Amazed, Surprised, Awed, Happy
Amazed, Surprised, Awed, Happy
That was my initial reaction to the elaborate surprise birthday party that Dana threw for me on April 29th - 30th.
The morning started out normally for me. I was meeting with Dad at 10:30 for breakfast, then visiting Grandma at Fountain View (her "assisted living" community). I needed to be back by 4(ish) in order to get ready to go to Nobu for my birthday dinner with Dana. So, I met with Dad, and headed back to The Bronx around 3:15.
Dad told me that he wanted to use the bathroom before taking the drive back to Huntington. I called Dana to make sure she was "decent." She said she wasn't, and wanted a few more minutes. This short conversation was Dana's only slip-up, my only clue to the fact that "something was amiss." Dana has a different way of speaking to me when she's alone, vs. when she's in a group. She chooses different words, and has a different tone of voice. She used her "group voice." I called her on it, and she just said that she was on the phone with her friend Saleen. I was slightly confused, but "bought it." I'm naive like that.
So, Dad and I gave Dana her "few more minutes" by driving around the neighborhood. When we pulled up, the block appeared normal. Everyone with a car I would recognize had parked on a different block, great attention to detail. We parked, walked into the house. I opened the door, took a couple steps in, then.... SURPRISE!!!
There my friends were, all standing in the living room. I was shocked. I was only expecting a small dinner out with Dana, and I end up with a big surprise party. Neil, Judith, April, Todd, Alan, Dan, Lynne, Stacy, and of course Dana were all right there (Mike showed up a couple hours later). Next I noticed the decorations. They had tried to recreate one of my favorite Binghamton experiences... Casino in the Woods!
The living room and office were rapped in a background designed to look like slot machines. There were "$" signs and large playing cards hanging from the ceiling. Little stars were throne everywhere for further effect. There was also a cork board with some pictures from my past, and a birthday card from my 22nd birthday! There were also cards from Tina, TJ & Ya-Ting, and Ellen, who couldn't attend but wanted to wish me a happy day. Dana had done a magnificent job decorating the place (with a lot of help from my friends)!!
In the middle of the living room was my 30th Birthday gift... an 8 person gaming table! It is awesome! The table is a dark (stained?) wood covered in plush green felt. It has cup holders and a cutout for playing chips for all 8 people. A gaming table like this is something that I've wanted for a long time, but would never actually spend the money on for myself. Thanks Dana for taking the plunge for me ;-) Now I have to make use of it. I'll throw a gaming night sometime in the near future.
The party was a lot of fun! There were tons of hors d'oeuvres, chips / salsa, and drinks. We ordered pizza and sushi for the main course. We had music pumping from my computer. We stood around chatting for a few hours. Some people (everyone?) took washable markers and decorated the house with drawings, messages and other "graffiti." Dan and I also spent some time discussing fantasy baseball and watching our teams play.
After eating the main meal, 8 of us sat down to play poker, and the others played Twister in the office. I'm sorry to say that I finished the poker tournament in the "stink hole," the first position to finish without winning any money. But, at least the table does its job very well!
The poker game went until about 12:30. People, especially Dana and Lynne were very tired at that point, and the party began to break up. Everyone went home, except for April and Alan, who spent the night.
Next morning I doled out most of the food to Alan and April, who took off around 2pm. I spent a good portion of the remaining day cleaning. I still have a lot of cleaning to do, but its well worth it. I'm sure I'll find little stars in the carpet and tile cracks for quite a while ;-) It's so worth it!
Its wonderful to have such great friends. I really feel loved. I had a better 30th Birthday than I ever imagined.
-- Joel
That was my initial reaction to the elaborate surprise birthday party that Dana threw for me on April 29th - 30th.
The morning started out normally for me. I was meeting with Dad at 10:30 for breakfast, then visiting Grandma at Fountain View (her "assisted living" community). I needed to be back by 4(ish) in order to get ready to go to Nobu for my birthday dinner with Dana. So, I met with Dad, and headed back to The Bronx around 3:15.
Dad told me that he wanted to use the bathroom before taking the drive back to Huntington. I called Dana to make sure she was "decent." She said she wasn't, and wanted a few more minutes. This short conversation was Dana's only slip-up, my only clue to the fact that "something was amiss." Dana has a different way of speaking to me when she's alone, vs. when she's in a group. She chooses different words, and has a different tone of voice. She used her "group voice." I called her on it, and she just said that she was on the phone with her friend Saleen. I was slightly confused, but "bought it." I'm naive like that.
So, Dad and I gave Dana her "few more minutes" by driving around the neighborhood. When we pulled up, the block appeared normal. Everyone with a car I would recognize had parked on a different block, great attention to detail. We parked, walked into the house. I opened the door, took a couple steps in, then.... SURPRISE!!!
There my friends were, all standing in the living room. I was shocked. I was only expecting a small dinner out with Dana, and I end up with a big surprise party. Neil, Judith, April, Todd, Alan, Dan, Lynne, Stacy, and of course Dana were all right there (Mike showed up a couple hours later). Next I noticed the decorations. They had tried to recreate one of my favorite Binghamton experiences... Casino in the Woods!
The living room and office were rapped in a background designed to look like slot machines. There were "$" signs and large playing cards hanging from the ceiling. Little stars were throne everywhere for further effect. There was also a cork board with some pictures from my past, and a birthday card from my 22nd birthday! There were also cards from Tina, TJ & Ya-Ting, and Ellen, who couldn't attend but wanted to wish me a happy day. Dana had done a magnificent job decorating the place (with a lot of help from my friends)!!
In the middle of the living room was my 30th Birthday gift... an 8 person gaming table! It is awesome! The table is a dark (stained?) wood covered in plush green felt. It has cup holders and a cutout for playing chips for all 8 people. A gaming table like this is something that I've wanted for a long time, but would never actually spend the money on for myself. Thanks Dana for taking the plunge for me ;-) Now I have to make use of it. I'll throw a gaming night sometime in the near future.
The party was a lot of fun! There were tons of hors d'oeuvres, chips / salsa, and drinks. We ordered pizza and sushi for the main course. We had music pumping from my computer. We stood around chatting for a few hours. Some people (everyone?) took washable markers and decorated the house with drawings, messages and other "graffiti." Dan and I also spent some time discussing fantasy baseball and watching our teams play.
After eating the main meal, 8 of us sat down to play poker, and the others played Twister in the office. I'm sorry to say that I finished the poker tournament in the "stink hole," the first position to finish without winning any money. But, at least the table does its job very well!
The poker game went until about 12:30. People, especially Dana and Lynne were very tired at that point, and the party began to break up. Everyone went home, except for April and Alan, who spent the night.
Next morning I doled out most of the food to Alan and April, who took off around 2pm. I spent a good portion of the remaining day cleaning. I still have a lot of cleaning to do, but its well worth it. I'm sure I'll find little stars in the carpet and tile cracks for quite a while ;-) It's so worth it!
Its wonderful to have such great friends. I really feel loved. I had a better 30th Birthday than I ever imagined.
-- Joel