Lianhua.nu

Tanti auguri.

Now that I’ve settled into the idea that I’m 21 years old, and that I’m going to be 21 for quite a while, I feel I can write about it. :P /weirdness.
On Monday (day before the birthday) I got my present from Jason, my older brother: a martini shaker, complete with accessories (ice tongs, etc), and a bottle of Excedrin labeled ‘FOR THE NEXT DAY.’ I haven’t broken it in yet, but oh, I will. ;D
He also sent me a card and a bit of money with which to purchase ingredients for yummytimes. :D
My uncle Adam in PA sent me a card too, with a check for more ingredients (or for a food processor, I haven’t decided yet :P), which I also received on Monday.
Then on Tuesday (the day o’) I came on campus because I was participating in a translation reading for a new literary program called Babel. A group of students (about 30 of us I suppose) read poems and prose that we had translated as part of our foreign language classes/conferences; I read from La grande carota (“the Big Carrot”) from Gianni Rodari’s Tante Storie per Giocare. Most other people read various poems or prose, mostly post-modern and mostly fairly low-key, beautiful and uplifting or terribly gorgeous. But mine was a children’s story… and people loved it. It got the most laughs, and people came up to me afterwards and told me it was great to have something to kind of break the tension created by some of the less light-hearted pieces. I even got a post on my Facebook wall (from Elijah, for those of you who know him) wishing me a happy birthday and telling me how much he liked my reading.
After the reading, I met up with a faculty member on campus who wants to hire me as a freelance designer for her literary portfolio type website, and she told me how much she enjoyed the reading as well.
Cloud nine, seriously.
Theeeen… birthday party time! Emily, Warlock, Sean and I met up with Kimmie, Charlie, Lindsey and Jane on campus and then drove up to the Cheesecake Factory in White Plains. They made us wait way too long for our table, but it was worth it, I think. We all had great food, I had two great peachy drinks (Georgia Peach with dinner and Peach Bellini with dessert), and we had cheesycake for dessert, of course. Yum. :D
Since Aminah has been asking about my birthday presents… My mummy sent me two bouquets of roses and my grandparents sent me a flower cake and a teddy bear, my brother sent the martini shaker, Emily gave me a gift card for the place we get our hair done, Lindsey gave me a card with a PHP birthday message (hehe, I must take photos of this later) and my mummy and daddy said I could use their credit card to buy my Roomba. :D And… I don’t know what I’m getting from Sean, it apparently hasn’t gotten here yet. :P Oh, and Sean bought dinner for me and everyone else.

Aaanyway… On Wednesday I had a pretty crappy day, so I’m pretending that it wasn’t the first day of my 21st year. Instead, it will be ignored and stricken from the history books, except for this mention of it. Thursday and today have pretty much redeemed it, so we’re back on track.

I’ve pretty much figured out school stuff for the next summer and school year… I’ll be taking classes at SUNY Purchase, and I think I’m going to look into getting an internship next year as well. I know it’ll be a lot on my plate, but I’ve really been aching to jump start everything after college, so I’ll be okay. It’s really weird that I only really have one more year left… I feel so old…

I’m really proud of myself lately… I’ve been breaking my internet addiction, finally, after years of having it! I’m a member of only one message board right now, and I haven’t really been posting very much; I’m online during work but actually focusing on work instead of who’s posting what where; when I get home I would rather watch some TV or read a book (last night I got really into reading Fun Home, which I’d read part of in my memoirs class and bought at Barnes & Noble last night) than spend more time on the internet… It’s really great! *stands up on podium* I’d like to thank Sean, Emily, my new learner’s permit, my Lucille Roberts membership, my birthday, the television and the literary world for helping me to break my addiction. And, of course, the little evils and big dramas that made me want to quit all the message boards.
Now I just need some nice weather and a bit of free time so I can go out and play with my camera… We’re talking about going to the Bronx Zoo again, and this time I’ll be able to take some decent photos of the animals… We’ve also talked about going to the Botanical Garden or Wave Hill, which would both be amazing places to take some photos… And the big cherry tree on campus is getting ready to bloom, of course, so I definitely have to climb that bad boy and take some photos there! A little bit after Sean and I first started dating, way back when, we climbed up into the big cherry tree and had a mini photo shoot… They ended up being some of our favorite photos, but looking back now we both look so different! So, it’s time for the two-year update! All we’re waiting for is the tree… It has its little mini-buds all over… Just a few more days, I think!

Aaanyway… I have to eat my Starbucks sammich (hehe sammich) and then call in my prescription to CVS… sooooo OFF I GO! :D

Sono Felice!

Well, it’s official. We signed the lease for our new apartment on Tuesday morning, and our move-in date is currently set for May 15, but the management company will give us the keys early, if we’d like, so we May 15 may be the last day of moving!
Today we took Emily to go see it, and while not hugely blown away impressed, she seemed like she was happy with us living there.

Then we went to Bukhara Grill, an Indian restaurant in Yonkers, for their lunch buffet, which, as always, was incredibly delicious. I always end up eating waaaaay too much there… but what can I say? It’s all-you-can-eat! It’s also easily ten times better than the local Indian restaurant here in Riverdale — and I like them pretty well too, so that says a lot!
We actually went there for dinner last week, also with Emily… I was reading a review from the New York Times about the restaurant, and the reviewer said, “Finally, on our visits, we seemed like unwelcome intruders to the two managers strolling the room, who were oblivious that no one had been deployed to serve, to offer menus or to take our orders.” That was definitely not the case when we went! The manager there spoke to us more than our waiters, was pleasant and extremely friendly, and even gave us extra food and rice in our take home bag because Emily mentioned how much she loved their palak paneer (a dish of spinach, sauce and Indian cheese cubes)! The Times better update their review!
I wish we could have stayed longer at lunch today, but I had to get back for a conference with my memoirs professor, and then had class at 3:30… After class, Sean dropped me off at the gym… It seriously kicked my ass today: it was really hot in there (probably because the classes were packed tonight!) and so every weight seemed like it was doubled. I’m going to be sore tomorrow! Hopefully the hot shower I took a bit ago will help me to not get too sore.

Ahh, such a good day… but now I’m utterly exhausted, hah.

I’ve been thinking… There’s been so much negativity going on in the world lately… and so many unhappy people, for all kinds of reasons. I think… everyone who comments on this post should list 3-5 things that they’re happy about. Okay? Go.
I’ll start, even.
I’m happy because:

• I’m fairly healthy and getting healthier!
• I have a wonderful boyfriend who cuddles me every night and makes everything feel better.
• I have two adorable kitties who are absolute sweethearts, even when they’re being naughty.
• Sean and I are almost 100% self-sufficient: we don’t live with our parents, our parents don’t pay for much of anything (mine still get my cell phone bill because of our family plan), we are good at saving money even though every once in a while we have to spend a bit more than we’d like and we don’t have to borrow money from… anyone, really (except for student loans, but that has nothing to do with day-to-day life).
• I have lots of wonderful friends who care about me, and who I care about as well! :)

Your turn!

Bellezza!

Aren’t these barrettes absolutely gorgeous? They’re handmade, hand-beaded barrettes made by Isabel over at Isabel’s Jewelry. Isabel is an adorably talented and unique little girl, daughter to Rachel and her husband. She’s so wonderful! I even got a handwritten thank you note in the package, which was so sweet! I’m so happy with them; I’ll definitely have to buy from her again!
Thank you, Isabel! :)