Putumayo

Ladies and gentlemen, I am now *officially* 21 years of age. The idea of drinking, smoking, and hiring prostitutes in the state of Nevada have now become real possibilities in the realm of my life. The event happened today at approximately 3PM in the afternoon, where exactly 21 years ago on this day, I was surgically forced out of the womb of a woman who willingly subjected herself to marry and procreate with an absurdly loud man, my father. It is on this day, today, that I can finally call myself a full-fledged adult, and this could not be more momentous considering that tomorrow, at 7:30AM, I begin my first day in medical school. That's right...the beginning of it all. Today was, in a way, my last free day as a free woman. And it's almost as if the forces of nature or whoever was controlling the cosmos decided to make it all the more dramatic by having me turn 21 and then be thrown head-first into med school all within 24 hours of each other!
The most wonderful birthday party was hosted by Matt in honor of me (I feel a little strange saying that last part..."in honor of me" because I don't usually get that kind of attention...ever). It was exactly as I had wanted a good low-key party to be. The party theme was, appropriately, "World Night" in honor of my traveling all over the world for one year when I was a junior in undergrad. Nothing could have made the night more perfect. It was literally a party that came out of my simple, but beautiful dreams. Being a little bit of a potluck, the people who came brought excellent food from all over the world....eggplant parmigiana, rajshma (kidney beans), tempura vegetables, Thai vegan curry, bindhi (Indian style okra), quiche, leechees (Asian fruit), everything good and tasty you could imagine. Dessert was exceptionally world oriented with Mexican flan, French crepes, and home-maid American mixed berry pie (courtesy of Matt too). To top it all of, there was music by PUTUMAYO. Now, for those of you who don't know what Putumayo is, I'm sorry that things have been so bad before this. Putumayo is fantastic, simply fantastic. They have such a great collection of different music from all over the world. South America, Europe, Africa, you name it...if it's in a foreign language and it makes you want to shake your shoulders like Kashif from America's Got Talent, Putumayo has got it. It sounds a lot like music you'll hear in Starbucks, except not as much Motown and a lot more of wild foreign-ness. If there is ever a time where you need great Turkish music to get your groove on, or want to transform your living room into a French cafe, Putumayo can do it instantly. And so, combining the great food with the great music and adding a surplus of great conversation that was available with great people, the night was a great success. As far as parties go, it was one of the best I've been to.
Fortunately, the rest of today has been filled with making the most of my birthday weekend and my last free weekend for the next five years. This involved breakfasting with the leftover stragglers who spent the night at my place after the night of Wordly Debauchery and having dinner with my parents at my favorite restaurant: Vegan House. Unfortunately, it is too late now for me to go onto the details of the events of today, but let me just say that this weekend has been simply put, amazing and I couldn't have asked for anything more. I am really counting my blessings today and I hope that tomorrow will be the start of something truly wonderful, a continuation of the blessings of these past few days. More to come very very soon!