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Clock

Written by Kenny Mah on
Jan 12th 2009

52 Comments
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Clock

.

Tick tock. Tick. Tock.

Seconds pass, then minutes. Hours turn into days and before we know it, almost half of January is gone already. Am I still in the festive mood, what with Christmas and New Year’s Eve still fresh in my mind and still we have the Chinese New Year to beckon with.

And my thirtieth birthday approaching rapidly as some well-meaning friends keep reminding me. Oh me oh my. Three decades of Kenny Mah and where am I, I wonder?

.

Tick tock. Tick. Tock.

Seconds pass, then minutes. Hours fade into days and week and months and years. Time can be a cruel observer of our lives. Silent but steady and sure. Time will slip us a precise, inconvenient question when you least expect it like a knife into our gut where it hurts the most — what have you done with your life, with your three decades allotted to you thus far?

.

Tick tock. Tick. Tock.

Time won’t wait for me, I know. But I have no answers, no easy resolutions. I have been reading old letters, old words I once penned and I notice this; if nothing else, I have at last learned to smell the damn flowers, even if I ain’t sure if they are roses. Don’t matter, really, when you get yourself a whiff of what it feels like to be alive, now, right now, even as the stopwatch continues beeping and the years keep turning.

Tick tock. Tick. Tock. Ain’t no snooze button on my clock.

.

~ * ~

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Artwork designed by Kenny Mah using photographs by Rita Mezzela & A. Carlos Herrera.


52 Responses

  1. jack phua says:

    time waits for no man truly. carpe diem!

  2. Chin says:

    Permission to print and laminate it. Very useful reminder next to the bathroom mirror :-)

  3. Jesse says:

    30 is just the beginning I think. Haven’t researchers come to the conclusion that people only really come into their own in their mid-30s? I think your readers are going to be in for a treat over the next few years… ;)

    But damn, that tick tock tick tock sound is reminding me I need to get back to work… =(

  4. Kenny Mah says:

    » jack phua
    Time waits for no man, and let’s not wait for time either, eh?

    » Chin
    Permission granted, sir! I’d be flattered. :)

    » Jesse
    “Haven’t researchers come to the conclusion that people only really come into their own in their mid-30s? I think your readers are going to be in for a treat over the next few years…”

    Well, let’s wait till I actually turn 30. I still have ten more days of being 29 y.o. to savour… :P

  5. 30 is the new start of life..have fun embracing the 4th decade that is waiting..

    alas thats all i can say..for im enjoying my 3rd decade..with many more years to come..

  6. Kenny Mah says:

    » lotsofcravings
    “for im enjoying my 3rd decade..with many more years to come..”

    Eesh, eesh. Talk about a knife straight into the gut… :(

  7. keropokman says:

    the 3rd decade is also the start of the battle of the bulge aka tummy gets bigger. LOL..

  8. jeff lee says:

    age is only a number..
    go ahead…pick one number and stay comfortable with it (mind, body & soul) for the rest of your life !!
    i am always twenty eight..not a day more, nor a day less..hehe

    :D

  9. moja says:

    This is one good reflection for us all.
    Time definitely waits for no man, and for that we have to treasure every ticks and tocks of the clock, right?

    There will come a day, I will do the same thing too; reminiscing of the past- pictures, friends and writings too. A natural cycle, it is.

    :D
    Be happy, Kenny!

  10. You might then have several more mistakes you can still afford to make. As the uncountable ticks by. Just remember to not repeat them , such is the lessons of life. Where every second is never the same and new friends enter

  11. Kenny Mah says:

    » keropokman
    Now you’re just bullying me!

    *pouts*

    » jeff lee
    Haha, then I’m sticking with 26.. Nice, round number. (Uhm, forget I said round, okay?)

    » moja
    Oh I am happy. And very fortunate to boot. :)

    » backStreetGluttons
    Here’s to new friends entering our lives! :D

  12. kristopher says:

    so will this be ur 30th or 26th birthday? lol

  13. Kenny Mah says:

    » kristopher
    It’s gonna be my I’m thirty-turning-twenty-six birthday? :P

  14. ~ elfie ~ says:

    ru gonna stick at 26 every year from now on? lol

  15. Tummythoz says:

    30th? Hmm wonder what was I like in d old days. Tok-tok-tok goes my cane.

  16. Kenny Mah says:

    » ~ elfie ~
    Why… you read my mind! LOL

    » Tummythoz
    Hehe, I go tok-tok-tok too, but it ain’t my cane… :P

  17. 29??! You’re practically still a baby!! :-) I was having this conversation the other night with a friend, lamenting about our underachievement in our early 30s, but this post has rightfully reminded me that we should celebrate that we’ve made it past 30 years alive, sanity intact! The journey hence continues….

  18. Kenny Mah says:

    » 550ml jar of faith
    29 and still a baby? You have no idea how happy you made me with that last statement of yours. :D

    And I agree… it’s not a time for lamenting but for celebrations!

  19. masni says:

    “Tick tock. Tick. Tock. Ain’t no snooze button on my clock.”

    that’s very inspiring, kenny. live life, every minute of it. =)

  20. jemima says:

    No matter how old we are.. as the lyrics goes:

    “..life goes on
    And this old world
    Will keep on turning..” ;)

  21. Kenny Mah says:

    » masni
    Every minute. Every second of it. This would be my goal for 2009, and for the rest of my life, really. :)

    » jemima
    Very true. And which song is this? For some reason I reminds me of a Tina Turner song… Hehe…

  22. jemima says:

    Definitely not a Tina Turner song. :P

    It’s an OLDIE that my dad was listening to earlier this evening.. “For the Good Times”.
    There are many versions.. Elvis, Perry Como, Kris Kristofferson.
    The one he listened to was by Kenny Rogers.

