Birthday, biodatas and other fun stuff

I'm finally coming to terms with being 33. The birthday celebration lasted 5 days--starting w/Plush on Friday night where several friends joined me for drinks, then Saturday some of my favorite nieces & my sis took me to lunch and another friend took me to dinner. Sunday I ran the Shamrock Shuffle! It's only 4.96 miles, but I did it in 56 minutes and enjoyed all 56 minutes. This is one fun run, with bands playing along the way and people cheering you on. Afterwards my friend & I went to Starbucks for a well-deserved extra hot, extra chai, chai-latte. Then off I went to celebrate my newest niece's 1st birthday!!! A whole year lived. Wow. She's 32 years younger than me. WOW!!! On Monday, that actual day of my birth, a friend treated me to more Starbucks and others took me to dinner at a new sushi place and I had what could possibly be the best sushi ever. Tuesday was the dinner w/the p's. My mom's so cute--she made my favorites and got me a cake and the whole bit. She does thing when I leave--she stands in the doorway until I pull out and drive away. I love it. It always makes me feel warm & fuzzy inside.

So, since I've survived yet another year of life, and remain unattached (here's to being single!!), I decided to spend this Saturday at a very holy speed-dating event at the local mosque. Well, okay, so it wasn't entirely holy and the mosque was not so local and it's not the normal speed-dating kind of thing. One of the requirements of attending this event was submitting a biodata. If you're desi, then no explanation is required, but some of you are not, so here it goes. It's like a resume except with different kind of information. It informs your potential mate of critical information like: name, age, occupation (sometimes income), parents' names & occupations, brothers', grandparents', uncles' names and occupations. Your residential status, in case your potential is seeking a U.S. citizenship. And, of course the most important thing you need to know about your potential mate: your height. I mean, how could you even consider marrying someone w/out knowing his/her height, right? I was lucky enough to be late to the event and was seated at a semi-normal table. At least a couple of guys had some social skills and the ability to converse and even crack a joke or two. It seemed though some guys were quite focused on the task at hand. As one guy put it, "I don't want to talk politics. I'm here for one reason and that's to find a wife." I know, I sound completely evil. Much to my surprise, the event actually ended up being fun. Now I can't say all of these events are horrible. Does that mean I'll have to keep going until I find that un-fun one again? I'm sure it won't be long. Or until I'm 35, since that's the cut-off. No, it was not a complete waste of my Saturday, after all I did get to spend some quality time w/one of my favorite girls, I discovered a relative is "cooler" than I ever thought and I got free advice on my car. And, of course, I met a couple of potentials...

So, on to the other fun stuff:
Last night I went to this Morroccan musician who played sufi trance music at this place called the Hot House. It was very cool. The music was just incredibly moving. Many people were inspired to start dancing (I was not one of them, but it has nothing to do with the music). The Hot House has such a great mix of people and I really enjoyed hanging out in such an international scene.

My car's in the shop again. I hope it lives. Please say a little prayer for it.

I worked at C&B today, after so long. And once again I left there feeling happy and energized. What is it about that place???