Putting your face on a pie
is beyond strange.This surprise has seriously gone "outside my expectation". It doesn’t seems so wrong to have a Mickey Mouse on the cake – but I am no Mickey. This is cannibalism. (And people is going to blame me if they suffer any stomach upset / skin allergy later) Gosh, I am going to be haunted by my own little cakes for a long time.

So, how did it go with the diners? Well, I guess my guests finished the cakes out of courtesy and respect. It is rude not to eat someone’s birthday cake. For some guests, they couldn’t wait to tear me apart and swallow me down their throat. Some like to lick my face slowly before taking the small bites – starting from my chin to head. Others stared at it for quite a while before finding that courage to "consume" me.

I just found out that these "personalised" cakes aren’t cheap. They cost about SG$10/HK$50 per piece. Don’t get me wrong. It is not about the money and I do love surprises. It just that I don’t love myself that much. I don’t mind having Megan Fox or even Scarlett Johansson printed on my cakes. They will 100% make the cake "looks much sweeter".

Having said all these… I do love my wife for her creativity and the ability to read my thoughts (those wishes I made quietly inside my heart). It is a very sweet gesture…it just that my face doesn’t make the cakes look sweet. Somehow, the cakes looked temple-rish, salty and very very fattening.

My birthday wish has been answered. I have just attended one of the quirkiest birthday parties ever. And one that I will remember for a very very long time.

First, the main guests were late. For 90 freaking minutes. Scott was complaining and grumbling about the bad habits of "advertising people" (as we often kept him waiting during lunch). Just then, we saw Harshad entered the room with some white scribblings on his forehead. Those looks like markings you put on yourself at the football matches. My first thought was "he was late because he was drinking at some pub, watching some world cup matches". Just when I was about to fire my "rapid missiles" at him, the rest of the guests walked in. All of them – Hong Fei, Selina, Tracy and Danielle had wordings on their foreheads. It read "Sorry we were late. It is all Tracy’s fault."
 
 

It was a hilarious sight. Candid
and totally unexpected! All of us burst into laughter instantaneously.
Their shameless and comical act certainly drew a lot of unwanted
attention from their other diners. Their creativity (and superb thick
skins) saved their ass tonight. Throughout the entire dinner, they worn
the wordings on their foreheads.

Dinner ended shortly and it was cake-cutting
time. Yeah… the moment is here! I was looking forward for that
one "precious" birthday gift that I have been eying since March. Could
it be the iPAD? Or my favourite Canon lens?

Yeah.. it was an iPad alright – a paper
version. However, I did get a REAL PAD! Yes, P-A-D (the kind that
women use every month!). Josephine "sacrificed" one of hers for my
birthday card / pad. Very very creative and intimate indeed…Not
amused, I began to feel really nervous about their tricks… What’s
next, I wondered.

Then, Felicia passed me a rather thick envelop.
Like the Russian Doll, one envelop revealed another envelop inside. I
started pulling out all the envelops, still no sight of a concrete
birthday gift. (At least last year, they gave me a receipt of the PS3 in
an envelop.)

The final envelop was the "shocker" of the
night. Instead of seeing my birthday present, inside the envelop
was a note labeled "SUPER RACE". I paused and looked at all my guests.
Many questions flashed across my mind – "Is this a trick?". Super Race?
What the hell was going on? Er…has someone made a mistake here?

Felicia
and Tracy then asked me to strip open the envelop and read out the clue
inside. My gosh! This is a REAL GAME! Felicia, Sherry and Danielle have
been planning this secretly for the last few weeks! Felicia and Sherry
then started explaining the game and distributing the "Super Race"
T-shirts
and bandannas to all the people at my birthday party. This is the "SUPER
RACE" we played back in Singapore back in 2003! And now, the race starts tomorrow at 9am at
Central Hong Kong!

This
was indeed a very unusual birthday party. Well, I did wished for
something different but I wasn’t prepared that it turned out this way. I
was in the midst of the gift-opening and suddenly, I ended up with a
clue in my hand. Yes, this is one very special and unforgettable
birthday. One that doesn’t come with the usual candle blowing and
dreadful birthday song ritual. And a gift that doesn’t come wrapped in a
box.

This is the best birthday
gift ever! A gift of pure joy and togetherness. A gift that is
only possible because their love and friendship. And that is something
you can’t buy it with money – Love and Friendship. I love them so much!

Thank
you CrystalBelle
for the late night baking my "very tasting" WAH-BIANG birthday cake.
Thanks Selina
for "dressing" the late-comers with such nasty but "I-Love-It" prank!
Every word counts! And lastly, a BIG thank you to Danielle & BF,
Sherry
and Felicia
for bringing back my favourite RACE! I am deeply touched by all your
effort and love to organise this challenging race for
everyone here. I have done it back in 2002 and 2003. It was not easy. I

am sure my Wahbiang Clan read this with envy. Let’s start the RACE!

When we talk about celebration, no one in my clan does it better than our very own "Style Wedding Couple of the Year 2005" Juli and Duuk. Last Sat, they hosted a wild wild west party for their Prince Zechariah’s 1st birthday! (Coincidentally, it was also PacMan’s 30th Anniversary!)

Thanks to Kalinda – these photos were very well-taken – the food, the balloons, the toys, the decorations and our dear friends with their spouses and kids!!! My gosh! This is the first time I see brother Hock’s princess. Wow! Isn’t that Jacob and Claudia?? Alston is really a striking 50% Karen + Charlie! What’s his formula…MC didn’t seems to age a bit! Gareth was in his usual high again…Surprise to see "Busy Jimmy" and didn’t see Meijie? (Or he was in that Balloon Mascot?)