A Birthday Entry

This is my diary entry on the day I celebrated my 12th birthday - If I could be as easily pleased as I was then...

"Dear Diary,

I am very happy today 'cause it is my birthday. I am very busy too, helping my mother to prepare the things for my birthday party. When the cake arrived, I was very happy with it. It was simply beautiful. May Ling (my cousin a couple of years older than myself) gave me two Enid Blyton books. Patrick's mother (my auntie) gave me a very big box of toffees. Brian, Ritta and Edna (all cousins, the first of whom I had a huge crush on for quite a while - it may be yucky in the west, but is common and even smiled at in the east. In fact, the Taiwanese culture was to marry their cousins) gave me a box of games consisting of ten kind of games (the term compendium was a little over my head at the age of 12). Grand pa gave me $20, while my grand ma (father's side) gave me $16. My auntie (Tua Ee, or big auntie) gave me an Ang Pow (the famous red packet containing money) too, but I forgot where I put it as I was very busy. I gave my mother the $36 because she had spent a lot of money on my birthday celebration. I am now trying to find it.

Yours sincerely,
Ivy"