The ___ Days of My Birthday

On the seventh day of my birthday, my friends did give to me

• Firepits at the Lei Lounge (7th)
• Wings with the Toms (6th)
• TACO TUESDAY!!! (5th)
• Pizookie with my parents (4th)
• Shamu and the dolphins (3rd)
• Switchfoot at the Bro-Am (2nd)
• And a "Lost" themed surprise party (1st)

It's been such fun times this whole week, man. I already blogged about last Friday. The fun continued on Saturday, when Andy and I went to Moonlight Beach for some fun in the sun and the awesome music of Tristan Prettyman (who I haven't seen in ages, it feels) and Switchfoot. This latest show of theirs totally erased the bitter taste that came from the last time I saw them (full band style) at X-Fest a few years ago. They brought a saxophonist too that added such depth to some of their hits, like "This Is Your Life".

Sunday - After a good message and meaningful worship at Flood, the OSF couple and I had some pho and fro-yo before heading down to Sea World. Both of them got annual passes, so we can have fun down there on a regular basis. And they revamped the sea lion and otter show, which has always been my favorite because they poke fun at Sea World and pop culture.

Monday - My parents wanted to take me to dinner on my actual bday, but I proposed moving it a day earlier, which was fine with them. They'd never been to BJs before, but they are fans now. Totally grooving on the appetizer platter and their salmon and salad. I had the Irish root beer (with whiskey, Baileys, and schnapps - that's how I roll) - and we shared a pizookie. Fantastic!

Tuesday - The actual birthday. #25... Started off the morning at work with a fantastic gift from Kasey/Tiff - "True Blood" on Blu-Ray! Can't wait to start watching that... after a chill work day, met up with Weezy and the OSF couple for happy hour drinks at Chevys and a round of Mario Party on the Wii back at the apartment.

Wednesday - After baking my popular cake (Black Russian) to bring to work the next day, I headed out to San Diego Brewing Company. Johannah and Jared wanted to meet up with me since they couldn't make it to the "Lost" party, so I proposed SD Brew Co to have some blueberry beer. Wednesdays are also 40 cent wing night, so we went to town. I loved spending time with them, and I hope Jared will be around with us more when he returns from deployment. And I'm glad that Johannah is amped to figure out summer road trip plans with me too. Fingers crossed that it all works out!

Thursday - Melodi was raving about the Lei Lounge in University Heights, so we went there with a few other coworkers. The place was down the street from Twiggs - the old coffeehouse that we used to check out regularly for acoustic concerts. The Lei Lounge was a very nice atmosphere and I loved the food. The crab macaroni and cheese tasted delicious, and I tried Kobe burgers for the first time. It was a bit pricey (yeahhhhh), but now we know what days they have specials, so I can't wait to head back. We even got to eat our dinner around a little firepit too! So great. It was a downtown vibe without being downtown.

Next up for tomorrow, which will be Day #8: Downtown fun at The Yardhouse and possibly bowling? I thought it was awesome when they proposed heading down there, so I can't wait...

AND! [TM Zack Morris and the TGO] I got my new driver's license in the mail today. My picture is much better than my previous one. It's the little things. :)

The Morning After

"Holy crap."

That's what was running through my head when I opened the door to my apartment around 7:45pm yesterday to find the place completely decked out in "Lost" paraphernalia and my closest friends and cousins there yelling out "surprise!!!"

Damn right, was I surprised.

Let me back track a little bit. A "Lost"-like flashback, if you will. Earlier in the week, I was informed (or rather, lied to) by Chris that he had planned out something on Saturday for my birthday. This was borne out of a conversation he and I had where I was trying to figure out if I wanted to do something and what/where that could possibly be. And since I hate all that planning stuff, he told me not to worry about it or ask any questions because he'd figure all the details for me.

"Agreed", I said.

So I marched through the work week looking forward to whatever surprise he and my friends had in mind for Saturday. I kept thinking "just make it to Saturday", and "Saturday is just around the corner." I was told that we'd go up to Switchfoot's Bro-Am for the first part of the day, and then that I'd need to be comfortably/casually dressed for downtown in the evening.

Lies, all of it.

The first twist came in the form of Beth inviting me to the Stone Brewing Company for a Friday after-work outing with some of her coworkers. Having never been there but being a fan of beer, I said I was game. I met up with her and her friend Marla at their work, and we drove up to San Marcos, which is where they're headquartered. If you've never been out there, it's pretty fantastic. The dining/bar area was really nice - it was very open, lots of natural light coming in, they had a nice selection of their beer and some interesting dishes to eat. I had the blonde ale (really nice and light), and Beth and I had these mashed potatoes that were rolled into balls, dipped in a beer batter, fried, and served with a beer-based BBQ sauce. It was fantastic! They even had this outdoor park-like setting where you could bring your food and beer, walk a little trail... I feel that this place would make for an awesome picture day. If only I had brought mine with me... we ended up not taking a tour of the actual brewery, so I'm definitely itching to go again.

Anyways, so I thought that after the brewery that I'd be able to just chill for the night and rest up for a fun busy Saturday. However, Beth concocted this story that she left her jacket at my apartment and asked if she could come over and get it. That sounded fine by me, so she followed me back down the freeway. Arriving at the apartment, I noticed Andy's car was parked, which was unexpected since I thought he'd be out with family, and when I got to the door, it wasn't completely shut. A little curious, but I was still clueless as to what would happen next. So I pushed the door open and all of a sudden -

"Surprise!"

There were "Lost" posters (including one that Chris printed that had me on it), island-themed drinks, "Lost" season three playing on DVD, it all felt very "Lost" and tropical. They set up a photo station, Brit made her famous strawberry ice cream as well as two kinds of cake, and they came up with a photo scavenger hunt for me, where I'd hunt down "Lost" snapshots printed and scattered throughout the apartment. Even the beer and water bottles had custom Dharma Initiative labeling taped on them. I was so stoked that my cousins came over too. I'm glad this was something that they could be part of (since not all are 21 yet). Though hopefully reports of "Happy Ryan" don't get to my parents... (Eh, I'm sure it will, but that's okay.)

It was very well planned and executed, and I still feel completely floored and thankful that my friends did this for me. You guys are the best!

Pictures to come in another blog, when I get a chance to see them.