It's August 16. It's my birthday, my 22nd birthday.
22 years ago, in Luyang, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, all hell broke lose and a fat boy was born. No one heard heaven rejoicing. All there was were the high-pitched shrieks of a bloody baby. They called him Daron. Daron's first year, was uneventful. There must have been things going on, but Daron can't remember. Daron thinks he was slow in his toddler years. The first five years were spent at a flat with few friends. He had his Moslem friends whom he would follow around the residential area, cursing profanely at passerbys.
6 is a great number. 6 years of being restricted to just Tam Kan Flat, Daron finally exposed himself. Please readers, exposed in the sense of being introduced and not flashing his privates. He was thrown into a Chinese school. Everything went by the book there: from singing a Chinese introductory song (which was supposed to enthuse all the students) to a melodious benediction (with actions) which at several of either Daron's brothers' or Daron's birthday parties, Shaun Choo and Daron were asked to sing.
Daron was at this Kindergarten for two years. The school is called Chung Hwa. Kim, Lisa, and Junior went there for a day. I never saw them since. Found out later they had a blast at STPS, playing tag, bullying teachers, participating in classroom corporal punishment, and throwing frogs at each other in the rain. Daron was skinny by now. He was admitted into the hospital for a week for having menigitis and asthma.
Aunty Theresa made Daron eat eggplants by making him eat quickly while she tells him horror stories.
Daron moved to a primary school not far from Chung Hwa at the age of 7. The heat was on. Daron and his friends were separated into classrooms of the same primary but with different achievement and learning standards. Daron peed in his pants on the first week of class, during a Mandarin spelling test. Daron didn't cry. Daron didn't see anything wrong with peeing in his pants. Daron and his Moslem friends filled plastic bags with urine and added toothpaste. They threw the bags from Daron's apartment which was on the fourth floor.
1994, Daron moved away from the City to Tamparuli. Became a loner, except for the occasional visits from Junior Arrifin and Kim and Lisa, and Adsone and his gang. Threw rocks at cow dung, climbed trees, played in streams/brooks which were actually really big ditches.
Daron was tired of being labeled as being dumb. He was never in the top classroom. In 1995 Daron studied extra hard and had his first and only experience of being in the 'top' class. Daron hated it there. Everyone was so competitive, so Chinese, everything that's done wrong ended up in caning. Daron rather be with those in the other not so 'top' classrooms.
1995, he won a public speaking competition. One-time-ONLY glory. Attempted a few afterwards but never won anymore.
Daron met up with some really great friends in 1997. They were Jeremy, Edwin, and Michelle. Friends were important then because they had to stay in school from 7am to 4pm.
1998. Daron was no longer friends with Jeremy, Edwin, and Michelle. They were in the 'top' class. Daron was in a second-rated class. Daron didn't give a shit. Daron broke someone's wrist, punched a girl, ran in track competitions, and had two other /daer[schwa]n/s in the class.
1999. Daron finally broke away from the city. He now attends SASS. Bitched about how far the secondary school was from his house. Made lots of good friends IN his class.
2000. The turn of the millennium. Daron didn't do anything spectacular. Hung out with the wrong bunch of friends, according to his parents, which Daron vehemently disagrees with, but now came to realize that there was some truth in it.
2001. Sat for PMR. Lost a relative. First time to cry after a funeral.
2002. Daron was in Form Four, nothing much going for him. Daron can't really remember now because it's freakin' 41 minutes past midnight.
2003. Graduated from SASS. Did terribly for SPM. Did superbly for his Grade 8 ABRSM. Climbed mount Kinabalu. Went to NS with besties Kim and Crystal (I will forever love these two girls)
2004. Went to Mission College.
2005, 2006, 2007. Due to Daron's belief in a person's rights to privacy, he refuses to write about any of the significant experiences he had these years.
2008. Graduated. Learned how to swim, a little. Got a job. Complaining about job every day.
I'm going to shower now.
22 years ago, in Luyang, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, all hell broke lose and a fat boy was born. No one heard heaven rejoicing. All there was were the high-pitched shrieks of a bloody baby. They called him Daron. Daron's first year, was uneventful. There must have been things going on, but Daron can't remember. Daron thinks he was slow in his toddler years. The first five years were spent at a flat with few friends. He had his Moslem friends whom he would follow around the residential area, cursing profanely at passerbys.
