Happy Birthday to me!

I turned 31 yesterday. A good friend of mine and I were chatting about this and she asked me if I felt “31”. To be honest, I’m not sure how “31” is supposed to feel. Maybe I’m too new at this because I certainly don’t feel any different from, say, last Friday, when I was “just” 30. Or maybe the last two days have just been a little busy and so I haven’t really given it much thought.

My birthday celebration started at exactly 12:01 am on the 21st when my in-laws came over. Hearing the doorbell ring in the middle of the night usually means bad news. But in this case it meant having my SILs, BILs, nieces and nephew over, bearing gifts and cake, and singing a rousing version of the birthday song. Seriously, I have the best in-laws ever and I’m not just saying that cause the cake they brought happened to be chocolate!

Later that day, Jojo gave me a necklace with a multi-color crystal pendant (of a lopsided heart) and tickets to see “The Importance of Being Earnest” at the Ahmanson Theater. I have yet to decide which present I like better. The pendant is something I’ve been wanting after seeing a picture of it in a magazine, while the play was really amusingly funny. It started off a little dry (I think British humor is always a little dry) but the actors were very good (especially the actor who played Algernon Montcrief) and Oscar Wilde’s writing was sardonically humorous.

The Importance of Being Earnest, a play that pokes fun at the British upper class in the late 1800s, is a story of two men (Jack and Algernon) who both pretend to be someone named “Ernest” in order to win the love of two women (Gwendolyn and Cecily). Add to that mayhem are two wiry butlers, a governess not so secretly in love with the scholarly town minister, and an interfering mother (played by the wonderful Ms. Lynn Redgrave) and you have a charade that ends in hilarious entanglements, comical confusion, and a juicy secret revealed in the end. I thought it was very well done and I’m very glad to note that Jojo enjoyed himself too. (I was secretly watching him). Never mind that 80% of the audience was over the age of 60!

That night as I talked to my family over the phone, my in-laws came over for birthday noodles & chicken wings. Later we gathered in the family room to watch the pay-per-view fight between Erik Morales and the Philippines’ own Manny Pacquiao. I’m no boxing fan but got quite into the spirit as we cheered Pacquiao to victory (he knocked out Morales in the 9th round!). The night ended with tequila shots all around and without naming names I’ll have to say that some of us did more drinking than we should have! :)

I’m lucky since I had a wonderful birthday and was glad to spend it with family and friends – even those who were not quite here physically but remembered nonetheless – like my mom, dad, sisters, brother, as well as relatives and friends from all over. So, now that the excitement has sort of died down, the presents have been opened (BTW, I think the "wish list" I posted on my blog helped cause I got super duper gifts!), the cake is all gone, and I have had some time to think about it. Do I feel like I’m “31”? Well, I guess I do, and so far it’s been great!