It's been a busy weekend. My birthday week festivities officially began yesterday so I am feeling very special.

I really believe the birthday should be celebrated over a week. A day is way too short. So I begin recognizing the week I was born begining seven days prior to the day. It makes everything happier that way.

Yesterday I started off Birthday Week with a trip to Manhatten. Sweets was kind enough to join me as we went to have lunch with an old friend and then shopping. Oh boy. Shopping with me is a trial. I have started shopping alone because I know whoever I am with is endurinng hell while I cruise around looking fo just what I want. I am a little embarrassed that I have this consumerist streak in me, so when I am shopping I am apologizing the entire time: oh- you don't mind if we going into one more store? I'm sorry- this just isn't what I wanted, can we keep looking?

So yesterday we headed off for the city to buy lola a new pair of shoes and a purse, all for a wedding we're going to in a few weeks. We were sent to 8th street, which is supposedly known for it's shoes. There were a lot of shoes there too. So many. I felt like I was in Greece.

what? greece?

yeah. Years ago I went to the greek isles for a few weeks. I toured around and island hopped. All the other backpackers kept talking about how Ios was the best island to go to- the party island of the greek isles. So I went. It was crazy- party party party. The first place I had ever been that had a bar in the middle of the swimming pool. Anyway, there's this sort of downtown in Ios that is basically a million cheap little bars strung together, each with a different theme but all serving basically the same cheap disgusting hooch. I suppose the idea is that every tourist will find one bar they like and spend all their money there. But, because there are so many bars, you end up wandering from bar to bar, drinking beverage after beverage and getting disgustingly drunk all the while. One never stops and just hangs out at one bar, even if the music is good and the people are nice. There is always another bar to see.

It was like that yesterday. A million shoe stores and each with it's own version of the same bad music, all selling the same 50 pairs of shoes. We would wander into one, look around and then move on- maybe the music was bad, maybe the employees were strange or intimidating, or maybe it all just was wierd. It came down to an issue of vibe. If I had just found one store that fit my mood, everything would have been fine. But instead we just moved with the crowds from store to store.

I never found the pair of shoes I wanted. I am not sure they even exist. My sweets was so good through it all- he really was amazing. He even encouraged me to go into Payless Shoes. What a guy. And he never had a bored look on his face or anything.

It reminds me of my grandparents. They used to go shopping in Albuquerque every weekend. My grandfather would drop us off at the mall and my grandma and I would shop and shop and he would be so nice. I think he usually just slept in the car the entire time. But he never complained and he always was happy to go.

This is rambling and sweets is telling me to come to bed.

Anyway, day two of birthday week has been great too. We just got back from sushi.

The best part of having birthday week last a week is that restaurants give you free food for an entire week instead of just one day. Tonight we got a free fried ice cream ball.

very yummy.

happy birthday week!