6 is a great number. 6 years of being restricted to just Tam Kan Flat, Daron finally exposed himself. Please readers, exposed in the sense of being introduced and not flashing his privates. He was thrown into a Chinese school. Everything went by the book there: from singing a Chinese introductory song (which was supposed to enthuse all the students) to a melodious benediction (with actions) which at several of either Daron's brothers' or Daron's birthday parties, Shaun Choo and Daron were asked to sing.
Daron was at this Kindergarten for two years. The school is called Chung Hwa. Kim, Lisa, and Junior went there for a day. I never saw them since. Found out later they had a blast at STPS, playing tag, bullying teachers, participating in classroom corporal punishment, and throwing frogs at each other in the rain. Daron was skinny by now. He was admitted into the hospital for a week for having menigitis and asthma.
Aunty Theresa made Daron eat eggplants by making him eat quickly while she tells him horror stories.
Daron moved to a primary school not far from Chung Hwa at the age of 7. The heat was on. Daron and his friends were separated into classrooms of the same primary but with different achievement and learning standards. Daron peed in his pants on the first week of class, during a Mandarin spelling test. Daron didn't cry. Daron didn't see anything wrong with peeing in his pants. Daron and his Moslem friends filled plastic bags with urine and added toothpaste. They threw the bags from Daron's apartment which was on the fourth floor.
1994, Daron moved away from the City to Tamparuli. Became a loner, except for the occasional visits from Junior Arrifin and Kim and Lisa, and Adsone and his gang. Threw rocks at cow dung, climbed trees, played in streams/brooks which were actually really big ditches.
Daron was tired of being labeled as being dumb. He was never in the top classroom. In 1995 Daron studied extra hard and had his first and only experience of being in the 'top' class. Daron hated it there. Everyone was so competitive, so Chinese, everything that's done wrong ended up in caning. Daron rather be with those in the other not so 'top' classrooms.
1995, he won a public speaking competition. One-time-ONLY glory. Attempted a few afterwards but never won anymore.
Daron met up with some really great friends in 1997. They were Jeremy, Edwin, and Michelle. Friends were important then because they had to stay in school from 7am to 4pm.
1998. Daron was no longer friends with Jeremy, Edwin, and Michelle. They were in the 'top' class. Daron was in a second-rated class. Daron didn't give a shit. Daron broke someone's wrist, punched a girl, ran in track competitions, and had two other /daer[schwa]n/s in the class.
1999. Daron finally broke away from the city. He now attends SASS. Bitched about how far the secondary school was from his house. Made lots of good friends IN his class.
2000. The turn of the millennium. Daron didn't do anything spectacular. Hung out with the wrong bunch of friends, according to his parents, which Daron vehemently disagrees with, but now came to realize that there was some truth in it.
2001. Sat for PMR. Lost a relative. First time to cry after a funeral.
2002. Daron was in Form Four, nothing much going for him. Daron can't really remember now because it's freakin' 41 minutes past midnight.
2003. Graduated from SASS. Did terribly for SPM. Did superbly for his Grade 8 ABRSM. Climbed mount Kinabalu. Went to NS with besties Kim and Crystal (I will forever love these two girls)
2004. Went to Mission College.
2005, 2006, 2007. Due to Daron's belief in a person's rights to privacy, he refuses to write about any of the significant experiences he had these years.
2008. Graduated. Learned how to swim, a little. Got a job. Complaining about job every day.
I'm going to shower now.
Comments
happy birthday!!!!!!
1997-1998 School Chorus Speaking.. A very memorable year.we were the first batch! how great was that! Miss Ms. Wong.wonder how's she's doing..
Btw.. Michelle is in my facebook list.. cari dia!!
Anyway, I'm very proud of you for who you are, and very fortunate to have you as a brother, though I remember there were times I wanted to punch you at the face when we were kids, hahahaaha!
Congratulations for 22 years of life! There's many more to come!
hehehe happy birthday! :)
happy birthday again, syoklah reading this...all the kenangan!
ps-were you there when we 'cooked' that dead cicak at your house? haha