Before My Birthday: My First Mahjong Night at University

My birthday is almost here.

After all these years, I do not think I have ever given myself a proper birthday celebration. This year will be different: it has to be a big one. I have not decided exactly what “big” means yet, but the enthusiasm can come first. Hehe.

A red building and the fading evening sky reflected in a still lake — The light slowly faded, and my birthday moved a little closer.

Lao Qin also gave me a camera, a Seagull DF-2. It feels substantial in my hands, and its dials, lens ring, and shutter are nothing like using a phone. I have barely taken any photographs with it yet, but simply seeing it on my desk already makes me wonder what I will record with it.

Holding the Seagull DF-2 camera given to me by Lao Qin — A birthday gift from Lao Qin. I hope it will help me keep a little more of what comes next.

University life lately seems to be assembled from unexpected gifts, shared meals, and conversations that begin in the middle of nowhere. Someone told me to hurry to class while I was still asking which room it was in; one blunt “stop messing around” made me want to laugh and answer back at the same time. The identifying details in the screenshot have been masked, but I still wanted to keep the familiar tone of those messages.

The name and the other person's avatars are hidden; the small exchange itself stays as part of the day.

The day before yesterday, I went out to eat with Lao Miao and Senior Qi. Three people ordered three dishes, which sounded perfectly reasonable—until the food arrived and I discovered how little both of them ate. OMG, we did not come close to finishing it. Looking at what remained on the plates, my first thought was that we should have been much more cautious.

Yesterday I invited Senior Sun out as well. This time the amount of food was just right, and the yellow braised chicken was pretty good. We did not go straight back after dinner. Instead, we played mahjong for a while.

It was my first time going out to play mahjong since starting university. Seriously, everyone was bullying the complete beginner. I was still recognising the tiles while trying to keep pace, and I lost with absolute clarity. There is only one answer: practise hard, then suppress every last one of them when winter arrives.

A mahjong table set up for my first game out with friends at university — My first mahjong night at university. I will record the beginner status now and return for revenge in winter.

The Monopoly game afterwards was also so funny. Everyone began with the appearance of competent investors; by the end, each person's pockets were emptier than their face. We finally left after ten, still feeling that the night had ended too soon. The part we did not finish can wait for next time.

My birthday has not arrived yet, but the last few days have already brought several very concrete kinds of happiness: a camera, two dinners, a mahjong table, and a Monopoly game that emptied everyone's pockets. They are ordinary things. Together, though, they have already made the approaching birthday feel a little more lively.

13:41. Enough for now. My birthday is close, and this time I am not going to let it pass quietly.