[A shout out to Siah Ying Wei whose birthday is TODAY! Such an irony that it's not your birthday post I am posting today, I know. But since WL's post came 15 days late, yours will too! Then it's all fair and square! Yay!]

[P/S : Chris, don't scold. I don't know how to put the picture thing at the thingy and I have no idea why below pic conked up. You do for me can? Great. You're awesome.]

Dearest Ngai Wei Ling,

Finally, you come aboard on the 21 years old league. (Not that it’s anyway more exciting).
21 years old, the age in which society deemed to be the commencement of adulthood.

However, when it concerns you, does it really signify any differences?
I recall saying this to you every year, “Just when people think that you can no longer grow any more matured / independent than you already are, you always went and prove everybody wrong”. =)
Slow down Wei Ling, you don’t want to be taken as a 35 year old ah sam now don’t you? ~winks~

Dearest Best Friend,

As this is a once in a lifetime period of your life, I shall be all serious and sappy.
Ehem..

I admire you Wei Ling, for your ability to maintain that composure of yours and still having your head intact held high above your shoulder when crisis arise.

I look up to you Wei Ling, on the way you defend those whom you deemed as important in your life and fight forcefully and boldly for what you believe is right.

I respect you Wei Ling, for the way you hold such high respect and honor towards your parents, despite it seems so unimaginable for you to bow down to others.

I am grateful Wei Ling, for having you as a friend and am thankful, for having you as my best friend.

And today you are 21.
As quote by my mother, “Wow, Wei Ling has grown from a sweet little girl to a beautiful young lady!!”

Regarding the sweet little girl, I have to beg to differ. But I will whole heartedly agree with the beautiful young lady part!
As much as you may detest it Wei Ling, your feminine charm had indeed prevail over the years!
You know what they say about aging beautifully? So, it’s a yay for you!

Dearest Ling ah Ling ah Ling,

I wish that you will have more easy smiles and laughter in the future.
I wish that you will have more people around you in whom you can rely and depend on (I wish this for myself too. =) )
I wish that you will see the world in a semi-rose tinted lenses (Just semi, not fully tinted. Rationality is still important. =P )
And most importantly, I wish you satisfaction in whatever you are pursuing in, and happiness in your everyday lives.

One more year of existence down the drain! May you live to be old and toothless! Happy 21st Birthday!

Your best friend, always,
Irna Jumahat

This is an event with the theme “Garden of Eden” so dress up in earth-ish colours (think green, brown, white) or anything that’s Garden of Eden-ish (decent dressing, please. Don’t come covered ONLY in leaves!)

Here is a short video promo of the event! Enjoy!

There are great prizes to be won for the “Best Dressed” title such as Haagen Dazs vouchers, SHOPPING vouchers for girls, and really awesome headphones for guys! There’s also gonna be lucky draw!

The speaker for the night will be Pastor Jonathan Bonython (JB) from Paradise Community Church, Adelaide!

So INVITE YOUR FRIENDS and come join us for a GREAT time at FGA USJ!! Admission is free!

NOTE: For those who don’t know where FGA USJ is situated at, you could check it out at http://goe.youthnited.com/venue.

For more information or enquiries, kindly contact :

Hannah (012-3829449), Amanda(014-7367261)
Or visit our website at http://goe.youthnited.com/

*For non-muslims only

I want to go back through the blurry passages of time and arrive in front of the simple green gate that marks the entrance to my secondary school. The gate would be open with a steady stream of green school trousers or sky blue pinafores passing through accompanied with their parents. Some parents couldn’t wait to get out so they could get back to work; some would take the time to pass an admonishing stare at their young; and some would wear the countenance of indifference, as if there weren’t any big news to share – it was business as usual.

It was July 14th 2006, and it was the Open Day.

I would walk pass the guard house, shooting my sharp eyes at the students cladded in grey trousers and skirts with a green cover book in their hands. Some have kidded that these students, also known as the prefects, wore uniforms that bear the amazing resemblance of an elephant skin. But they would not be the focus of my attention.

I would just walk straight till I hit front compound in front of the lobby. There would be two lines of prefects, all smartly tucked behind their dark blue blazers as they took a deep bow and muttered lines of greetings as the parents passed through them. But I will look pass them and stare at the boy who was standing on the top of the steps, hands twitching in gestures of nervousness as he reminded the prefects about their respective tasks. A skinny person with a black mole on the his right temple, he had a black strap across his chest that carried his all-famous grey Amway water bottle. Through the lenses of his brown metallic spectacles, he would occasionally cast nervous glances at the clock above the office door, as though he was expecting something.

