27

Re-discovering Myself 104 Comments

27 Things I Did When I Was 27.

 

1. Celebrated by birthday for the first time with my team of staff.

At 27, I became an owner of start-up business (in the traditional sense) for the first time. With that, I started hiring people to take care of my business.

It’s a lotta weight on my shoulders when people put their trust and career on my hands. But we’re like family at work. My birthday last year was particularly special because I spent it with a team I can proudly call my own.

 

2. Had LASIK surgery to permanently correct my eyesight. Best decision I’ve ever made.

 

3. Celebrated New Year’s Eve with the lovely Miss Singapore Universe Rachel Kum.

1 January 2010 was certainly a very memorable night for me. Heh.

 

4. Fulfilled my 6-year-old promise to Eddie.

Eddie is the guy who encouraged me to pick up marathon-running. 5 years ago I promised him I will one day travel to the USA to do the Los Angeles Marathon with him. I finally fulfilled that promise March this year.

It was easily the best marathon race I have ever done. Los Angeles is a beautiful city and people are very supportive of the race. I would go on and on about my trip to LA, but I’ll save that for a different blog post.

 

5. Drove a BMW convertible.

Love it. Too bad it ain’t mine. My friend Alex Wong was kind enough to lend me his house and car in LA while he embarked on his own ride of a lifetime – riding the distance from the tip of South America to North America, on a motorbike.

 

6. Met the king of late night talk shows, Jay Leno at the NBC studios. This was fresh after his rivalry with Conan O’Brien. His guest at the time was actually "The Rock" Dwayne Johnson, a wrestler I grew up watching.

 

7. Watched a live Lakers game at the famed Staples Centre. They kicked the Minnesota Timberwolves asses. In attendance was Jack Nicholson, Chris Brown and Tom Cruise.

 

8. Watched WWE Wrestlemania live in Pheonix, Arizona. Shawn Micheals! The Undertaker! Bret Hart! Triple H! It was my childhood dream come true.

 

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9. After Wrestlemania, I drove 3 hours from Phoenix, Arizona to see one of the 7 Greatest Nature Wonder of the World – The Grand Canyon.

 

10. From The Grand Canyon, I need to drive to the airport 3 hours away.

I was short on time and I drove so fast that I earned myself my first international traffic violation – speeding. Cops in America cannot be bribed, so I copped a fine that costs USD232 (or RM720)!

 

11. Spent more time inside my fitness centre than at home. I ain’t complaining. Being a new business, a lot of times I have to be there physically to take care of the details and make on-the-spot decisions.

 

12. Went on self-driven road trips to Bali, Indonesia; Los Angeles, California; Austin, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona and Queenstown, New Zealand.

I went to Austin, Texas to visit my sister’s family after not seeing them for almost a year. I felt incredibly proud as an uncle to my three wonderful nephew and nieces, who remember me despite me spending so much time away from them.

 

13. Climbed the
Sydney Harbour Bridge! Wah!

 

14. Did adventure caving for the first time ever at Jenolan Caves, near Sydney. I won’t say it’s the most fun thing I did, but crawling through rocks and squeezing through holes is definitely interesting, in a challenging sorta way.

 

15. Lost a few friends, gained new ones.

An incident happened between 2 of my very close friends, inadvertently pulling me into the cross fires. Suddenly I find myself questioning if the friendship around me are genuine, or if I am being taken advantage of.

Thankfully, the incident is over now. I even gained a few new friends in the process.

 

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16. Visited more gyms and fitness centres around the world than I ever had in my life. I enjoy seeing how fitness centres from other parts of the world operate and how mine stacks up against them.

It makes me envious that other gyms are more successful because people in bigger cities generally are more health-conscious.

 

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17. Appeared on the front cover of a magazine for the first time!

 

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18. Got my backpack stolen from inside my unlocked car. Inside my backpack are my laptop, camera, iPhone, foreign currencies and my all-important passport. Gone, all gone. It’s a painful lesson I’d rather not happen.

