Bittersweet

January is a bittersweet month for me. There is always New Year's and my birthday along with the end of winter break and good ol' MLK day, but then it is followed by the unavoidable responsibility like school or work. And then there is this weather. From my understanding it is 70 or so in Colorado. That's great, if I were there...But I am not so I am trying to stay positive about the rain and the supposed snow that is coming tonight. It's hard to stay that way when I have to ride my bike everywhere and the originally simple task of cruising down the street on big red becomes a daunting process of 20 layers complete with wind pants (yes, the swishy ones you wore in elementary school) and a very stylish windbreaker/rain coat. All I keep telling myself is at least there isn't snow on the ground and maybe, all this riding in the rain stuff builds character...or something.

Moving on to the sweet parts of this month--birthday festivities! As I wrote last time, I was planning on having dinner with my friends. Little did I know at the time they had something sneaky up their sleeves. I arranged for a dinner in the city with a cozy group of 10 people. Most everyone I asked said they had things going on, they would be late, or they would "try to make it". So I ended up with a for sure 10 people including myself. I was a bit discouraged, but I have learned over the years not to get upset over things you can't control. And I can't control my friends anymore than I can control the weather...heh, ok bad one. Anyway, so I was still excited to partake in the festivities. That night we were running later than usual, I mean, I run late to social functions, but 2 hours was pushing it, even for me. I was not phased however as my friend Jess distracted me by starting a dance party in my room and my friend Cassandra decided to run really late. So you can see where this is going, can't you? I have been accused of being unobservant which I will argue with on occasion, but for this time I take full responsibility for possessing that trait. So Cassandra FINALLY got there apologizing about being so late and asking if I was upset, but I just told her that's how I roll. So we finally head out to the train station (they wanted to walk and I didn't understand why), but before heading to the station, we needed to stop at a restaurant on the way because Jess's teacher (who I've hung out with) wanted to wish me a happy birthday. So I say that's fine, I figure we are already really late so what's a few more minutes? So we walk in and as we head up the stairs I hear "SURPRISE!" I look up and 20 or so people are standing at the floor above me looking down on us. They start singing happy birthday and I can't even speak I am so shocked. I was speechless the whole time and afterwards I was just laughing. The only words I can manage are 'oh my' and 'you guys...' So I would say it was a successful surprise. In fact, it was the most surprised I have ever been in my entire life. I was beaming and as I walked up to my friends, with them handing me presents and hugs and well wishes, I realized how fortunate I am to have such a wonderful group of people to hang out with.

I was laughing because just a few hours early I innocently thought to myself 'it would be cool to have a surprise party, but I probably wont ever have one because I always plan my own b-day'. And there is no way I would expect someone else to plan it just as there is no way I am going to sit at home and not do anything. No matter how old and decrepit I get. So my love of surprises was confirmed and I had an excellent dinner with amazing friends. I owe my two partners in crime, Jess and Cassandra big time. They are truly the best for conspiring to plan this. Jess even bought a delicious ice cream cheesecake which is my new favorite and apparently everyone else's because it was demolished in 2.2 minutes.

So my birthday was a complete success and one I know I won't soon forget. Aside from my friends and festivities here, I have been receiving a constant stream of birthday mail and little gifts from my teachers, so it seems like the birthday will continue on for at least a few more days! Besides that, things have been pretty good. This week started out a bit slow and got faster around mid Wednesday I would say. No real explanation as to why, but it did. I have been teaching a full load of classes (finally) and it is nice to be a bit busier.

This weekend is going to feature Jessica tackling her apartment. Stay tuned for the champion. I have a very messy apartment and it is going to take me ages to get organized. Sunday, if the weather holds up, Jess is hosting "Australia Day" at her apartment, so we can throw some shrimps on the barbie, mates! Oy! It should be a good time. My New Year's resolutions started to get a bit shaky around my birthday, but I have gotten back on track with swimming and running and eating a bit better. I hope that keeps up! I am also looking into starting Japanese lessons on Fridays in the city. So we will see.

February looks like a mostly quiet month with only a few classes and a few social events. March I am looking into venturing to South Korea and April is spring break and cherry blossom season, so I hope to go somewhere for that. Other that that wakarainai. I don't know.

Tonight I am going to take it easy and organize my brain. And maybe watch Batman and have a cup o tea. And to that I say cheerio old chaps!

Goday and good night.