She Wasn't Lying: Best Birthday Present Ever

After my epiphany last week about not writing "on the side," I prompty disappeared again. My apologies about that. Hopefully the next couple of posts will explain why I was far too busy enjoying myself to post anything here.

A Bit of Background

The Tuesday before last (Hallowe'en) was my 23rd birthday. I’m one of those people who refuses to make a big deal about my birthday. It has always felt somewhat odd to celebrate myself, particularly when the occasion is that I’ve managed to stay alive for another 365 days. I tend to treat my birthday roughly the way that an ostrich reacts to imminent danger: I see it coming, hide my head in the ground and hope that no one notices how stupid I look with my ass in the air.

However, this year my remarkable girlfriend Christina (knowing of my deep aversion to celebrating my birthday) started talking about the best birthday present ever. Long before my birthday ever arrived, she was telling me how much I was going to love my present. It was going to be the best birthday present ever. However, as my birthday approached, she scaled down the rhetoric.

The week of my birthday, she took me out for a great dinner at a Malaysian Restaurant, bought me some vintage New York postcards and threw what may be the best birthday bash I’ve ever had. (Thanks to everyone who could make it!) When I added all that up in my head, I thought she had spoiled me pretty good and I felt like it had been a pretty remarkable birthday.


A Big Surprise

Unbeknownst to me however, the birthday present she was so excited about was yet to be delivered. We'd arranged to go see a concert in Seattle last Tuesday with a couple of friends of ours. I'd been told about the plan back in September and then I promptly forgot about it. When I was reminded about the plan, I was excited to get a chance to hang out with our friends Chris & Avital. (Woot!)

Christina picked me up early from campus we met our passengers at their house. The drive down to Seattle was great and Chris and 'Tal were hilarious. When we got to the city, I let Chris take over the driving because apparently he knew where we were going. Sitting in the back seat, as we neared our destination, I got into a rant about the imminent apolcaypse in the Canadian Pulp & Paper industry and the structural and economic factors contributing to the decline. (No Joke) This will not surprise those of you who know me very well. One thing about me and pontification is that while I rant, I don't pay much attention to my surroundings. So when I reached the end of my rambling, I was confused to realise that we were at an airport. I assumed Chris had gotten lost somehow.

Rather than pull out a map, Christina (who was sitting beside me) pulled out the tin of postcards she'd given me the week before and opened them. When she passed me the tin it had two tickets to a Concert and on the back of one of the postcards, she'd written:

"I thought that we could write postcards from SoHo the morning after watching Death Cab in New York."

So now I was even more confused. It turns out that while I thought I was coming to Seattle for a concert, Christina had booked us a red eye flight to New York City and we would be staying at a friend of hers at Juilliard in Manhattan for four days. She'd also bought tickets to a "Death Cab for Cutie" concert at Madison Square Gardens. As it sunk in, I came to terms with the fact that I was about to get on a flight destined for the Capital of the World and could not possibly have been more excited. Christina had packed me a suitcase, gotten me some days of work and had included in her conspiracy no less than a dozen accomplices. I've never been as dissoriented and confused as I was in that moment but I don't recall a time that I've felt as loved. My friend Randy put it this way: "You really want to hold on to her."


To which I replied a hearty "Amen!"

Over the next couple of days, I'll be posting thoughts, pictures and stories from the trip. I have to say that the four days I spent in Manhattan were perhaps the best time I can remember having on vacation ever! For the other view with fewer words, Christina has posted some pictures from the trip here.