The Best Birthday Week EVER!
This past week has been really fun and exhausting. On Monday I woke up really early to surprise my friend Rita for her 19th birthday. I bought a birthday banner, balloons, confetti, and streamers and decorated the kitchen. When Rita woke up, she was excited to see that Naomi and I remembered her birthday.
After work, I came back to the apartment and fell asleep. Naomi woke me up when Rita came back from the lab and we took Rita out to dinner. We decided to go to Macaroni Grill because they provide an awesome birthday atmosphere and we could eat tons of bread. We had a great time laughing and joking with the waiter. He brought Rita a cake and sang “Happy Birthday” to her in Italian. Afterwards, we came back to the apartment and called all of our research friends over to have cake with Rita. I think she was surprised that Naomi and I really went all out for her birthday since we’ve only known her for a few weeks.
On Tuesday morning I woke up a twenty-year-old! We left up all of Rita’s birthday decorations to celebrate my birthday the very next day. We headed out to our weekly scientific lectures which were pretty interesting. Afterwards I headed to the lab and Dr. DiMario and I spent the entire day preparing and making slides of the imaginal tissue from the larval strains I had created. This took a really long time because a lot of it consists of waiting. Finally, around 4:30 p.m. I headed back to the apartment to clean up in preparation for my parents’ arrival.
A few minutes before my parents arrived at my apartment the weather became tremendously horrible. It was raining so hard we could barely see in front of us. We packed my parents, Naomi, Rita, and myself into a vehicle and headed over to Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro for a fun birthday dinner. Right when we arrived at an intersection near the restaurant, a huge flash of lightening cracked and the traffic lights went out! We made it to the restaurant safely and had a very nice dinner. We headed back to the apartment for cake and ice cream with all of my friends. My friends and parents gave me really nice gifts, too. I wasn’t expecting all of the fun we had on Tuesday.
Wednesday brought forth a very stressful day for me. I had to take TONS of pictures of the slides we made of the larval tissue. I became really tired and I lacked patience. Dr. DiMario could tell I was exhausted and let me go to lunch early. After I finished m work, I went back to the apartment and took a nice nap. Rita came back and we had a really great workout. Afterwards we came back to the apartment and Naomi, Rita, and I decided to eat at my favorite restaurant: Chelsea’s. We all got the grilled cheese and tomato basil soup which is probably my favorite food in the whole world. We felt terrible because this was our third time eating out in a row!
Friday was the annual Student vs. Mentor softball game. We made it out to the field at 9 a.m. and began warming out. We had a great time and the students beat the mentors!
They provided lunch for us afterwards and I promptly headed to the lab. I worked a long day and headed back to the apartment. When Rita returned from the lab we headed out Hammond to visit my friend Erin from the Louisiana School. I hadn’t seen Erin in over a year but it was great to catch up. We watched Little Miss Sunshine and had brownies and homemade ice cream. Rita enjoyed herself, too, and made a new friend.
Saturday was a great day because my mom came to Baton Rouge to take me shopping. We went all over looking for clothes. We had lunch at Olive Garden. I really enjoy visiting with my mom when it’s just me and her. Afterwards I came back to the apartment and cleaned up all of the birthday debris. I was about to take a nap when my friend Jamie, another research student, came by to see what was up. We all got dressed and went out to eat at India’s Restaurant which has an amazing Thaali dish. It’s a combination of all of their best dishes. I had the vegetarian Thaali and Rita and Jamie had the meat Thaali. The food was AMAZING.
After we gorged ourselves on Indian food, we hung out at Jamie’s apartment with her roommates who are all research students. Another friend of mine from Louisiana School, Channing, came by and we all headed out to the Varsity which is a locally well-known venue for bands but also serves as a club. We arrived early to beat the block-long line and made it in time for lots of 80’s music. Eventually the club became packed and played a good mix of music to dance to. We all danced and had a great time hanging out with everyone. Needless to say, I slept well that night and now hurt from all of the dancing. Birthday week was great!