 

19. Got a nose job. Well, not really. It’s more like a nostril job, to stop me from snoring, but he also managed to make me breathe better.

 

20. Laid plans to expand Level Up Fitness by a further 5,000 square feet.

 

21. Dived at Lombok, Indonesia. Gili Trawangan is easily my favourite place for an island holiday after Bali.

 

22. Did the highest, scariest bungee jump in the world off Macau Tower. The jump was 143 metres high. That’s nearly 80 storey above the air!

 

23. Followed up with another bungee, falling backwards off The Ledge in Queenstown, New Zealand.

 

24. Earned my instructor license to teach RPM cycling classes. The training we were put through was brutal. I cycled so much that by the end of my training, I felt as if I had given birth to an exercise bike.

 

25. Drove, kayaked and trekked through Milford Sound, New Zealand. That place has the most jaw-dropping spectacular sceneries I have seen.

 

26. Scripted and recorded my first radio ad for Level Up Fitness. Writing an effective radio ad was difficult. Recording it was easy. Well, the guys at hitz.fm made it easy.

 

27. Spent the eve of my 28th birthday cold, alone and sleeping on the airport floor. My flight back from New Zealand back home was marred with one disaster after another.

First, my flight took off 15 hours later than usual due to Auckland airport’s runway problem. (Much thanks to Steph Chai who was in Auckland at the time to come out to meet me.) Then, my flight into Kuching cannot land due to bad weather. When I finally arrived Kuching, my airline lost my luggage! In the end, I missed out completely on my own birthday brunch and dinner. 🙁

That was 27 things I di
d when I was 27.

I am now 28 years old.

104 Replies to “27”

  8. I’m 17 now, but i hope someday my life will be as exciting as yours. and this post has reminded me to enjoy life whenever possible.
    it’s your day, Kenny. Enjoy being 28!

    Reply

  10. What happened to u in NZ airport? Is it because of the runway lights problem? I’m in Auckland and the Auckland airport were having runway lights out on the 28 of Nov because of the lightning.

    Reply

  16. Dear Kenny,
    Happy birthday Kenny. I’ve just got back to KL from a short trip to Kuching. It was a wonderful trip and reminded me very much of your blog every now and then. Have a wonderful birthday celebration.

    Reply

  17. Kappy Birthday Kenny! I love this post as it brought me so much fond memories of LA and Grand Canyon. I drove over 10 hours from LA through the Southern California Desert to the canyons! We seem to connect in much activities too. Have a great day.

    Reply

  18. Happy Birthday, Kenny!
    You seem to be very rich, can travel here and there.
    Want to do a good cause by donating some money to charity? Like SPCA or Mount Miriam Hospital?

    Reply

  21. Happy Birthday Kenny. You’ve really done a lot of kick-ass activities out there and you’ve really enjoyed yourself.
    Wishing you all the best and have an awesome journey to success in life.
    Cheers mate~!

    Reply

  31. Hpapy Brihtadyz there.
    Actually I would say your day not bad at all except the long waiting and lost of luggage.
    Cos sometimes when you lost something you get something better. Be positive =)

    Reply

  38. good to know you got to do what you had wanted…you got yr eyes fixed..maybe next project your teeth? 😀
    happy belated birthday.

    Reply

  48. happy birthday kenny! wish u all the best dude. respect u for the things u have achieved and done at such a young age. hope i can be like u next time! =D

    Reply

  55. happy birthday!
    pretty sure macau bungee is not just 143m or something though. If I remember correctly, Nevis bungee in Queenstown is already 130+m and Macau bungee is another 100m extra on top of that.

    Reply

  56. u accomplished so much when u were 27..more than some would ever in their lifetime! u are blessed and thanks for sharing all ur experience with us readers!

    Reply

  59. Celebrated New Year’s Eve with the lovely Miss Singapore Universe Rachel Kum.
    1 January 2010 was certainly a very memorable night for me. Heh.
    WHAT DID YOU DO ON THAT NIGHT???
    WHY SO MEMORABLE???

