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Guest Post: NST younger than Vampire Bill

Guest blogger and New Straits Times journalist Jehan Mohd just realised that this year marks the 165th year of the NST. How time flies when you're having fun, says Jehan, who is 31 years old, a mere sapling as compared to Vampire Bill, who is 173. Here she lets loose her thoughts on the connection between NST and Vampire Bill.

The HUGE cake from Shangri-La Hotel with lots of blood red berries on top -- a very autumny feel to it.
NST is 165 years old -- Vampire Bill might've been an editor back in the day.
Nikko Hotel's more sedate sacrifice for the occasion.


'Twas the day before Friday and all in the office,
Not a writer was stirring, except for those at the keyboard.

That changed, however, when the Genting Group started setting up for a special tea they've giving us in conjunction with NST's anniversary (we're still waiting).

We knew of NST's impending birthday a couple of days ago when the Group editor informed us to make ourselves available for the tea that the conglomerate famous for its casino is organising for the occasion.

I just hadn't realised how old the old dame was until I saw the wording on the cakes delivered by Shangri-La Hotel and Nikko Hotel (who brought just cake, not tea) -- 165 years old.

 And the first thought I had was, "hey, that makes NST younger than Vampire Bill (of True Blood, the only vampy series worth watching in this post-Buffy age of sparkly/glittery vampires like Edward - bloody, literally - Cullen)!"...thinking about it, though, this means that NST is older than the Salvatore brothers from the Vampire Diaries (who are about 146 years old, give or take a decade here or there).

And I'm not the only who hadn't known how old NST was.

Something overheard near the table with the delicacies was, "oh, is that how old NST is?".

(Okay, I knew it was definitely older than 160 years as we celebrated that a few years back but, really, who takes note of the details in between the five-year jumps? It's kind of like how cars get revamped every five years, even if it's through minor cosmetic changes).

 Anyway, as we descend upon the cakes (which are quickly being devoured in true journalists' fashion - come during any tea and you'll see how quick the food goes) and the just-only-now ready tea, here's to another year of growing older (and hopefully wiser).

Happy birthday NST!
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Location: Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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