30 Things to do before you turn 30

30. Have your portrait painted or photographed

29. Write a novel

28. Complete a marathon race

27. Learn to play a musical instrument

26. Kiss a member of the same sex

25. Dance in the rain

24. Visit the Eiffel Tower and see Monalisa in the Louvre

23. Take a gondola ride in Venice

22. Go camping

20. Buy an expensive watch or handbag worth at least half your salary

19. Have your picture in a magazine

18. Go to Disneyland

17. Have something named after you

16. Go to Hawaii

15. Watch a musical or play

14. Learn to ride a bicycle or roller blades

13. Walk the Great Wall of China

12. Touch snow

11. Be on TV

10. Try an exotic dish

9. Dye your hair a ridiculous colour

8. Attend a Ball

7. Swim in the sea

6. Climb a mountain

5. Live in another country for a while

4. Buy an apartment and turn it into your dream home

3. Work for a cause you believe in

2. Fall in love

1. Buy a round-the-world ticket and go backpacking

melanieC?

Hi everyone,

I’m Melanie Choy, 22, an accountant by profession and proudly the oldest friend of James Ee.

Rewind back to 15 years ago and you will see skinny, naughty boy making faces at an angry little girl, who was chasing him halfway down the school corridor. Lovely sight, isn’t it?

The first time I set my eyes on Ee Suen Zheng, he was a tiny little boy sitting on his father’s shoulder. It was our first day at school. From that fateful day onwards, we spent 9 years in each other’s company. Same class every year! Imagine!

But, all ‘happy’ times must come to an end. In Form 4, James moved away to a different school. I thought that was, finally, the end of him. Never in my dreams, I would have imagined that we could have chocolate frapps and be foam-sprayed together in Bintang Walk on Christmas Eve. Much less, agree to be a writer on his blog, called Mindstorm.   *melanieC