Post-birthday

Saturday afternoon Maya, Ravi, Tom and my co-worker Brian came to my house. I made butternut squash and apple soup, cranberry cream cheese wontons, spicy grilled cheeses and had apple cider for drinks and apple pie for dessert. I REALLY liked the cranberry cream cheese wontons. I could've sat and at those all afternoon, for serious.

Later, my landlords Anne and Brian joined the party. It was a nice group--again, good company and good conversation.

After everyone left, I quickly showered and changed into my indian outfit and headed north on the parkway to Dobbs Ferry, NY, for a Diwali party at my aunt's house. Anyways, they had a birthday cake for me! It was really nice and I felt a little emotional. I was touched...

I then had a horrendous drive home. Somewhere on the Turnpike someone hit some sort of animal that was all shredded on the road. The driver in the lane next to me sort of hit it again, thus throwing bits of dead animal carcass at my car. So now I am driving down the parkway, in my Indian clothes, at midnight, with bits of bloody meat, probably rife with diseases, stuck to my car. Some of it comes off with my windshield wiper fluid, but a bit just beyond my wipers stubbornly stays stuck. I kept putting more fluid onto my windshield, hoping to loosen it off with the water...and in the process MISSED the exit for the Garden State Parkway.

My mind is so full of dead animal meat, that it takes a REALLY long time before I realize I am not on the GSP...like when I reached a sign that said Freehold, but didn't say Asbury Park...then I started to think, uhhh this isn't right. I ended up having to go all the way down to 195, go across the state and then head south (I could've taken a highway across, but the freeway felt safer and faster.) So I didn't get home until 2am.

this morning I had to drive BACK up to Point Pleasant Beach to cover a heart walk. But it was cool because I've never seen the boardwalk up there before, and its apparently one of the best, according to many people I've talked to. Now I am at work, tired...but there is a nice flower arrangement to keep me company! Chao sent a cute fall-themed arrangement to my office. It even has a pumpkin in it. My mom sent a big bunch home, and it came in her signature blue vase, even. Both have alstromerias, which make me very happy.