in the beginning.....

it doesn't feel like it's a big week yet for me.. i know it is.. i turn 21 in 7 days and that is a huge landmark in my life.. adulthood beckons and will become official after the 23rd of April.. in fact it's the start of an eventful time for me with graduation the following Saturday where my dad, mum and brothers will be watching.. i'm a bit nervous abt that one.. don't really feel i'm a graduate yet nor do i feel i've finished with study or deserve it..

i'm gonna do a long continuous blog like i did with my 18th recalling all the highlights and lowlights of 21 years of my life.. and what the next 19 years till my 40th holds..

but firstly, last night as i lay in bed, i got one of those nostalgic sad moments.. talk abt 21 years what abt the last 5 years?? boy have they gone by fast.. was flicking through Abbey's blog the other day and saw a picture of her.. the Abbey i knew with long hair.. and now she's getting married in a couple of months time.. and not too long ago, a crazy Wellingtonian who claims to be Sam but is actually Alexander was a student like i was a year ago.. now he's a big time lawyer about to take on the world.. if he hasn't done that..

if u want to know how fast time really goes, be me going to Elim every Sunday for the last couple of years and u get the feeling that u're a statue standing amidst rapid change.. the congregation is never the same year to year.. i'm not talking abt the Saras, the Patersons, the Griffiths or the Smiths and at one point the Browns and Vickers, the people who have been around for ages and have seen more than i have.. i'm refering to the Jesses, Abbeys, Matts, Sams, Pomeroys, Shannons who eventually leave and give way to the younger guys like Menillik, who is a p cool guy i reckon - someone pls get him into a life group if you haven't coz yeah he's gonna be good for Cutting Edge for a bit while - or the Sam Fernandos, Petes and Dave with the "hideous" eyelash rings.. eyelash rings.. hmm that just kinda shows how much the crowd has changed..

i'm a guy who doesn't like change... actually maybe i do.. coz i kinda enjoy a change in scenery.. like this year, i've really enjoyed working even if the task doesn't seem that exciting - well actually it is i reckon although it's been helped by the fact that now i get to make phonecalls to ppl checking on employer details and work accidents.. and then there's the tall Canadian girl called Liz who comes in at 4 and drives my imagination crazy - they say don't change for change's sake but i think change can be good.. it gives u more interest.. that's why i'm working this year and then taking the tour of Europe later this year.. i also realise that i am susceptible to feeling down when i look back at the past and just thinking of how much i've been through, so i rather think forward..

but with Hillsong United playing in the background, i guess it's p safe to take a look back at what's happened in the last 21 years since the 23rd of April 1986.. with the help of google another great big thing that happened in the last part of the last 21 years of my life along with youtube amongst other things...

actually i'll just look back at the things i can remember and that have huge meaning for me rather than just things that happened when i was too young to remember.. i'll prob start at 1997 since that was prob the first year i started to care abt things around the world..

1997
- Mother Theresa passes on
- Princess Diana dies in freak car accident with Dodi Al Fayed in Paris
- Asian economic crash
- The Haze - and no it's not a movie, it was a blanket of dusty fog that covered Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia for months.. that was really bad..
- The only time I will ever fly Canadian Airlines coz in 2001 they got bought out by Air Canada
- first set of public exams - stressful for a young 11 year old like me at the time.. can't believe they still subject 11/12 year olds in Malaysia to this.. oh wait don't they have that public exam which 9 year olds have to take to see if they can jump a year?

1998
- France 98 - although didn't really care abt that
- Commonwealth Games 98 - didn't care much abt the sport atm u'd be surprised to know, but was proud to be in KL when it happened! oh yeah remember cheering on our Malaysian cyclist winning the big race around Shah Alam..

1999
- i have pimples for the first time :(

2000
- Sydney Olympics!
- Euro 2000 - didn't care abt that one
- Michael Schumacher ends Ferrari's 21-year title draught - wow 7 years later that is a fact that is v hard to believe, esp when u think that Schumi would not relinquish the title until 2005! that is staggering to think abt..
- second set of public exams - this time it was more enjoyable

2001
- September 11 - it actually happened when i was in New Zealand for the first time ever.. i remember all the TV stations being tuned to it! i was in Queenstown around that time.. boy would it change the world.. can't believe that is now 6 years ago!!!
- personally this was a p rubbish year.. and i was not the only one in the same boat, i think the NZ Super 12 teams had a p rubbish year too.. but anyway..
- Goran Ivanisevic beats Pat Rafter in the greatest Wimbledon final of them all?

2002
- last year of school - this is the fact that i struggle the most.. i can't believe this was 5 years ago.. and my classmates and i being so grown up now studying overseas and just doing our own thing.. so far no marriages yet so no need to be envious.. maybe that is a good sign for me.. or maybe i should get the ball rolling..
- 2002 FIFA World Cup - ah yes.. Ronaldo.. not the Man United player who i despise so much.. the other one who plays for Brazil..

2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 tomorrow!