Birthday recap







So, this year, I turned the age of my birthday! Most people I know it's happened when they were 5, celebrating their birthday on the 5th - what a waster. Now I'm in my late 20s and had been looking forward to the celebrations for years! I remember thinking when I was young that it would be so cool to have my golden birthday, and that anticipation was sitting in the back of my mind for decades.

It finally happened at the end of September, and it didn't disappoint! I was able to take the day off of work (through a last minute change of a couple schedules) so I went for a 6.5 mile hike through Glover Park on a gorgeous day. Got home a little muddy and a lot sweaty, washed up, and watched a classic English film with the boyfriend. Then I opened my cards and a present from an old friend to reveal the Dr. Who TARDIS mug that you see above! It's perfect for work, once we get a coffee maker set-up, since the lid will hopefully keep it warm until I get a chance to actually drink my coffee! And it's a TARDIS!!!!  Ok, calm down, fangirl... That evening, I met up with a couple friends (and boyfriend in toe) for yummy thai food (spicy chicken surrounded by a nest of crispy kale? Yum!) and then the real madness began.

I met up with another friend to go to the Australian embassy where they were showing the final of the Australian Football League. My knowledge of the sport started with the MTV Road Rules season that was in Australia, but I got some refreshers more recently at the last Embassy day and some follow-up fun with the local Aussie Footy team. It's a really fun game. Since I was wearing a fun red dress, I decided to root for the red team - the Sydney Swans. After a couple hours of hanging out with my friends and some raucous Aussies with beer and meat pies (not starting before midnight EDT), the action-packed game went on nearly continuously, always on edge, trading leads between two well-matched teams.  In the end, the Swans nudged out in front and happened to be in the lead when time ran out. The room erupted in cheers from Swans fans, while the Hawthorne fans looked around dejected as their own potential victory was snatched from them at the final moment. I happened to pick exactly the right team.  And to top everything off, the friend who invited me got a bunch of raffle tickets and divided them between himself, his girlfriend, and me. Even though I never win anything, one of my new tickets happened to win, and I went over to the prize table and saw an actual football (exactly the thing I had been hoping for!). Not only was it a ball, but it happened to be signed by players from the Adelaide Crows - not that I know much about them, but it's still pretty cool. Now I'm of two minds: I'd love to simply inflate the ball and play with it, passing it and kicking it around, but I also want to preserve those autographs because that's so cool!

Definitely a rocking golden birthday.

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