Recap: The Big 2-1

Continuing with the recap, I turned twenty-one a few weeks ago. Twenty-one... pretty much the last year to be excited about aging. Besides for the fact that twenty-one is a big deal, this is the first birthday I've actually "celebrated" in a while. Last year I was on a plane to Montana and the years before, I had small low-key dinners, etc.

This year's festivities were slightly more elaborate with a small dinner, a cake/beer get together, and an outing to the Tombs. This might sound weird, but to have a semi-large number of people gather in a room for my birthday was really touching. It just made me really happy to see people I like and who, presumably, like me back all gathered in one place. And it's not like we don't hang out in large groups at other times too; this scenario isn't overly unique. It's just that the visual of this gathering was easier to notice since it was a special occasion.

Jared, my travel pal from London, came down from NJ, and he bore gifts of port and Cuban cigars. Besides his visit, highlights of the day included Indian food at Aditi and of course Carvel Ice Cream Cake (always a coveted delicacy since moving to California). Mmm, good.

Now back to work, land of paper cuts and damaged cuticles thanks to all this filing. Blurgh.

Recap: The Cape

I haven't posted in a while so to avoid summarizing the last three weeks of my life in an overwhelming monster post, I'll slowly post some highlights.

First up: the Cape. Although I'm viewing this whole summer as a vacation, my trip up to the Cape was my only formal vacation of the summer. I flew up to Boston, proceeded to complain about my basement sleeping arrangements, and then realized that the entire thing had been redone during my yearlong absence from the states. Even though I'm "all grown up," these moments always tend to remind me that I am the baby of the family.

We headed to the town of Brewster the next day, and I set off on a mission to win back (assuming I'd lost it due to absence) the love of my two little nephews. A few frisbee tosses and splashes in the pool later, I had succeeded.

In the next two days, we played some tennis, swam in the ocean, and rode bikes (see picture). Nothing overly elaborate but fun even so. Somewhat strangely, I managed to watch two jearjerkers during my vacation: Brokeback Mountain and Million Dollar Baby. I guess a good cry is always welcome.

That's all for my Cape summary. Hope everyone is doing well and thanks for all the the birthday wishes! Contrary to popular belief, a 3-week hangover is not responsible for being MIA on the blog.