Birthday

       Though the novelty of my birthday has begun to wear, I still tried to enjoy it as much as possible. My birthday has held an extremely bittersweet meaning for the last two years. It's a wonderful reminder of life, surviving another year, and the coming Spring. Also, a painful reminder of violence and turmoil, which I suffered two years ago to the day. However, without forgetting my struggle, I have managed to focus on the sweet and not the bitter.
      My day started when I was startled awake by the sound of cat vomiting. This was immediately followed by the terrible realization that I woke up late on the second most important day of the quarter, dress rehearsal. I managed to make it to school only a minute late, and my teacher pitied me a bit after I relayed my cat vomit story.  So, after a hectic four hours of organizing, conceptualizing, and tweaking, we managed to produce a good take for our Public Service Announcement. Somehow, when I used to dream of being a director/producer, I never realized how truly stressful organizing a large group of people can be. I will not feel totally relieved until we can successfully produce our final product next week.
     After, I returned home to Nick, who took the day off from work. We walked to Moe's Bagels for breakfast. The weather was sunny and very warm. I wore flip-flops and a tank top for the first time of the year. Following a delicious bagel on the patio, he bought me a bouquet of what I think are Japanese Lilies before we headed home.

     After relaxing for the rest of the day, we went three blocks down the street to Dazzle, a jazz club. We were lucky enough to get the best table in the house. We both had wedge salads to start. Nick had four-cheese macaroni. I got the sirloin steak with broccoli and mashed potatoes. Also, our waiter gave us a coconut creme brulee, complete with a birthday candle, for desert. While we ate, the John Lake Ensemble played jazz standards. It was a wonderful dinner and birthday.