and the leaves that are green...

i was twenty-two years when i wrote this blog
i'm twenty-four now but i won't be for long
time hurries on
and the leaves that are green turn to brown
and they wither with the wind
and they crumble in your hand

today is my birthday. this simon and garfunkel song ALWAYS goes through my head on my birthday. i remember being young and listening to the sounds of silence, and whenever this song came on i would think "whoa, one day i'm going to be twenty-one." it's really strange that i'm even older than twenty-one now. i'm hoping that next year when i hit twenty-five the birthdays will just stop, because that's the age i want to remain forever.

i'm sitting at the computer enjoying a mimosa right now, made with some really good champagne. the twilight zone marathon is on in the living room... feels good to be home. it's hilarious to think at this time last year i was probably making drunken phone calls and being fed tangerines by creepy cameramen. NOTHING will ever top last year's birthday.

i celebrated my birthday last night with my parents. we went to yono's in albany for dinner. it was IN-CRE-DI-BLE. yono is pretty much the top chef in the capital district area, so i was really excited about going. the fun part of the restaurant is that yono is indonesian, so one page of the (huge) menu is all indonesian food, while the other page is continental cuisine (featuring game such as alligator and ostrich...) my parents and i went for the indonesian food, it was REALLY good. i'd never had it before, but it kind of reminded me of vietnamese food with a bit of a chinese influence. for appetizers we got started with a complimentary slice of cucumber with a chicken and chick pea hummous on top. then we ordered the ikan tongul surabaya- an appetizer that featured "sesame encrusted big eye tuna atop a bed of asian slaw with a wasabi and ginger emulsion"- this was probably the best part of the meal. i ordered the nasi rames for dinner, which was an "indonesian tasting featuring sate, kepiting goreng, bakmi goreng, babi kecap, daging rendang, ayam panggang, and served with krupuk, acar, sambal, and peanut sauce." what does that even mean? deliciousness for my body. my parents each ordered different kinds of noodle dishes, my mom's came with shrimp and my dad's came with chicken.

and for dessert i had a disarrono on the rocks, my mom had a chambord on the rocks, and we all shared a slice of the chocolate rendezvous- "lady fingers surrounding a chocolate truffle layer topped with a layer of raspberry and chocolate mousse." that even came with a birthday candle, and when the waitress was bringing it out the live band changed to a rendition of happy birthday. it was a good birthday, indeed. and i got a new pair of earrings and an old navy gift card, to boot!