I Suck At Celebrating My Friend's Birthday

Yesterday, Karen and I celebrated my friend's (Cass) birthday. Too bad I suck at celebrating my friend's birthday. I especially suck considering the fact that his birthday was actually on Wednesday.

Anyway, August generally kicks off the birthday celebration tour within my circle of friends. From now till the end of the year (with the exception of November) and into January, every month will feature a birthday celebration from at least one of my friends. And as customary with birthday celebrations, there will be fun, merriment, and food.

For Cass, who I like to think will be the future Mayor of Quincy, his celebration consisted of a potluck party. And because Cass, like the rest of my friends, are silly the theme for the potluck party was balls. Truth be told, I do enjoy potluck parties.

In fact, I enjoy potluck more than dining out. In addition to the simple cost saving benefits, I find potluck parties a better means to hang out and enjoy time with friends. There is more time during potluck parties. The atmosphere is more comfortable because the potluck is at someone's place. There are less outside factors to worry about. To me, potlucks are a win-win from every angle.

Aside from that, I also enjoy challenges. In past potluck parties, I will admit that I did not fully participate as well as I should have, in part because I could not cook. I still can't cook, but things I make are more edible now. And if you ask, I will still be able to whoop my friend's (Hot Amy) butt in a macaroni and cheese competition. But since I'm trying to cook more, the idea of potlucks are very appealing to me because it plays to my ability to problem solve.

So when Cass said he wanted a ball theme potluck party for his birthday celebration, I was pretty intrigued and excited by the idea. Unfortunately, I had to resort to the Internet because my food skills are a little lacking. Eventually, I decided to make cheddar and bacon balls, which was surprisingly easy to make. Karen ended up making something called cake pops, which were very good. (As a side note, I even had to spontaneously make a holder for her cake pops out of a piece of scrap wood... and my trusty drill.)

Anyway, I totally had fun at Cass's birthday celebration. And really, it's impossible not to have any fun when hanging out with a bunch of friends. Joining in the festivities were my friends (Ellen, Marc, Kelley, Garv, Leeann, and Andrea) and my BFF (Kerry). I think Cass had a great time too, which is what was important for the day. Last year, during Cass's birthday celebration, Cass had to pick up his father from the hospital because his father cut his hand with a saw... and I also think Cass's car had to be towed because his gas indicator was broken. So I'm guessing yesterday was a much better celebration than last year by leaps and bounds.

Among the topics of conversations that came up was the fact that Garv wanted to plan a trip to Comic-Con 2011. I was actually quite surprised because I didn't think Comic-Con was something Garv was into. Marc naturally wanted to go, and has wanted to go for some time. So the two of them were throwing out ideas for the trip... most notably dressing up for the convention in something known as cosplay.

It turns out Marc and Kelley wanted to go as comic book superheroes the Question and the Huntress. Marc wanted Garv to dress up as well, which I totally agree with. If Garv wants to go, then he definitely needs the full experience... cosplay and all. Unfortunately, there are a very limited number of Asian superheroes. The one that came to my mind was Sunfire. Now that I think of it... there is also Jubilee, a Chinese-American teenage girl born in Beverly Hills with the power of fireworks, which I'm sure Garv would make a great fit for.

Needless to say, it was funny discussion. Add to it the fact that I still think things like Comic-Con are a great place for single women to meet single men... very single men. Of course, I have never been to Comic-Con, but I imagine the men to women ratio is probably favorable for women. And if you think about it, geek is chic now. And nothing says geek like Comic-Con. I'm sure there are those who disagree with me.

As well, we talked about DirectBuy, Bradley Cooper (the next Ryan Reynolds?), and fantasy football. Interestingly enough, it seems like the rules for the upcoming season were hammered out yesterday, which is funny because there was supposed to be a get-together dinner about it tomorrow.

I'm sure there were other comical discussions during the night. Unfortunately, I can't remember much of what happened following the fateful phone call that I received from Karen's parents during dinner. The ball themed potluck dinner, by the way, was very delicious. Everyone did an amazing job coming up with... balls. And I'm sure it's always fun to eat... balls. (Snicker.)

Anyway, our four month baby daughter (Briana) has recently developed the case of separation anxiety. Last week, Briana uncontrollably cried for my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) while Karen and I went to celebrate Andrea's birthday. Yesterday, she uncontrollably cried for Karen's parents who were watching her while Karen and I were at Cass and Ellen's.

In fact, Briana cried so much that she lost her voice. As Karen will tell you, Briana sounds like a smoker right now. Since being born prematurely, Briana has been a very good baby. She has only cried whenever she has been hungry. Even then, her cries for food were never bad. Yesterday, however, was the first time I ever saw her uncontrollably wail... and wail... and wail. It was definitely not a good feeling to see it unfold.

Needless to say, Karen and I picked up Briana, brought her back to Cass and Ellen's for a little while, before heading home. With Briana's recent bouts of separation anxiety, it looks like our list of babysitters have evaporated for the time being. I'm not even sure yet as to how to remedy this problem. The alternative of constantly staying home and not going out... ever... seems ridiculous (and unhealthy).