I know he was nervous.

I want to grab him by the arm and slowly nudge him to the school canteen where he and I can have a heart to heart talk. I will buy him a cup of teh tarik with a small teaspoon of condensed milk – just how he would like it.

“It’ll be all right. Trust me.” That’s what I would have said, with my eyes staring sharply into his.

I want to tell him that at 11.42 a.m. that same day, he would take the oath of office and assume the Office of the Head Prefect as its 3rd occupant. And then he would make a whole series of mistakes. I want to tell him about the Black Monday, the immediate Monday after his swearing-in where he would have 7 of his cabinet members leaving for a school trip, with no one manning the school assembly – making it one of the worst assembly: there was no one hoisting the flags, and the replacements were inept; the PA system broke down and his PA crew were all on school excursions; and the assembly ended 25 minutes later than scheduled.

I want to warn him on how he got scolded by all disciplinary teachers in the “Bilik Bina Insan” and how his Senior Assistant of Student Affairs would sternly admonish him at the steps of the assembly, “You have failed as a leader!” I want to describe to him the fear that would engulfed him later – fear of not being able to rise to the challenge. I want to share with him how he almost broke to tears when the last prefect left the room and how Leon was the only person there to console him. If it were ever possible, I want to spell out to him the loneliness the next one year would be. I want to mention the friends that he would cross, enemies that he would make and people whom he would hurt. “SYSTEM! SYSTEM! SYSTEM!” I would emphasize, knowing that despite everything that he has done, his batch would create a system that could not operate without them – a sure recipe for future downfalls.

And in his eyes, it did.

After all that, I want to pat him on the shoulder, carve a nice smile and ask him to NOT to avoid it anyway.

It’s because in those moments of darkness, he would realize that he was never alone. He had a group of friends and teachers who believed that he was more than the sum of his imperfections and was destined for bigger things than what he had planned for himself. He learnt how to stand on his own two feet and realize that this world does not owe him a living. In that one year, he found his passion in public service and would finally hold himself accountable to something bigger than himself.

4 years later: It would all be worth it.

(Picture taken from: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4634249&id=520991661)

Because in 4 years time, he would be sitting in Oxford University sipping a cup of warm Nescafe and realizing that he has grown, learnt, lived and changed so much that he knows it’s all gonna be alright.

It was all worth it. Trust me.

HAPPY 4TH ANNIVERSARY PREFECT BOARD OF SMK USJ 12 05/06!

]]> http://ourcoffeestops.com/2010/07/it-was-all-worth-it-july-14th-2010/feed/ 7 http://ourcoffeestops.com/2010/03/irna-is-21st-years-old/ http://ourcoffeestops.com/2010/03/irna-is-21st-years-old/#comments Sun, 28 Mar 2010 13:44:46 +0000 Christopher http://ourcoffeestops.com/?p=5014

Hmm, the website has been quite peaceful recently. However, I felt that today was someone’s special day! Turned out it was your special day Irna It has been more than five years since we met, “fought” and had civilized conversations huh! I still remember our final meeting with the coffeestops crew. It was on the 30th of July 2009! Look at how time flies! It’s already 6 months. I hope you’re missing us till your guts drop out! Ha ha!!! Guess I can’t meet you when you do return back to Malaysia during your holidays! Make sure you do meet up with the rest of the crew (the remnants) and whack some sense into them! Wonder whether they forgot your birthday or not! He he. I’m sure Ngai Wei Ling a.k.a. Godzilla, Gorilla or Godstrength remembers your birthday extremely well Bapak!!! Don’t even know whether she still reads this website or not!

Yeah banana, I hope you go nuts about bananas! Bananas here are expensive! Cheapest fruits are kiwi, rock melon and strawberries (coming soon). Woot! Happy 21st Birthday! Don’t stress so much in NTU okay! Transfer to Brisbane! Ha ha. It’s more laid back here! Cheers, Irna! Would like to end with a saying of mine. True friends are not made or cultivated. They are ‘fated’. I’ll be waiting you to quote me in the future. Just as you did a few days back! Hope your NTU teammates splashed water on you, smacked you and gave you hell! hahahahahahahah!!

The kid among us finally turns 20! Face the fact, old man you’re now officially in the 20s Club! Considering the fact you’re living in the future now, I’m not LATE in wishing you nor posting this blog post up okay. its still before 12am when I draft this post, haha!

