With the arrival of April brings numerous things into my life that I feel conflicted with- such as the start of spring (though that can be debated currently), my birthday, and a new baseball season. This year, April has also brought into my life an incredible amount of stress- given my current status as a graduate student. As I head into my last two weeks, I am assured that I have broken every single resolution I had for myself in the new year. I'm currently in a mode that involves very little "casual" conversation and far too many hours sitting behind a computer running numerous ologit models and writing papers that are now starting to sound ridiculous. I treasure the beginning of May.
My birthday this year- well, it left a little to be desired. Now that I'm older (ahem), birthdays lack the charm of earlier years. I mark my 31st birthday as the year that I no longer felt an incredible desire to celebrate. Apparently the weather here in Tennessee decided to provide an early birthday present- a tornado. Beyond that, I received many thoughtful emails and presents. Pictured below is my birthday cupcake. If you live in the area, make a point to check out The Cupcake Collection in Germantown. It is tremendously delicious.
And I also received some really beautiful roses from my mother (among many other gracious presents), which are pictured below with me and my cat, Biscuit.
Having said that, I'm certainly glad my birthday passed. Though I don't look forward to the next one. Catastrophic I say.
Luckily, I attended my first baseball game of the season this past Thursday. Baseball is perfect. See below.
The next day after the ballgame, I had the opportunity to see Kristen Schaal and The Flight of the Conchords at the Ryman. It was fantastic. Every few moments I had to rub my eyes to be sure I was really there. I was really seeing Bret and Jemain. The show was hilarious and on the day following, I didn't laugh- not once- I had been laughed out the night before.
You might be wondering- has my obsession with Puerto Rico dissipated yet? Nope. Not a chance. I'm signing up Spanish classes for the summer. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on. And to remind myself- we made tostones for dinner tonight. Tostones are fried plantains- fried smushed plantains. They are delicious- and if they sell plantains in your regular grocery or farmers market- pick some up and experiment.
1. Cut the plantains into small slices.
2. Fry them until they look a beautiful shade of yellow.
3.Drain and put into some water.
4. Smush the plantains and fry for a second time.
They were absolutely delicious. And you should enjoy them too.
I raise my glass to May 1st.
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