    Reply

  66. Happy Birthday Kenny! I love how you seized the day in each and every opportunity presented! No doubt there are some unwanted happenings, but that’s what gives your life a whole load of variety! Your life is definitely one that I would like to have! Take care and do keep uploading your adventures. 🙂 Who knows? Maybe I’ll join you in one of them!

    Reply

  70. Looking back at the things you had done, does gives me the kick and start questioning myself, what did I do for the past one year, basically nothing besides working and studying.
    I think its high time I start thinking what I can do that when I look back, its filled with smiles.
    Happy Birthday to you and hope your new chapther in life are filled with colours and joy 🙂

    Reply

  75. Happy belated Birthday KennySia!
    Your whole year is better than all seasons of Amazing Race combined!
    You achieved so much, going places and doing all the things that I can only dream of at this point and be envious. Truly inspiring. All the best for everything you gonna work on next. 🙂

    Reply

  83. I’m so envious of you travelling around the world! You have so many things and experience to talk about,and I will always be back here to read what you have to say. And most importantly,
    Happy Birthday,Kenny 🙂

    Reply

  84. Kenny, I am not quite twice your age, but given how much you have experienced compared to me I might as well be half your age. Keep drinking deeply of life and sharing with the world. You’re amazing man! Cheers, Keith

    Reply

  85. Hello Kenny,
    09/11/2010 around 10:40 you went Madam Tang .
    I was just beside you , that small kid.
    I saw U keep playing with your iPhone .
    Then later you went to the washroom.
    When you c o me out from the washroom, you see what I’m eating .
    I was too shy to talk to you then.

    Reply

  88. Kenny Bunny,
    You sound like a tychoon in the making, the new and improved Richard Branson.
    ps: That Miss Singapore, not that hot !

    Reply

  89. Wanted to go to Level Up to redeem the free membership after so long.. not sure whether it still can be used or not 😛
    anyways, Happy belated birthday Kenny!
    Reading this makes me wondering when my life will be as awesome as this.. I mean, traveling doing such things.. Awesome things…
    Once again, happy belated birthday Kenny.. May God bless you 🙂

    Reply

  91. WANG KIT! ‘noh naughty happy birthday! Noh you go America an jump off naughty bungey! ‘
    mon 8:30 Okto & sat midday, ‘noh local TV but finally not crappy, free science an naughty naughty experiment’

    Reply

  94. I think it is high time to shift this blog from a ‘funny’ blog (which unfortunately is not so much anymore) to a blog which you can help guide and inspire the young generation better. Your life lessons both past and ongoing are worth sharing. I’m not saying don’t be funny at the same time (just be yourself) but you have outgrown the old theme of this blog. It’s time for the blog to mature as you have.

    Reply

  96. ur kinda like my idol actually..
    openin own business ,achievin many things, travellin wonderful places n most importantly gaining so muc ups n downs thru the good n bad experiences..
    though sometimes ur posts makes me feel ur kinda noob in a sense esp in girls haha…
    to able to achieve a wish list is really not easy..
    and after so much… my thoughts for u is that u shud already find a soul mate.. i bet u wanted that inside u..
    all the best in ur future endeavours..

    Reply

  100. Happy Belated Birthday Kenny! Thanks for turning up for my B’day :))
    Well, I was just slightly luckier than you as I’ve bunch of awesomesauce friends to cheer me up.
    I cried on my B’day eve due to some incident happen at work that I’ve been keeping it and finally I let go when the clock strike 12am. What a shame to cry when people are celebrating my Birthday.
    You’ll have a better life ahead you. Go Kenny!! :))

    Reply

  102. Happy birthday there dude!
    Oh and can you let me know where you got your nose surgery? Was it septoplasty or turbinate reduction? I’m unfortunately having difficulty breathing and was wondering where I can find a good ENT surgeon in Kuching. Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.

    Reply

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