October 16, 2021: Birthday Blog!

I’d like to thank everyone who posted birthday wishes here and on twitter.  Greatly appreciated.

So, what did I do to celebrate?  You mean besides researching propane stocks and unhedged natural gas producers?

Well, I woke up early this morning at just a few minutes before 6:00 a.m.  “Why were you up so early?”you may ask.  “Were you that excited to start your day?”  No, actually.  My wife got up at 5:00 a.m. and I could only ignore the kitchen light and sound of her Japanese variety show for so long.

Soon after waking up, it was time for presents from Akemi!

 Clockwise from top left: The take-out bag from our favorite Japanese yakitori restaurant (Zakkushi) that was personalized with a hand-drawn picture of a pug because Suji usually accompanies us when we pick up and that Akemi re-uses for special occasions, three of what Akemi calls “stress balls” but really look and feel more like dog toys for Suji, Akemi’s homemade limoncello that was a 2 month process, a stand-up desk that you can also hang off a window (hmmm), a tree, and, presumably, a fellow customer sitting with his back to you at Starbucks, a heartfelt card, my new favorite pistachio chocolate from Laderach chocolatier suisse, and a journal that Akemi suggests we both use to write down our daily thoughts .

This feels…dangerous.

The plan was to go out for a special birthday lunch – and, really, what could be more special than tacos.  Alas, the place we wanted to eat at, Campechano, has the weirdest hours and, even when they’re open, they aren’t really open.  Which was the case the last time we went, at opening, and were told to come back in twenty minutes.  And was the case today when we went, ten minutes after opening, only to find it closed.  Sooooo, we went to Rodney’s Oyster House instead and had arguably a much better lunch…

A dozen oysters, half shigoku and mere points.

Akemi with the double chowder – Manhattan and Boston.

My lobster roll.  Not picture: my fried fish sando.

Later in the afternoon, I answered a knock at the door to find – our friends Emily and Kevin bearing birthday cheese!

Love these two.  On Wednesday, they’ll be swinging by to sample the limoncello!

Then, dinner tonight was compliments of sis and mom who special ordered us a Filipino feast from Tinuno (31 Howard Street).

Fielded emails, calls, and text messages from friends and family and now I’m heading to the gym for my nightly run – which will be more leisurely than usual.

Again, thanks for all the well-wishes.  Tomorrow, it’s back to work, writing.  And maybe a little more research on those unhedged natural gas producers.

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