Anyway, wishing you the best returns for the year, and celebrating your first birthday out of Malaysia! Take care of yourself, buddy. Make the 20th year of your life the best!

Hmm, I wonder.. now that you’re in Brisbane, will any of your fans sob over the fact they can’t celebrate your big day with you or pass you any presents? XD Haha, just joking! Well, we’re definitely sad you ain’t here so we can smash a cake on your face!

So, blessed 20th birthday once again! May God showers His neverending blessings onto you and keep you safe and sound always.

I shall quote fellow author, Ying Wei on Twitter, “February 22nd 2010. One of the few BEST day of my 2010. w00000000000000t”

Official results for December 2009 sitting will be released tomorrow (approx 12PM-1PM Msian time). Let’s just pray hard it will be everyone’s BEST day.

We reap what we sow, so for those of us who have worked hard for our exams in December 2009, we definitely deserve to pass! We’ve done our part, and now its up to Him.

All the best to all CAT/ACCA students!

P/S – Panicking? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. You have a friend in me here. *gulps*

Well, it is already the second day of Chinese New Year. Coffeestops! have yet to release its Chinese New Year greetings to its readers. I wonder whats up? I know, the authors are too busy celebrating or joining in the festivities! I have some time to spare (not a lot actually, have been busy cleaning the new house recently) and here goes!

We at Coffeestops! would like to wish all Coffee Drinkers a Blessed Chinese New Year! Pray for wealth, health, abundance, wisdom and success! May God bless you and lead you path in this new year!

Vain Idiot. XD

I’ll want to set the record straight. Nic’s not gonna be any more macho than he is after his 21st birthday; he’s not gonna be any more of a gentleman; he’ll still eat meat like hell and scorn the fury upon vegetables; he’ll still be as fat as usual and won’t be a Brat Pitt in any near or distant future. So seriously, why the grandeur in his 21st birthday?

Cause he deserves it.

Yong-sui Hamsap face. XD

He deserves it not because of any greatness that exists behind the number 21. I just celebrated mine and honestly, it wasn’t anything THAT special compared to my previous birthdays. But it was important nonetheless. Cause birthdays remind all of us of what’s truly important. It’s THE day that we celebrate the most precious gift that has been endowed upon us: life. And we do it in a fashion that tells others that they mean a lot to us too; and that life is empty and to a certain degree, shallow without their presence. He’ll be celebrating it with 40 other mates of his choosing. No mass orgy please.

He deserves the chance to show the world the things that are most important to him: family, friends, happiness, life and lately, God.

One has no idea how much I would yearn to be there. But the honest truth is, I can’t, for obligations and causes greater than the sum of my fragile existence. So as a Happy Birthday wish, I’ll say this:

“Go be happy. Go have fun. I think we both know how much you deserve this. And do remember that though we don’t talk as often as we should, or update this blog as often as we all like, you will always have a friend here in the States.”

Happy Birthday Nic!

PS: 21 years old d! Don’t so horny and lala can or not!!!! XD

It’s just barely the second week of February and Coffeestops has already celebrated two of its authors’ birthdays. It’ll not be long before another 2 authors celebrate their birthdays. The month of February is definitely an auspicious one! None of the authors’ birthdays fall during Chinese New Year though! We’ll still be collecting red packets from you anyway… hahahaha Don’t forget to call us for your open house event!

So this time around, it is Nicholas’ turn to become a “man”. He’s 21 now, legally an adult. Being an adult comes with perks and also disadvantages. You can now get married without your parents consent (I might be wrong on this!). I don’t think I want to discuss the disadvantages.. hahaha Don’t forget to register as a voter!!! Hope you had fun during your last moments as a kid Faster graduate, work and belanja me!! WOOT!!! Blessed birthday noob cakes!

I’m experimenting with 530 x 280 px pictures =)

Wow, it sure is lonely here without you (and 100000 other people). You must be having heck lots of fun in the US! Hope you didn’t forget the boys and girls back home here. Make sure you return home and work your ass off in Malaysia! Or I’ll be flying over there to bust your ass kao kao!

I want to wish you a Blessed 21st Birthday! Please register yourself as a voter and always stay true to yourself! Muhhahahaha… don’t come back gay alright!??! I know its accepted over there.. hahaha but not over in Malaysia!!! =D

P/S : Hope you have been losing weight!!!