Friday, July 13, 2012

Birthday Weekend(tm)

I don't how many times I was asked the same question this past weekend: “what’s so special about this birthday?” And I answered the same way as well: “All my birthdays are equally special.” It’s true. For as long as I can remember, my birthday has been a great excuse for a party. The first party of the summer. Or a joint celebration with my Mom (two days before mine). Or World Cup Finals. Or blockbuster movie releases. So even when my birthday falls on a mundane Wednesday, there’s been a convenient excuse to elongate it to the weekend, at least.

This year is no different. Jadek had already planned to take me to see Beauty and the Beast. Dad wanted to take my Mom and I for a dinner cruise for both our birthdays on Friday. DjDwight is playing his Hybrid set (first Saturday of the month) and all of sudden, we have an itinerary. Nish’s visit home cinched the whole thing together and my birthday became a Birthday Weekend(tm).

Actually, it began on Thursday night, when we went to see a movie. That was a nice treat, watching a late movie on a weeknight. Slept in the next day and moseyed our way downtown to check in. Dinner on a boat that meandered its way through the Toronto Islands, chatting with the family. Had Saturday breakfast at Fran’s before window shopping and heading off to the theatre. Dinner at The Three Brewers (thanks AnCe!) before hotel shenanigans ensued. Yes, I waited until my 32nd birthday to have hotel security come in and try to break up the party. No worries, ten minutes later, we were cabbing it to Neu+ral.

Let’s get it straight, poppets. I was fully inebriated before we even stepped into the club. If there’s one thing us Frenches do right, it is party. And with LilBro around, I had no choice but to keep up. Thankfully, I have a boyfriend who was like a sentinel all night, making sure I was happy, hydrated and generally safe. The next morning, I was in no condition to actually attend our 1pm brunch appointment. So, instead, I nibbled on corn chips while watching the Wimbledon final (so sad, Mr. Murray!).

Best story of the night? There are three:
  1. Nish: “do you remember the shots? We lined them up and told you to take yours. You picked one up and downed it. When I said ‘hey, you didn’t wait for the cheers’ you said ‘oh my God, I’m so sorry!’ before picking up another one, saying ‘Cheers!’ and drinking that one too.”
  2. AnCe: “I asked you if you wanted some water and you’re like ‘God yes’; I handed it to you, you tipped your head back and attempted to drink. When nothing happened, you got confused and asked me to ‘make it go’ – at which point I simply pointed out that you should try unscrewing the cap.
  3. Jadek: “Last call, and I asked what you wanted and you very responsibly, said, ‘water please!’ So I hand you the bottle, you unscrew the cap, lean back on the bar, chug the entire thing in one shot and proceed to toss the empty bottle over your shoulder, behind the bar. Like a Viking with an empty mug.”
Oh dear. I don’t remember any of that happening. I do remember my hair elastic breaking and some stranger giving me hers in the bathroom. And I remember an excellent bartender (Jamie?). The rest… well, that’s what friends are for.

Monday, I shopped and contemplated a piercing before having house food with the family. All in all? Excellent.

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