(Add: I'd like to thank Misha for immediately thinking of me when she found this picture on your right. Best 3am present, EVER.)
So my birthday week was an absolute blast. It's been a bit of a blur, but I'll try to cover everything... I'm still waiting on some pics, but the ones I have can be viewed here. Keep checking it, I'll be adding onto it. Big thanks to Tina, Muff, and Mish for providing the camera-work for the evening, since I was a douche and left my camera at home. Once again, for those who missed Misha's pics, they'll be found here.
Tuesday night/Wednesday: I stayed up with M all evening watching the first season of Scrubs so he could give me my birthday presents. Charli made me a beautiful card and gave me an equally beautiful cardigan. At midnight, Matt gave me my present from BroGonzo, which was an original NES, complete with a box full of games and the Duck Hunt gun. I squealed, then interrupted Ian at work to squeal into his ear, then squealed some more. I then played Mario until 4am, until I passed out a happy little monkey. At about lunchtime, we went to Bicentennial Park, where I got a massive kick out of watching a sniffly Charli chase some ducks. We got home, where I nearly fell flat on my face checking the mailbox - a letter from BroGonzo/Ian, and his dogtags. Another squealy call later, some NES'ing, then we went to the MIL's for a birthday lasagne and some birthday cheesecake.
Thursday: Spent most of the day cleaning in preparation for my 'surprise,' then went out to dinner with Matt. I lived a little and ordered some lamb instead of my usual order of BBQ ribs. Whoop!
Friday: Cleaned all morning, questioning why I bother at all, seeing as everyone was throwing red herrings all over the place, I was prepared to throw in the towel and show them what for. Matt came over again to take me to the local shops, a few minutes distraction as he assured me that my MIL was busy in my home. I was horrified at the thought of her sifting through my business, and was relieved to see my unit intact. I was ordered to close my eyes and reverse into my unit, where I stood for a few seconds completely panicked. Opening my eyes, I found balloons everywhere. A few metres away, I saw a sheepish-looking Tina and her boyfriend Damien. I squealed like a pig and jump-hugged Tina. I realise this may seem a little over-the-top, but I haven't shared a birthday with my best friend since I was sixteen years old. Even then, it wasn't much of a celebration, since my family forgot and my father remembered halfway through the day, buying me a bucket of chicken to compensate. After a few hours of catching up and reminiscing, we got ready to head out into town. We had dinner at Hungry Jacks, then headed into the 3 Wise Monkeys. Nearly everyone rocked up - Andy B (complete with a bucket full of ChupaChups, a Melbourne! pen, and Melbourne! ballons - I'm going to say he came up SPECIFICALLY for my birthday, because that makes me feel good), Anna (who came straight from uni, what a gem!), Johnno (who bought me a 40yo lighter that hadn't been used), Johnny the Horse (who got me a killer card and a gift voucher - and a promise of his first ever Jam album on vinyl - HOLY FUCK! Seriously, I cannot rate this guy and his missus, Mrs A any higher -- two of the most awesome people I've ever met in Sydneytown), The Swanker and his lovely missus, Cathy (wonderful company and a great laugh), Nailpolishblues (I don't know what I would've done without her sore vagina present), Adam (though he hung out downstairs with his workmates and messaged me later to say he made it home without even coming upstairs - so Melbourne), Misha and her friend Asoka (I always rate Misha, and Asoka was great company), Muffin (this bird cracks me up - what a great soul, a great sense of humour, and a wonderful hider - I found her in the bloody toilet!), Matt/Jerkface, Matt's workmate, Brad, and Matt's brother, Dan. With the new smoking restrictions, we found ourselves running between level 3 and level 2, then settled on on the smoking level since we weren't allowed back upstairs for some reason. Later on, we weren't even allowed downstairs since someone had gotten themselves glassed, but we had a great time, nevertheless. Toilets were defaced, red lines were mocked, I danced like nobody was watching, and I got to spend time with people who cared about me. The evening came to a close at about 3am - great work for myself - I expected to be fighting sleep at 2am.
Saturday: Spent most of the morning loafing around. The MIL dropped Charli off, and we had fish and chips at the park. It was pretty surprising (and a little stomach-knotting in a mum sort of way) to see Charlotte really attach herself to Tina and Damo, but it was a great break to see her nag someone else for funs. In the evening, we had Dan, Misha, and Andy B over for some drinks. That wound up around 2-3am. It was great to spend some relatively sober time with Andy B before he went back down to Melbourne, and great to know that I didn't have to stumble far to my bed. Misha bought me some gorgeous jewellery, a crazy card, a book by Paulo Coelho, and a super-rich, multi-layered birthday cake. Matt bought a case of 8yo Jim Beam long-necks, which are mixed perfectly. I'm having one right now, as a matter of fact, heh.
Sunday: Oh God, what an awesome day! I did absolutely fuck-all aside from my normal mum-stuff, and just hung out with Charli, Tina, and Damo, since M went home to recover. We sat completely agog at the most ridiculous movie I have ever seen, something to do with Spring Break and shark attacks. I have no idea what it was called, but I got SO ANGRY that it didn't end properly and that there were no end-credits so I could at least look it up on IMDB. I'm still shitty with that.
Monday: Matt came over early to pick up Tina and Damo to take them to the train station -- they were going to put their luggage in a station locker and wander town until their flight that evening. Tina and I wrote a One Word Letter for old time's sake, a ritual we had every Multi-Strand Science class, and while I was laughing, I was trying not to cry because it was so awesome to have my best friend back. We said our goodbyes, and I watched my best friend disappear all over again. I spent the rest of the day in a numbed state of disarray, wondering if I could've prolonged the experience a little longer. There was nothing I could do, because I felt like I'd made the most of it as best as I could manage.
Tuesday: Nothing to report. Missing Tina. Remembering little things about my birthday weekend that made me chuckle.
Wednesday: Matt took Charli and myself to the zoo. We walked and walked and walked and walked. It was so much fun - for the animals and for the semblance of family - something I realise now I haven't lost at all. If anything, it's stronger than ever.
Now my loins burn like hellfiah (from zoo-walking), I am so happy with where I'm at right now, and I feel spiritually nourished. I can't imagine a birthday any time soon that could possibly top it. Everyone I care deeply about made an appearance in one way or another to celebrate my life and my achievements - it doesn't get much better than that. My twenty-first was definitely the best birthday I've ever had. I am now back with a vengeance, and I will be molesting your blog soon.
PS. Please change your email listings -- I'm going back to bourbonbird[at]gmail[dot]com. Cheers!
