The good folks at NTUC Income sent me some birthday vouchers. Sweet. Except that one of them was a 20% discount off hearing aids.

I bought Instyle today (it's one of the more respectable women's magazines, in my opinion) and there was a feature on women and age. And all these celebrities were talking about how they've grown and look better and learnt so much more with age. I respect people who celebrate their age, no matter what it is. Heck, I want to be 80 and living it up still! I've never ever understood the reason for women being hesitant in revealing their age. I mean, it's even come to a point where it might be rude or inappropriate to ask a lady her age. What is the big deal? Really. So you turn one year older. It happens. To everyone. Really.

Ok, so I'll admit I get a little edgy too when I realise I'm fast approaching the quarter-of-a-century milestone. Without having accomplished much in my life. I mean, where will I be when I'm 25? What will I have done? How many lives will I have touched? What is the degree of my influence in the time and space assigned to me for now? But you know, I've never been much of a planner. I don't really plan past next week. Which is why my holiday to Perth was kinda spur-of-the-moment :) I don't have a 5-year plan. I don't have a plan for the rat race. I was talking to a friend though, who was worrying about not getting a job with better pay so she can get married and all. And she rattled off the expenses that would come with living in an HDB flat and all (she earns more than I do, btw). And there I was, sitting and not really listening because all I could think of was that I just blew about a thousand dollars on my trip to Perth. And for a millisecond, I felt guilty. But only for a millisecond. I don't need to justify my trip. I really don't. It was my trip, paid for with my hard-earned money and mytime. It was a decision I made and boy, did it feel good. And it was important to me. It's important to break the monotony of life sometimes and just do something different. I had people saying, "wah so rich ah, can go on holiday", "times are so bad and you still want to spend so much money to go to Perth", "yah, I'd like to do something different too if I had the money". And yes, I felt bad. I felt like I was being judged for the way I spent my money, as though my money grew on trees. But it was important for me to go for a variety of reasons which, as explained earlier, I see no need to explain. And you know what? I think it's especially important for people to break out of their cycle in these times and do something. Anything. Take a day off and spend it in the park (not advisable for Singaporeans who are experiencing the heatwave) or go see an art film. Go to the spa. Get a pedicure. Go to Batam on a fishing trip. Take dance classes. Fly to Bali. Have dinner under the stars. It's precisely because everything's so depressing now that we need to keep our chins up and get out there. The same friend I was talking to said she felt so depressed at times but comforted herself by saying, "if Mel can do it, so can I". I don't know if that was a compliment but I'll try to look at it as one. Isn't it good to know you're not the only depressed person around? ;)

Sunday night I drove back, parked the car and walked up the driveway. And all of a sudden I noticed the sky sprinkled with stars. And I just stopped where I was and stared into the night (early morning actually) in the middle of the driveway, in the freezing cold. And I was awed. This is the Australian sky as I remembered. And right then, at that moment, everything in the world was perfect. Take those moments. And remember them. It's amazing how the simplest things in life will get you through the toughest days.