23

"I survived the world for 23 fuckin' years and I don't plan to give the fuck up too soon."

This was my motto on the 20th of August in the year 2008. That was 3 days ago. One more birthday, one more candle on the cake, one more chapter in the book of life. One less year to live, one less tension, one less part of life to look forward to.

Birthdays. One more reason for people to ask you your age. One more reason for them to ask you to take them out for a treat. One more reason for you to get gifts from them. One more reason to have cake. One more reason to "have your way for a day". As if!

I never really liked my birthday. I never like celebrating it. Why can't I just leave it as a day for myself? When all I want to do is be normal for a change? Let it be a day that starts and ends like every other day. It's just a milestone. All it tells you that you've survived another year and thus are one year closer to finally not surviving it. Anyway, for all those who want to know, this is how I spent my birthday:

Evening of 19th August: On my way back from work, I grabbed a cake from the local grocery store, for my colleagues. Then I went and got a take-out from Salad King (Thai food) and had dinner with my cousins. Got home and went straight to sleep. I didn't wanna talk to anyone. I wasn't planning on celebrating my birthday.

Midnight of 19th August: Arya calls up to wish. I'm sleeping on the couch, I wake up and answer the fone. My flatmates are making a lotta noise. Whatever happened to "basic decency to keep quiet when someone's on the fone"? Anyway, then they force me to cut the cake they've got for me. Get a call from parents. Call them back. Cut the cake. Flatmates gift me a Sony Cybershot camera and a set of Calvin Klein perfume and after-shave. I'm not a big cosmetics person. I don't think I'm using that too soon. But the camera is something I wanted for a long time. I thank them for that. Then we all pose for a pic. We go to sleep at around 2am.

6am on 20th August: I wake up. I get ready. I make tea for my flatmate. I leave for work.

Morning of 20th August: Work, work, work. Colleagues love the cake. Had to be. My choice. I always believe in getting the best. After all, I earn money to spend it lavishly on others. Get lotta fone calls.

Afternoon of 20th August: Met up didi for lunch. Had fish and chips at the li'l place near my office. The one my manager considers the 2nd best in the GTA. Didi loves it. I'm happy. Get back to office and then more and more work. Work's getting hectic now. It makes me feel good though. Keeps my mind off other things.

Evening of 20th August: I walk home. 12-13 kms, 2.5 hours. All along the lakeshore. It feels good. iPod in my ears, lake by my side, sun in the sky. This is the best part of my day. Smile across my face. I should do this more often. Maybe every Friday evening. Reach home, take flatmates out for dinner as they say they'll be all formal when we go out for dinner with my cousins. I'm sick and tired of Wheat Sheaf and Montana's. This time we try out Brazen Head, a pub near our place. Turns out to be a great choice. We play cards. I don't lose any game this time. Birthday Luck? I don't think so. We come back home and go to sleep.

Evening of 22nd August: Part 2 of celebrations. Taking cousins and flatmates out for dinner. Went to an Italian restaurant called Il Furnello on the Harbourfront. Next to the water. Nice place. Kinda classy. We were sitting in the back patio. It was nice. Went for Baskin Robbins after that. Walked home from there. Cousins gifted a $100 gift certificate for BestBuy (an electronics store). Thinking what to buy from there. Anyway, after coming home, went to sleep. End of birthday celebrations.

That's pretty much all that happened. Not that it interests many people. But just for the sake of it, I put it up here. After all, you needed a blog post, didn't you? So yea, Happy Birth-fuckin'-day to me! Bullshit!

:-)