wonderfully made: Darwin's Birthday

Darwin at Princes' Bridge with Yarra River on the background

Today Darwin(pronounced as Dahwin) celebrates his birthday. His parties has always been big because he has to accomodate huge number of friends, across cultures and across ages who always take their time to join him as he celebrate his birthday. While we were overseas students, I am extremely tired before and after his birthday celebration because he always wished to have many guests around and we girls, Maline, Nikkie and Arnie try our mighty best to do our share in his party. It is quite difficult to prepare for a party with minimum of fifty guests without any household help but all those years that he celebrated his birthday with us, he united the Cutie batch. Each reluctantly or willingly has to do his or her share in making his party a truly memourable one. Somehow, I am quite relieved for being not around when Darwin now celebrates his huge birthday parties. But of course I miss joining his birthday celebrations as much as I miss him.

the luscious birthday cake baked for the "luscious boy"

Although I have been an unwilling participant/helper/coordinator in the birthday parties(and many other parties that he organised) I have learned to appreciate him as a nice person whose happiness is to make others happy. Darwin is a personification of patience and tolerance to the highest level. I know this because as his lone classmate from the Philippines, I spent a lot of time with him in class, in uni and in the city. He is very kind because he has weathered me as an extremely bitchy girl whenever I want to.

at the Royal Parade in autumn

As a leader, he is very objective, reasonable and most of all selfless. I have met and made friends because he simply reached out to these people and tried his best to encourage me to discover the good in any person and eliminate my preconceived notions. Fresh from a verbal assault, years back, I was very indifferent and refused to reach out to people who came from the same group where my assaulter came from. I listened to Darwin, reconsidered and finally reached out to people and in the process, I have found a great friend named Prime.