celebrating, part 1

i think having a birthday is a great reason to celebrate being alive – a year full of living to commemorate and a year full of living to look forward to.

so celebrate i did!

birthday celebration #1
after a wonderful weekend with my best girls, on june 12 itself my co-workers and i had lunch at my favourite restaurant and afterwards ate ice cream cake. i rode the train up to the city after work to meet dani and sara. they picked me up at the station in my car and i was thrilled to see they’d cleaned it for me – what an awesome birthday present (you’d understand if you’d have seen my car lately…)! we went to north beach for birthday pizza and a quick stop at my favourite san francisco spot.

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we had to run sara to the airport before too long. heaven gave us a sweet sunset as we drove down the 101. i called my mom at 9:47pm to thank her for giving birth to me exactly 26 years earlier. and then, i was all of a sudden a year older, feeling like last year was one of my hardest yet and also a prickly notion that the coming year is going to be my best yet. 

birthday celebration #2
on wednesday night my roommates and i enjoyed an ethiopian feast together in san jose. i’ve been blessed to live with these women.

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rousseau said: “to live is not to breathe, but to act; it is to make use of our organs, of our senses, of our faculties, of every element of our nature which makes us sensible of our existence. the man who has lived most is not he who has numbered the most years, but he who has had the keenest sense of life.”

last year was a full year. and this next year i want to develop an even keener sense of life. i want to make choices and be better in ways that will help me be more like one of the people jack kerouac describes as “mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”

to be continued with birthday celebration #3!

Comments

  1. HaPpY BiRtHdAy!!! May all you candled wishes come true!

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  2. Somehow I missed Part 1! Seems that the tradition of haaving a series of birthday celebrations goes on! We're sorry we had to enjoy it from afar, but thanks for coming! What would we do without our Charity? You are the glue that holds us all together! Love you forever!

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  3. Ethiopian feast is kind of an oxymoron, but I hope you enjoyed it! Looks like some decent injera. Happy birthday Char!

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  4. so, dear charity, here's wishing you that 'best year yet'!

    prefacing a q...where is this wonderful rooftop i see in so many of your pics?

    gualala friend - jonna (ashley & bens neighbor)

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