As for the Topic of the Day...
I think it was either my 16th or 17th birthday... Although, I'm leaning toward my 16th. In any case... I wanted to throw a nice birthday party for myself. Of course, I made the decision just a few days before my birthday, but I still managed to Letraset (remember Letraset?!?!?) an invitation. I copied it onto parchment paper. Then Letraset'd each person's name on each invitation. Addressed the envelopes in calligraphy - yes, I used to do calligraphy too, and I still have all my nibs somewhere as well. Then raced to the post office to get them in the mail ASAP. Well, imagine my surprise when people started RSVP'ing the next day! I didn't think the mail would work that fast!
On the day of my party a few days later, I started cooking various treats, and my parents ended up pitching in too. We ended up with quite the spread - flank steak, shrimp cocktail, make-your-own-pizzas, pancit, lumpia, etc., etc., etc. And a nice cake, of course - Carvel Ice Cream Cake with Extra Crunchies. And once my friends started arriving...
It really was a wonderful party. Besides being my birthday party, since my birthday is August 26, it was also a chance for a bunch of us to see each other before some of my friends were heading off to college the next week. And since some of those "seniors" were able to go to Georgetown for the night, some of them did. However, a couple of them came back after they had crossed over the Roosevelt Bridge to see if the party was still going on, and, sure enough it still was. I still remember a group of us pulling up the chairs to the dining room table, and basically having a second dinner around 1:00am.
And to make it even "cooler", a really good friend of mine who was not able to attend my party since he was working that night, dropped by the next morning to wish me a Happy Birthday and to drop off my gift - two records: Steve Reich's "Music For Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ", and George Crumb's "Makrokosmos, Vol. 1". And since we still had some leftovers, we were also able to have a nice brunch too.
-God, I haven't thought about that party in years until just now! That really was a wonderful birthday. And now I think I may have to make some phone calls today...
