Tuesday, July 17, 2007

My birthday weekend

Yesterday was my 33rd birthday. I celebrated by having a third annual rooftop/terrace party at my apartment on Friday the 13th. I got back from CA late Wednesday night, worked Thursday and Friday, and then prepared for the party. It was a great turnout, although I tried to keep it a bit smaller than past years because my roommates were a little concerned about the roof caving in.

My brother Felix came up from DC for the weekend, which was great. I had coworkers, Randoms, Kidlit people, kickball people, and other friends, a nice balance and mix of folks, I think. I had been checking the weather obsessively, and it threatened scattered thunderstorms and showers, but after feeling a few tiny drops around 8 pm, the sky cleared up and it was the perfect night to be outside.I made four pitchers of sangria, four avocados worth of my "famous" white bean avocado dip, and supplied hot dogs for the grill. We had two Libertarians and a Communist, children's book authors and librarians, editors and designers, scientists and teachers and copywriters, etc. And cupcakes, of course! And I collected a great candy stash for yesterday. As usual, I don't feel that I got to talk to any guest a significant amount, as I was running around a lot, but I had a fantastic time--I love throwing parties. And late-night the party turned into a mini dance party, which was fun. A late-night diner run with the last guests, and then my brother and I walked back to my apartment as the sun came up.

Also saw Sicko that weekend (so sad!), went out to Williamsburg for a mellow party Saturday night, had dim sum with my brother on Sunday before putting him on the Chinatown bus, managed to squeeze in a quick run, then met up with an old friend from when I lived in Taiwan who was in town for a few days. I hadn't seen her in about nine years, and it was great to catch up.

And then on my real birthday, I went to work and ate candy. A ton of candy. And then saw the Decemberists at SummerStage. Once again, it had threatened rain earlier in the night, but it was a gorgeous evening, and a great concert. And I almost finished the huge lollipop.



I've never dreaded turning a certain age, but for some reason I was less than excited to be turning 33, but after reading this blog post over at the Disco Mermaids, I felt a bit better about it.

Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone, and thanks to all who helped me have a wonderful birthday. Till next year...

11 comments:

Libby Koponen said...

I thought Friday WAS your real birthday until I read this. It sounds like a really fun birthday party and weekend, the perfect beginning to what I hope will be your best year so far. Happy birthday and happy birthday week not just weekend.
libby

Big Mama said...

Happy birthday, Alvina!

Hey, what kind of candy are those frogs?

alvinaling said...

Gummi candy! And darn good, too.

Sara Z. said...

Happy birthday! (I love Jay's post about age, too.) I LOVE being in my thirties and suspect I'll love the forties even more.

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday! What's funny to me is that you're almost exactly 3 weeks older than me. I thought we were close in age, but I didn't realize we were that close! (My birthday is Aug. 7, and that will be my 33rd too.)

Emily Jiang said...

Happy Birthday, Alvina! Love the lollipop photos!

Anonymous said...

Don't be disturbed about turning 33! In western numerology, 33 is an auspicious number signaling an abundance of joy and love and family. Live it up! Happy Birthday!

T.S. said...

Happy Belated! I'm sorry I was sick for your actual birthday and missed the candy-frenzy.

perfectlyGoodInk said...

Glad I was able to finally make one of yer parTAYs! Dang, I forgot to eat some of that candy (canDAY?).

Disco Mermaids said...

Mmm...Whoppers.

Happy Birthday, Alvina!!!

- Jay

Steve Emond said...

What an awesome weekend. The rooftop party looks beautiful and like so much fun! And the Decemberists are great, too. :)