so... in honor of the fact that today is my birthday, this blog post is going to be about ME. Okay, so actually all of my blog posts are about me. But this one promises to be especially self-absorbed.
I was thinking today about all the different places I've celebrated my birthday since college. My 23rd birthday was spent running from Somerville to Harvard Square to buy a reflective vest (in the dark - I was much more visible on the way back). I turned 24 surrounded by high school skiers out at Weston Ski Track, and learned that one of the key ingredients to making kids think you're a good coach is to make them cupcakes. (Or at least, while they may doubt your coaching abilities, no one will question your ability to make chocolate frosting). I turned 25 in Germany, and celebrated with a German/American snowball fight (Germans are meticulous in their snowball construction and throw like girls). When I turned 26 I was in Arlington. Over the course of that year, with $40 in my checking account, I moved back to Williamstown and spent my 27th birthday skiing at Prospect (and eating cupcakes again!). I think 28 was probably my most run-of-the-mill birthday - had people over for dinner and played Apples-to-Apples. 29? I'm in CHINA! In a few minutes, I'm going to head out in search of steak and beer at the local Sizzler's along with my friend Cindy, who (of all strange things!) has the same birthday as I do. 29... a good age!
I was just reflecting a little while ago about what a crazy year it's been... from spending every day all day learning Chinese, to hearing, "I think I want to break up," from my ex-boyfriend, who then justified his decision by saying, "I've never dated anyone who's black or Asian before..." Oddly enough, a week later he was dating someone else (neither black nor Asian) - a detail which I found out about from reading Facebook. To top it all off, he called me a week before I left for China to tell me he was engaged. Someday, I hope I have the opportunity to win a large cash prize in a radio call-in program looking for the best ex-boyfriend story. Nothing can top that!!!
But what do you really need to get through life? You don't need tons of money or thousands of admirers telling you you're great. For me, I need my family, my friends - people who I can call at any time of day, for any reason. People who will take me to random Civil War battlefields, or stand in the freezing cold to watch a bike race they're not even remotely interested in, or just people who will still climb Mt. Greylock or the Crest trail even in the pouring rain / driving ice pellets. I know that I have a very strong network of scaffolding surrounding me, and that it's not going anywhere, anytime. I also have, on my Ipod, the most ridiculous song in the world, so that when things are down, I have Spike Jones' "Hawaiian War Chant" to fall back on. I would suggest that everyone go out and download that song, but I don't know where you'd find it - ask my dad!
ok... it's getting late now, and I have to run back to my room to get changed for dinner. Just... life, for all its unexpected, unwanted twists and turns, is actually pretty cool. It's a magical world, Hobbes. Let's go exploring!
