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What I Did on my 31st Birthday
Sep. 25th, 2006 08:32 amI am now 31 years old. I can't pretend anymore that one of my feet is still in the 20s while the other tentatively tries out the 30s. I'm fully in and there's no going back. From now on, society will try to get me a mortgage, a car, a career and a credit card.
The last day of my 30th was also a bright and warm Sunday in London. Kevin gave me two CDs -- Broadcast's "The Future Crayon" and The Dears' "Gang of Losers" -- before I opened Dawn's birthday card (a black & white picture showing a sleeping kitty about to slip through a bench). We then visited stores on Oxford Street and checked the prices of suit jackets and shirts, in preparation for a wedding this Saturday.
For lunch, I met my old housemates Silke and Natalia, as well as Mark (Nate's boyfriend) and Joel (our friend who had a surprise party a few weeks ago). Joel paid for my meal; Silke gave me a chocolate cake, a mix CD and two novellas by William Burrows Jr.; and Mark and Natalia brought a birthday card with a naked gay guy on the cover and a monkey inside. The restaurant, Las Iguanas, is right on the Southbank, near the Embankment bridge. It serves delicious, and cheap, latin-inspired food. I had enchiladas with spinach and cream cheese, some beer and a caipirinha. Before we left, the waiter appeared with a slice of a caramel chocolate cake and three candles flickering on it. An ackward "happy birthday" followed, with some nearby tables joining in.
We sat on the grass by the London Eye for half an hour, talking in circles and letting the sun warm us up. We then walked across town, up Charing Cross road, and bought tickets to see Children of Men. We drank and killed time in a nearby pub until the movie started; it was very good, but also incredibly sad and prescient... I should have picked a comedy or cheesy action movie, so we wouldn't leave the cinema in such a deep funk.
Back at home, mom called, followed by dad. Kevin & I then tried to listen to a podcast in bed about multiculturalism (!?) but gave up when it became too obvious we were sleepy and tired. I slept the sleep of gods in their 30s.
The last day of my 30th was also a bright and warm Sunday in London. Kevin gave me two CDs -- Broadcast's "The Future Crayon" and The Dears' "Gang of Losers" -- before I opened Dawn's birthday card (a black & white picture showing a sleeping kitty about to slip through a bench). We then visited stores on Oxford Street and checked the prices of suit jackets and shirts, in preparation for a wedding this Saturday.
For lunch, I met my old housemates Silke and Natalia, as well as Mark (Nate's boyfriend) and Joel (our friend who had a surprise party a few weeks ago). Joel paid for my meal; Silke gave me a chocolate cake, a mix CD and two novellas by William Burrows Jr.; and Mark and Natalia brought a birthday card with a naked gay guy on the cover and a monkey inside. The restaurant, Las Iguanas, is right on the Southbank, near the Embankment bridge. It serves delicious, and cheap, latin-inspired food. I had enchiladas with spinach and cream cheese, some beer and a caipirinha. Before we left, the waiter appeared with a slice of a caramel chocolate cake and three candles flickering on it. An ackward "happy birthday" followed, with some nearby tables joining in.
We sat on the grass by the London Eye for half an hour, talking in circles and letting the sun warm us up. We then walked across town, up Charing Cross road, and bought tickets to see Children of Men. We drank and killed time in a nearby pub until the movie started; it was very good, but also incredibly sad and prescient... I should have picked a comedy or cheesy action movie, so we wouldn't leave the cinema in such a deep funk.
Back at home, mom called, followed by dad. Kevin & I then tried to listen to a podcast in bed about multiculturalism (!?) but gave up when it became too obvious we were sleepy and tired. I slept the sleep of gods in their 30s.
