The best birthday gifts ever...

It was the best birthday L had ever had I guess. First, he managed to conclude 2 very significant deals for his company which were the first in Asia, involving the interest of 3 nations, right before his birthday. The conclusion of the 2 deals drew much attention all over, including the top management back at the HQ in the United States. He received numerous congratulatory notes. Well, I guess all the frequent travelling and constant late night conference calls were all worth it at the end of the day :)

Then, on the domestic front, the kids and I wanted to surprise him with a birthday cake (L was on the way home after concluding the deals). We baked him a chocolate and vanilla fresh fruit cake. The cake texture was good – soft and cottony but I must admit that the cake wasn’t well decorated at all as I only had 10 minutes to do the job (slicing, creaming, laying the fruits, more chocolate frosting, more fruits on top). I would have sliced some kiwi and added some blueberries given more time.

The cake batter went into the oven at 3pm and the cake was out and ready by 405pm. I needed to cool the cake very quickly and thus I had to turn up the air cond at full capacity. I was literally blowing the air cond at the cake. L texted me at 345pm informing me that he would be home in 15 to 20mins. Truly, he walked in at 410pm.

We sang him the classic birthday song and cut the cake. ¾ of the cake was consumed within 5 minutes. (I wasn’t sure if it was a sign of hunger or “yumminess”) :) E was napping and we woke him and as a result, he was moody and didn’t want to join us for a photo but we still managed to capture him… heehee :) . You would notice that we were crowding at a very small area in the living room as all the renovation mess was blocked by the sofa!

We extended the celebration to an Italian restaurant. The kids absolutely loved the pizza and pastas (as usual) and the live singing by a very seasoned singer.

And now, the highlight of the domestic event was : I DROVE NIC FOR HER CLASS ON MY OWN, on his birthday! It was a big thing for me and him though it may not sound exciting to many at all.

I had to wake a little earlier to figure out how to start his car. I didn’t know how as it doesn’t use the conventional car key. I rang L for guidance and his first reaction was “ What? Why do you need to start my car? Oh no!!! Don’t drive. Wait till I get back”. He sounded panicky and was afraid I would smash his precious car, I supposed. To me, a car is just a car. I wouldn’t feel a thing whether it was a Bimmer or a Bomb. Then, I had to call a friend for help and was told that I had to step on the brake paddle to start the engine. (oh!, I see!, something new haha). I managed to drive and park the car nicely, to and fro though it took a few more twists and turns to wriggle the car into the lot. At least, N didn’t complain :) Thanks sweetie for your support!

L has been pestering me to drive (again) for the past many years but I chose to turn a deaf ear because I simply dislike driving. So, I thought, perhaps I should pick it up again and that would be a good birthday present for him. Well, it looks like I will be driving to work soon as I have a parking lot allocated but it has been left un-used for the past 2 years. A friend suggested that we should get a second car and my instant response was “ No way!”as this would mean that I would be the new chauffer for the kids :)

Last but certainly not the least, - his “material” birthday present! – however you choose to read it. This gift cost me over AUD$10k!