Happy, happy birthday

Dear No One in Particular,

Yesterday was my 22nd birthday. I strongly believe that I've already passed up all the "good" birthdays, and have nothing but blah and/or scary birthdays ahead of me. There's something inherently worrying about that sentiment, and I know I'm far too young to be fretting about my age, but if I'm not anxiety-ridden over something stupid, I wouldn't be me, now would I?

Anyway, my Irresponsible Cousin called me at about 11 pm my time, and I spent a good hour talking to her about my birthday plans -- well, the lack thereof, to be completely honest. This was the first birthday I've spent away from home, so I was a little sad, but mostly nonchalant. Like I said, all the good birthdays are done and I really wanted something quiet. She convinced me to go to the beach instead of class, so that's what I ended up doing.

My mom called and woke me and the Boy up at about 6:30 in the damn morning to wish me happy birthday. After I hung up, we slept until about 10:30, which was soooo nice. I love sleep.

We made it to Ala Moana Park -- which, if you're ever in Honolulu and want to go to the beach, skip Waikiki and head to Ala Moana: it's always almost empty and so beautiful -- and spent a couple of hours there. I loved it. I'm not really a big beach person, but the weather was so magnificent, I couldn't help but be thankful for such a great day. It was about 82 degrees, with not a cloud in the sky, and the slightest breeze. I even got in the water! Which is huge for me, since usually it's too cold, and I have a minor fear of deep water. It was kind of neat, actually; it stormed a lot last week, so the beach was a little rocky, but there were little fish and tadpoles that swum really close to the shore.

When we got home, I picked up a package from my parents. Apparently, they sent me a huge gift basket like the one that Michael Scott gave to his former clients. I took a million photos of everything in the basket: caviar, coffee, caramels, truffles, 2 sparkling ciders, brie ... a ton of really yummy food. I've already eaten the caramels; they were perhaps the best caramel candies I've ever had. So. GOOD.
My mom also sent me a really beautiful bouquet Flowers are a huge tradition in my family; my dad sends my mom flowers for her birthday and their anniversary, and my mom has a history of giving me flowers on my birthday. Apparently, the bouquet was supposed to look like a cake with candles, but, uh, it just looked like a really pretty bouquet. Whatever, it was a nice gesture.

The Boy had taken me out the day before to get my birthday presents: new bras! I hadn't been fitted for a bra in about, oh, 2 years. I've gained and lost a lot of weight in that amount of time; plus, my normal bras were in really bad shape -- they were losing a lot of elasticity and were just awful. We went to Nordstrom's and I got fitted. Um, apparently, I was wayyy off ... about 2 cups off. Holy hell, I had no idea how great wearing a bra could be. Really, head to your nearest Nordies and get fitted. They have an amazing selection (Betsy Johnson's are the cutest damn things in the world) and fabulous customer service. Miles ahead of Victoria's Secret in terms of selection and service, Iamtellingyou.

We had a nice late dinner at Buca di Beppo. I'm always a little surprised at how amazing Buca's is; it's a chain restaurant, and a little schlocky, to be 100% honest, but the food there is amazing. We had chopped antipasto salad and chicken saltimbocca for dinner and apple crostini for dessert. Normally, I wouldn't pick out either antipasto salad and chicken saltimbocca -- they both contain ingredients that I wouldn't normally eat, but oh, are they heavenly. The chicken was so perfect ... delicate, perfectly balanced flavours. I dream of entrees so well executed. The apple dessert was not so delicious; the caramel sauce was terribly off, and it completely ruined the dish. The almond crust, though, was delish.

I had a great birthday, all things considered. It was nice and quiet, and I got to spend some quality time relaxing and just enjoying my time here in Hawaii -- something I don't get to do, since I'm always in school.
The downside: the Boy and I are painfully sunburnt. I normally don't burn, but in the past few years, I've been burning like nobody's business. The Boy looks terrible: his shoulders are lobster red. Just looking at him makes me hurt. I, on the other hand, have the strangest sunburn I've ever encountered. I thought I had tanned my stomach and legs nicely; but as the night went on, my skin started to burn and itch like it had been burnt. My skin is pretty tan-looking, although it's starting to get redder. The itch is unbearable, though; every time I scratch, though, it gets red and begins to burn like hellfire.

Ah well. I had a great birthday, and don't regret a thing! I will however, invest in self-tanners from now on.

Pictures are coming soon. There aren't many, but I had a wonderful day, and would like to post photos of the fantabulous basket and dinner I had. In the meantime, enjoy Bud Light's Real Men of Genius. My favourite is Mr. 80 SPF Wearer, but they're all winners.

--amanda