    *wonders if Kenny Mah feels young not to know any of those singers except maybe Elvis & Kenny Rogers* :lol:

  23. Kenny Mah says:

    » jemima
    Hehe, I do know Perry Como and Kris Kristofferson. One sang Xmas songs and the other acted in action movies, right? :P

  24. lingzie says:

    life starts at 30 my friend :P (or whatever age you wish it to start) i’ve got a girl friend who’s turning 29 next mth. she’s throwing a big bash. and then she says, after that, she will not mention her birthday anymore. no more celebrations. but i dont agree lo. every year and every birthday should be celebrated no?
    its all in the mind and age really is just a number.

    sometimes i get these bouts of self loathe and despair, wondering what have i achieved? what have i done for the past 20odd years and where am i headed?
    funny isnt how when we were young, we thought being an adult would automatically give you all the answers. but sadly we now know that it is not true. we don’t have all the answers. but i suppose that’s what makes life fun. the journey. not the destination. :P

  25. Nic (KHKL) says:

    they say that the first 4 decades are the toughest as one learns to live and love from scratch. the next few decades will be when you start to enjoy what you have learnt.

    at 30, the lessons continue and looking at lifeforbeginners, i’m sure the path forward is a promising one! :D

  26. Kenny Mah says:

    » lingzie
    1. Yeah, I’ve friends like that too. But you guys do know I’m only joking about reverting back to 26, right? LOL

    28 was better than all the years before that, and 29 even better, so I can only guess at how amazing 30 will be. ;)

    2. Adulthood doesn’t bring more answers, dear. Just more questions. :)

    » Nic (KHKL)
    Maybe I should write a post called “Being 30 for Beginners”? :P

  27. Vern says:

    You’re 30 already??

    Whoa.

    You sure don’t seem anywhere near the big 3-0.

  28. Kenny Mah says:

    » Vern
    No. No. No. I’m so not thirty! C’mon!

    … not for another ten days anyway… :P

  29. masni says:

    it will be my goal too, for 2009 and the rest of it. :)

  30. masni says:

    btw, will u have a birthday celebration? we love to see pics! :)

  31. Kenny Mah says:

    » masni
    Haha, a birthday celebration? Uhm… er… well… We’ll see, won’t we? :P

  32. Isaac says:

    Time can be cruel but not as cruel as what humans do to one another. :(

  33. wintergirl says:

    time is relentless. let us live quickly and furiously! =)

  34. Kenny Mah says:

    » Isaac
    We are at war at each other because we are at war in our own hearts. I believe this to be true and this is why we, why I struggle each day and that the struggle is a worthy one.

    Keep the faith, Isaac.

    » wintergirl
    Fast and Furious! :D

  35. spiller says:

    clocks rock!! :D

  36. wahaza extra says:

    Kenny, so inspiring… lovely blog!

  37. sc says:

    time and tide waits for no man! and yes, we should appreciate everyday..wont know if we get to live and see the next..

  38. tigerfish says:

    No mouse went up the clock? :p

  39. Kenny Mah says:

    » spiller
    Yes they do (that is, if you don’t knock them clocks, haha.)

    » wahaza extra
    Thanks!

    » sc
    That is so true and sobering. I can’t repeat this mantra enough: Live in the now, live in the now.

    » tigerfish
    Not sure, but there is a louse that lives in the sock that is locked in the clock…

  40. Edward says:

    Time fly… getting old…. hope could have more time….

  41. Kenny Mah says:

    » Edward
    Dude. You are TWENTY-TWO. You are so not complaining about aging, man. :P

  42. cumidanciki says:

    i know! where did the year go??? well the main thing is to have lived it well and with no regrets rite… also, having a baby face helps la .. lol:D

  43. Kenny Mah says:

    » cumidanciki
    Babyface? Yeah well, that’s you and the Devil Wears Prada. Me, I’m lucky if this ugleous mug o’ mine can even be called a face in the first place… :P

  44. Michelle says:

    What have we done in the past *add number* years of our lives?

    And what are we going to do for the next *add another number* years of our lives?

    What’s in our past? How did it make us who we are in the present? And how is it going to shape the future?

  45. Michelle says:

    Oh, I forgot.

    *bear hug*

  46. Kenny Mah says:

    » Michelle
    All these questions… and our lives aren’t about the answers so much as simply searching for them. :)

    *bear hug back*

  47. Célestin says:

    All these years that pass
    Till we are alone at last
    From birth to grave
    All the love we gave…

  48. Kenny Mah says:

    » Célestin
    All the love we gave
    Was not that grave
    Simply something that last
    When all these years do pass…

  49. the_lighthouse says:

    the minutes and the day… they pass us by but let us not pass our own lives by!

  50. Steven says:

    Time won’t wait for you, Kenny but you sure are making the best of it! :D

  51. Kenny Mah says:

    » the_lighthouse
    Man, that’s poetic. And true! :)

    » Steven
    I hope so, I really hope so, bro.

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