The Big 3-1

I just celebrated a birthday – the big 3-1! Just kidding: it's really anti-climactic. But I always like it when my age is a prime number, so I'm hoping this will be a good year. The past year has flown by so quickly – it's hard to believe that a year ago, I was still a graduate student, worried about my future job (already!), frantically planning a wedding, teaching in Michigan, and making sure I'd actually graduate. So much has changed, and yet I don't think that I've had a chance to catch my breath during any of the transitions. But maybe all of adult life feels this way.

I've been so preoccupied with work that I hardly thought about the occasion. But it's been a nice birthday nevertheless. Julie and S. gave me an awesome blazer to help me look more professorial last week. Somehow it's "just my style" while also pushing the boundaries of what I would buy for myself. Perfect! And on Saturday night, Dave took me out for a fancy dinner at the River Cafe in Brooklyn. It's a restaurant on a boat anchored in the East River – through the window you can see the lower Manhattan skyline reflecting the light of the setting sun. Can't beat the view!

On Sunday, my actual birthday, Dave and I did work at home, then went to the local public library to work some more. But we quit in time for me to open presents (jewelry to help me look more professorial – anyone noticing a theme?) and to go to all-you-can-eat sushi with my family (incl. my parents, who stopped by for the occasion). Check out the berry cake, specially-made for the berry monster.

And here's my present from Dave – a photo mobile with pictures of us! I've been joking for months that I'm going to set up a "shrine to Dave" in my room, as a way to be reminded of the happy moments we've shared during the lonely times now. Of course, I never got around to it, so Dave got a  mobile, picked out some happy pictures, and now I have my ready-made shrine. Hehee!