Hmmmm...lets talk about age, since there are a few people I know that are passing through birthday with September,October, November and December:

How old are you?

Depending on your gender, one reacts differently.

If you are mentally calling up your age, shrugging and still reading this, your are a male. If you have snapped your head back, narrow you eyes, and glaring at the imagination me, that says "how dare you ask?", you are a female.

Men and women react differently to the topic if age and birthdays. Childhood birthday parties showed no indication of this - or rather if they did, I would not know as I neither have never been to one, nor do i have one party that were full of balloons, cake and kiddy games like passing the parcels. Mine was always a simple family gathering, I remembered that I ahd to share a cake with my cousin and blowing candles with him.

Recall back to your own birthday party, where your parents would invite many friends together with your classmates, dress you in new clothes as if you are a prince or princess. Having cakes in different shape and sizes ranging from planes to ship, or even a disney charater. The guest would come and all you are happy about are the presents and the luxurious foods. But as people age, the celebrations either become more muted or amplified. Muted as one does not want to advertise your age, amplified due to the amount of alcohol which are an attraction. But the invitation list usually gets shorted, there is very little cake and definitely as little candles as possible, probably 1 candle for blowing out.

Yet even so the gender divides s ever visible. Whatever their age is, men still celebrate the arrival of their annual milestone with no angst. There's nothing like a few shot of 18 years old single malt to erase whatever misgivings they may have about in life.

But once, women moves out of their 20s, they seem to go into mourning as THE BIRTHDAY approaches. Its a kin to ostrich behavior - they bury their face in sand or a luxuriant face mask or head to Bioskin for a facial and it is as if the dreaded day doesn't exist will ensure that they don't become a year older.

The is another major difference in the way men and women deal with age. A man doesn't seem bothered abour details. Ask him how old he is, and the chances of him rounding it up to the next birthday. I won't round it up, afterall I am a December Baby only having a 11 days of my next age within that year. But ask most women for their age, and they will deduct a decade..just kidding maybe just a few years. Women have the habit of holding on to their present age till the final tick of the clock, I admit I am like that, don't believe? Go test them.

Again, I can tell you what will happen. She will boe a hole through your skull with her stare, as if to say : Ask me how much I earn, how much I pay for the flat, how much this dress cost... but don't ask me ow old I am. Then she will soften - like it is a no big deal anyway and stammer: 'twenty..t-t-t..er..' If you still have the guts left byt hen, ask her when is her birthday is - and don't kneel over in shock when she reply calmly reveal that her birthday is 2-3days later.

But should age matter at all? People can play any game they want but, as some clever guy once said time and tide don't wait for anyone. It's up to us to value the time we have on this planet - and acknowledge the annual milestone as our life goes by, and as years climb we will automatically start re-evaluating our lives, values, desires and fears.

To the modern society, presents need not be material, the scale of parties is immaterial. The company and mood are what matters. Who you are celebrating with and of course where you are celebrating with. Where the birthday bashes and tortures are held at.

So I am declaring I am turning 18 on this coming December the 20th, still have a few months later. I guess I will spend it a little different from the usual way? I will head down to the cinema and watch an M18 show, on the way to the family gathering help my dad, practically the adults to buy 4D afterall it is a Saturday and their usual icy cold beers and wine.

1:51 PM sHaRiLyN LiM