Beeeeday Week

Wow. This week has been like none other...just a whirlwind of friends and family calling to bestow their good wishes on me to have another awesome year. If I could just drag this out for a month, I'd be in good shape. ha!

Yesterday was by far the highlight. First I'll rant, then I'll rave. I had to get a license tag put on the front of the car which required me to find the dealership. Well, I found the dealership after getting lost and then apparently there's a service department for that specific dealer in the vicinty. After driving around lost for about 30 minutes, I found it just a block and a half away. Driving here is the only thing that truly makes me homesick. It's hard to get lost in the South. The streets are actually labeled. I know the South comes under harsh criticism for many other things, but at least we don't have an amalgam of seven roads - merging together and all leading in different directions. Not impressed. I did make it home relatively unscathed and I still in my heart believe that getting lost and getting yourself out of the situation is a good learning experience. I just prefer to know where I'm going.

In the afternoon, I went to my very first Kentucky Derby party (and yes, for the record, I got lost going there, too). It was requested that we dress the part - felt a little like a cosume party - everyone there in big hats and dressed to the nines. I wore the white suit and looked quite pimp. I took the opportunity to schmooze with some influential people which I know will be good for me in the future. Just having that skill of networking, even within people in your own organization, is priceless. I also learned quite a bit about horse racing. I didn't realize that jockeys were generally 100 lbs. or less. Sheesh. How do they keep that up? They should sell their workout/diet plan in an infomercial. It could be the next big thing.

Then comes the night. CS, NV and I met up here, ate some pizza and had a great girl talk session. It's nice to just hang with the girls and it's on my list of things to do again sometime in the near future. Then MI and her entourage arrived and we went over to Guarapo's for drinks and dancing. At the end of the day, I think old age won since that's the only place we went. It's not like college - when I'm sure any one of us could jump from place to place without a second thought. Now, sanity and the voice of reason have kicked in and it's easier to pick one cool place and stay there for an extended period of time. And, let's be honest, do we really want to plod along in those ridiculously high heels? Not so much.

Anyway, I send big thanks to all of my friends and family for making this an unforgettable week. I can truly say I had a great first birthday in DC.