on Saturday evening, i went out to dinner with my cousin. we went to We Be Sushi which was pretty damn good for inexpensive sushi. after dinner, when we drove back to Natasha’s house, the house was dark… apparently her roommates must have been out. i walked up the stairs, and just as i was entering the living room, i noticed Dan huver and rob sitting there on a bench. WTF? what the hell were they doing at Natasha’s house? and what the hell were they doing sitting there quietly in the dark? for a second there, i felt like i had just walked into a dream or something… where weird inexplicable things happen that just make *zero* sense.
after a brief confused pause, i ascended the last few steps and then things got even weirder. there were other people in the room. lots of them. a bunch of people just standing there in the dark. ummm…. huh? seconds later, the lights flicked on and everyone was yelling “SURPRISE!” at the top of their lungs and shooting those little confetti poppers all over. i stood there, blinking, still trying to figure out what the hell was going on. was i just imagining this? had i finally lost my sanity? were these people really here? and if so, then why? wait a minute… is this some kind of bizarre very late welcome home party? i just didnt get it.
finally, everything was explained to me.. this was a surprise party to celebrate my “half birthday”, the date right in between my last bday and my next upcoming one. my last birthday had been miserable. caryn and i had ended up in Moyale, a crap town on the border of Ethiopia and Kenya. we had been on a bus all night, and were exhausted, dusty, dirty, and it was super hot. we spent all day shuffling back and forth trying to get all of our documents in order for the border crossing the next day. i had no email access and so i couldn’t get in touch w/ any family/friends from back home. basically, it was the worst possible birthday ever.
in order to make things better, caryn planned this surprise “half birthday” party to make up for the birthday i never had last august. she invited all of my friends, had my cousin divert me from her house, and then set everything up. crazy eh? i had never had a surprise party before and even after i found out what was going on, i still was totally shocked for at least the next half hour. it was all just such a surprise!! i mean, who would expect a surprise party 6 months after/before their bday?
the rest of the evening was hella fun. the party had an international theme, and people had brought all sorts of appetizers and different alcohols to make new drinks. kim made this awesome cake. but most of all it was just fun to hang out with everybody. that’s what birthdays are all about kinda.
all in all i was really blown away by the whole thing. it was just so touching that caryn had gone through all that trouble to throw me a birthday party to make up for a crappy birthday that i had pretty much forgotten all about. it was just another random day and that day was turned into such an awesome surprise. best “half birthday” *ever*!
*v
Man, thought I was the only one to get stuck in Moyale. I was there back in ’95. What is it about Moyale and birthdays though? Beginning of August, 1995, I was stairing down on 35(August 15th). Was in Addis Ababa and trying to go North to Eriteria and then perhaps Sudan. Had just bought a bus ticket, when I had second thoughts. Couldn’t face 3 days on a bus up there, a couple days rest, then 3 more back down. Instead, headed to Nairobi to spend birthday with an ol’ friend from College. As you remember, getting to Moyale was a challenge. When I got there the only options out were to hitchhike out. Paid $50 to ride a day or so in a cattle truck headed South. They wouldn’t let us leave without a military escort. (Funny, coming North with 2 female Brits, in a landrover(a month earlier), we never had a military escort.) Anyhow, not much to do there in Moyale is there. Think I stayed at the only hotel in town. Did you? To the left, coming from Ethiopia, after you get through Kenyan customs. A two decker place. Ah the memories.
Aww, that is so sweet.
Happy half-birthday 🙂
no, i stayed in a one story place in moyale. cant remember what it was called, but it was pretty run down. heh, trying to change money in town was interesting too. so many scammers!
yeah, i was really touched. just couldnt believe it!
thanks!