On Birthday Presents

Buying a gift for a friend is but a temporary torture. Once the money is spent, the pain of wondering what to buy, who to buy, how much to spend is gone. And usually, we do not expect the receiving party to have any issues, or at least visibly display any displeasure with the gift. And between close friends, it is possible to make requests. Surprises at our age usually mean a waste of money.

I realized that the most difficult birthday present to request is a birthday card. Ask people about the weather, or soccer results or the latest handphone, and they will have tons to say. Ask them to write something meaningful or memorable on a birthday card to you and you will be faced with a blank look.

But to be frank, that is what I keep.

Till now, I still have a few unopened presents in my room. And some of them are possibly coming to ten years old. But letters and cards, I read and I keep. And l will read them again.

It is just like the letters between Pathos and I, which almost ten years old, written in chinese when he was studying in Australia. And I believe I do keep some memorable email correspondences as well. And looking at what we said and what we wrote, we remember what we were, what we neglected and the promises we made. It gets so bad that sometimes reading my own archives is like reading someone else's thoughts, reliving another life, filling us with envy.

For it always seemed easier to be the other person...