Today was my birthday, and I did not participate in any of the obligatory somber national mourning. This is not out of any lack of respect/sympathy (although I have been accused of lacking both at various points in the past), but because if I don't celebrate my birthday, the terrorists have won.
I had a truly excellent day! I talked to several family members on the phone, as well as Katie, Lauren, and Irish Matt. I received a multitude of v. kind emails, e-cards, text messages, and Facebook posts, which was quite nice. I also spent most of the day lamely engaged in cleaning out my closet and doing laundry, but I'm happy that I did so because now I can focus on the book for most of the rest of the weekend. And, Charles the doorman just rolled his eyes when I received not one, not two, but FOUR packages today!
Three were things that I had ordered myself: a dictionary of English surnames (to go with the dictionary of English Christian names that I already received), a few great notebooks, and a brand new fountain pen that is my birthday present to myself. It's a sky blue color with 'stars' embedded in it, and I've wanted it for well over a year, so I'm quite happy. But the fourth package was the best -- Aunt Becky's promised package arrived, and I eagerly dug into it. I soon questioned what kind of trouble she expected me to get into on my birthday -- the package contained a mini sample kit of Bobbi Brown cosmetics, a sample eye cream, a sample night moisturizer, and one pair of underwear. Strange, but v. entertaining. She also sent me a gift card to Sephora, my favorite place in the world, and addressed it to my romance novelist pen name, which was a sweet touch. You'll be pleased to note that my scandalous activities tonight did not involve me losing my panties, but I'm sure I'll make use of the rest of the gift in the near future.
The official birthday festivity was a low-key dinner at Osha Thai on 2nd St. John, Oniel, Oniel's gf Kathryn, Terry, Julie, and Tom. When I picked the restaurant, I was only remembering my experience there with Irish Matt in July, when we had a cozy, boozy lunch for two; during lunch, we sat at a table with real chairs, and I loved it. But the chairs made me forget the experience I had at Osha Thai before that, and that we had again tonight -- if you're in a group, you have to sit at the seats that are basically broad, backless, cushionless benches, which, while fun and trendy, is not exactly comfortable.
However, the company, the food, and my two green tea mojitos more than made up for it. It was the first time I'd seen Tom since his going-away party in February, but like me, he's back in the area, and I think we're going to meet up at a cafe and write tomorrow afternoon. It was also the first time I'd seen Oniel's girlfriend since Chris/Connie's wedding, since she was boycotting the Olympics and incurred some serious wrath/skepticism from me as a result. My friends were v. nice and not only paid for dinner, but got the staff to dim the lights and bring out some fried bananas with a candle while singing 'happy birthday' (my friends each used their own preferred nickname, so I doubt strangers could understand who the song was for). There was one ridiculous moment where Oniel claimed that I had never verified that we were friends before, which is patently ridiculous since we've known each other for nine years, and then that gave me a moment's pause when I realized that I've known John and Oniel for nine years, Terry for seven, and Julie and Tom for six. Crazy.
True to form, I pre-judged something (in this case, the pumpkin curry that John ordered, which in my defense sounded disgusting, mostly because the 'shit in a pot' dish that we had at our hotel in Ukraine was filled with nasty stewed pumpkin) which turned out to be my favorite thing. My curse is truly a curse -- anytime I claim that I don't like something or don't want to do it (moving to the city, working for my current employer, getting a blackberry, staying in California, eating pumpkin curry), I inevitably end up doing a complete 180. Now Oniel's holding out for me to do the 180 on my refusal to go to business school and my refusal to support him via a cushy fake job after the fact -- and given my track record, he's making a reasonably safe bet.
After dinner, we parted ways, and Oniel and Kathryn showed me the mysterious intricacies of the bus system. I walked the 1.5 miles to the restaurant because I like that walk (through the Tenderloin, where I saw someone peeing against a wall, and straight into the upscale Prada, Burberry, Tiffany, etc. stores lining the blocks around Union Square), and I intended to take a taxi home, but the bus was significantly cheaper even if it also took longer. That's fine for now, but now that I'm 27, I can't keep wasting time like this or else I'll die without accomplishing anything.
On that extremely melodramatic note, it's time for bed. When I wake up tomorrow, it won't be my birthday anymore :( At least I'm taking the day off so that I can mourn!
2 comments:
happy post-birthday day off! i really wanted to send a family pack of Omaha steaks, etc., but i didn't know if that's the "best" thing i could possibly gift. i'll give myself in between now and homecoming to figure it out.
COUSIN SCORES HIS FIRST POINT IN FOOTBALL!! Tonight Drew took over the extra point kicking duties for the North Polk Comets frosh team, going one for two on a very SWAMPY field in a rain and mercy shortened game won 43 nil at the half. Other PAT attempts and successes were on the ground. The game was against the Colfax-Mingo Tiger Hawks. Gotta love those small town merged and consolidated school names.
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