Monday, 01.20.2014 - 10:08 pm.
I turned 29 yesterday and it was a wonderful day. I woke up to fluffy pancakes made by Andrew. Later he took me to lunch and invited all our friends over for cake in the evening.
A lot of friends showed up and it was heartwarming. Also, most of my gifts were related to reading and writing: books, notebooks, pens. I too got a picture frame, a birthday card, a coffee mug, a picture of the cat Andrew and I raised since she was a newborn and now is 10 months old (adopted by a dear friend), a beautiful necklace and a Spiderman comic cover printed on wood. It was truly great and Andrew and I thanked our guests by choosing an amazing orange cake. I mean, really, it was a very soft cake, a mixed flavor of orange and vanilla with hints of chocolate. Everybody was delighted with it.
And that was my people here. I woke up to a loving birthday message from my parents and eventually I got messages and e-cards from my siblings. I got to skype with Brother #1 today and we talked endlessly. My closest friends back home sent me e-mails that had me tearing up, and an old friend from high school also wrote me, he never fails. My Facebook profile does not display my birthday but people who remember post a message and then other people catch up. It's been a day and I'm still receiving messages and trying to reply to all of them one by one, it's the least I can do. It's overwhelming and I'm so grateful for all the love, I don't know what I've done to deserve such a beatiful thing.
A few days ago I'd written a draft in my public blog, about how my birthday was five years ago. The news had said that that was the most depressing day in history and it was the last day I talked to Joseph face to face. He came to visit me to my house after much drama, only to sit in my living room for hours and tell me about his new girlfriend. How miserable I felt that day.
But it ended perfectly: that was the night I went out with CR and Lighthouse for the first time. Hell, that's when I met Lighthouse, and together they (mostly CR) saved my life for two years, until I moved to Chile. I did not hear from either of them yesterday but I just wanted to write them and say "thank you so much for coming into my life five years ago, you made a difference!". They couldn't even begin to understand how so.
Anyway, I couldn't post the entry yesterday and by now it seems old news. It's in my drafts but I don't know if I'll use it. I don't want to publish it out of spite, this isn't about Joseph. I want to publish it because I consider it an important story of mine (even if it's not interesting to the rest of the world), it even makes me proud. I now look back on all those times and I'm fond of the good things and the lessons that came through them. It's about me and how remembering those days opens up an old wound but also makes me laugh out loud.
It's a shame I couldn't publish it yesterday. Yesterday was the day to do it.
On saturday, Andrew and I attended a symbolic ceremony for all the M.A. psychology graduates. It was a nice, small ceremony and both he and I got our diploma and also, along with our close friend Anita (my best friend here), an acknowledgement for our high grades. They were the highest of the program, which will look good on our PhD scholarship applications. Then there was a luncheon, hooray.
Oh, oh, this morning I woke up to the news that my now Niece #2 was born!!! A few hours earlier and we'd share the birthday. Damn it. Anyhow, she's a healthy, gorgeous baby girl that apparently has no eyelashes yet. I can't wait to see her in person, I don't know when that will be.
Now, I should go write somewhere else. I have so many handsome notebooks and they're all blank. I feel it's a commitment, receiving all these notebooks and pens as gifts (on top of the ones I got last year), and I'm not living up to it. I should try to make a new habit.
Again, for the record: I am so grateful and humbled. Thank you, God, universe, whatever it is that's made me be so loved and have a wonderful family, a wonderful life partner, and so many wonderful people in my life.
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