birthdays

on the occasion of my birth, i like to reminisce about birthdays past. it's very cool that i'm celebrating with j.m. and m.r. this year because j.m. figures prominently in one of my best birthday memories.

j.m. and i met while we lived in residence at ubc. her room was next to mine. i roomed with a weirdo (in a bad way) and she roomed with a weirdo (in a good way). we became fast friends and frequently when my weird roommate was being particularly awful to me, i'd crash on j.m.'s (and her roommate f.w.'s) floor.

2 months into first year comes my birthday. it was the first time i had a birthday not at home in g.p. a bit strange. i didn't make a big deal out of it. little did i know that a big deal was about to be made. that evening was like every other. i was sitting around in baggy jeans and an oversized calgary winter olympics sweatshirt when one of the guys in the residence told me we were going to mcdonald's in his car to avoid eating in the caf. i believe him. he asked me if i wanted to change; i said no. we get in his car and drive downtown. we've gone past the mcdonald's i thought we were going to, and asked him where he was going. he said that we should go to mcdonald's downtown. i shrugged. still believing him that my birthday dinner was going to be a filet o' fish at mcdonalds. and actually being okay with that.

anyway, we get out of the car and we walk towards a hotel. the hotel vancouver, in fact. i can't remember what he said when i asked him why we were going there, but he made something up. maybe he had to use the phone or the bathroom. so we walk into the hotel vancouver (which was, at this point in my life, the fanciest hotel i'd ever been inside). the hotel has a restaurant called griffin's. my friend (and i think it was d.s., but i admit i've blanked on whether it was really him or not) and i walk into griffin's. i'm very confused.

but then! i see a huge table with loads of people from residence!! everyone is all dressed up and i'm wearing baggy jeans and a sweatshirt! j.m. had thrown me an amazing surprise party / dinner!! it was amazing! i hadn't expected anybody to do anything for my birthday. j.m. -- bestest ever -- had covertly done all this planning and inviting and no one had leaked the news to me. even now when i think about it, i can't believe how gullible i was.

yay.

today's my brother's birthday and he wrote to me yesterday and we started reminiscing about how when we were kids, we used to have our birthday party together with one giant cake and my parents would invite all the indian people of g.p. and then my brother and i would invite our friends from the neighbourhood and from school and what a strange and motley crew that made.

ah birthdays. good times.
i can't believe that i'm 34 now. but i really can't believe that my brother's 30!

but i have to say, i like being in my 30s. i like feeling sure of myself (even if i am in a career mini-crisis) and i like who i've become (and am becoming) more and more each year. and even if all those things i told myself i'd accomplish (hello, first novel!! haha) are not checked off the mythical list, all told, things are very good.