"i worked really hard to be born"

i said that at work today, after we ate cake and someone said "thanks for having a birthday," and they all laughed. i think i'm the lovably wacky little assistant. (i am also famous for "soup and i are splitsville," among other gems.) it has been a very adult birthday. i got a bunch of cards on saturday (all moneyless, one of the sad facts of growing up) and got really excited. then today i had to work, and i thought they forgot about my birthday until i got called into a meeting about chocolate cake from balducci's. then s met me after work. we had planned to ice skate, but i was tired, and i thought outdoor ice skating might be more fun in the daylight, so we may try to go on saturday. we came home to brooklyn and went to an indian restaurant that had been recommended by friends. it was good, although the indian food i grew up with is still a measure by which all other is judged. plus, it was my birthday and i wanted to go some place special, and there were no tablecloths. but the food was good and i like indian food always, and we stopped to buy margarita fixings on the way home (and margaritas always make up for a lack of tablecloths.) i opened my presents from s after we got home (ratatouille on dvd and a purple hooded sweatshirt from american apparel--and yes, i turned 23, not 7) and we fixed drinks and watched last week's project runway. it was interrupted by birthday calls from my parents and old friends. today i have felt very loved. i never go through a day feeling unloved, per se, but today my facebook wall runneth'd over, and my newest friends bought me cake, and my dearest boyfriend was extremely patient when i fussed over a lack of tablecloth. (am i crazy? i wanted to go somewhere with $14 martinis.)

i love birthdays, and not just mine. i love picking out presents, i love finding cards, i love celebrating the people who are close to me with good food and great stories. this was my first birthday in new york (after turning 18 here back in college) and my first birthday as a post-college adult, and it was nice. but next year i want to throw a party.