I would like to dedicate my 200th post to a very special guy. A guy who was a HUGE part of my life for 4 years (and I am proud to say he is still very much a part of my life, albeit in a different way). He went from friend to good friend to boyfriend to best buddy.
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This was a picture taken of him exactly 6 years ago, when he turned 27.
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He is a man who is always hungry for more of Life. There just isn’t enough time for him to do all the things he wants to do in Life.
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Play the piano, learn how to read and write Chinese (self-taught, no trained tutor), dragon-boating (to overcome his fear of water), rock-climbing (to overcome his fear of height), restoring a super old mini cooper (to satisfy his love for all things old), conquering as many mountains as his legs will permit him (to push himself to the highest possible fitness level his physique will allow him), travelling all over the globe (to fulfill his lifetime need to constantly learn new things about people and Life), getting his shoe polished by freshly-sheared wool at a sheep farm, trying his hand at the hunting methods of the ‘orang asli’ in Taman Negara (to show off!)…and the list goes on and on.
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There was never a dull moment when I was sharing my life with him. We did many things, travelled to many places, met many people from all walks of life, learnt many lessons, cried many tears, fought many emotional battles and most of all, had many ‘best times’ of our lives.
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Although things did not work out between us as life partners, we both agreed the friendship we shared is just too precious to be buried with the romantic relationship that fizzled out. I am truly lucky to be able to still enjoy this guy’s caring and selfless friendship. He constantly amazes me with his sincere and genuinely-friendly behavior whenever he talks to/sees Sweetheart.
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Yes, he still annoys me with his weird need to disgust me sometimes…and he is STILL hopelessly soft when it comes to women; despite the countless lectures I gave him on how to protect his heart and not let it get broken so easily.
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However, despite all his misgivings and shortcomings, he is a great guy. A guy who will fly higher than many guys I’ve known in this lifetime, yet have both his feet firmly planted on the ground.
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Happy birthday, Mark!
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May all your wishes come true and know that you will always hold a special place in my heart, now and forever. *hugz*
Oh, darn… and I saw this post one day too late!
It’s a wonderful collage of photos you created there, girl. Brings back wonderful memories. Thanks so much. It reminded me of the good old times, and it meant a lot to me.
I’m actually shedding a “being touched” tear as I write this.