Good morning and happy Friday everyone. Today is my birthday. Yes, hold the applause, I know this is not a major accomplishment, we all have one. But as the years pass, I find myself remembering older birthdays rather than recent ones. So, I want to share what I remember about my 30th birthday, one of my favourite birthdays to date.
What do I remember? Well at the time, 30 seemed to be the first big milestone birthday as an adult. So much life ahead. I had a new relationship with a girl I really liked, and it was the first big event for us to celebrate together. It is always a highlight in any relationship. It meant she was going to meet a lot of my friends for the first time and would have to endure more of who I really was than she had seen to date. If I recall correctly, she also had to be involved in the planning and executing of the evening. Seeing as this wonderful human turned out to be my wife, it’s no surprise she was born to plan and execute a memorable party.
Back to my memory and let me be clear, some of these things may not be true.
- The night started at Tortilla Flats, a Tex-Mex restaurant in Toronto that no longer exists. At the time, it was one of my favourite eating spots in the city.
- It was easily the biggest turnout for a party that was for me ever. I bet there were close to 20 friends there. Including a few from out of town. I was touched and overwhelmed. I think it was somewhat of a surprise because there were friends there I did not expect.
- I bet I had boneless wings (hot) and a pitcher of cold beer. Tortilla Flats had by far the best boneless wings in the city (at least then).
- Everyone met the girl I was seeing and of course, liked her a lot. I bet I thought to myself, I did good and that she was very good at talking to strangers. I should do my best to not scare her away, marry her, have two kids, and have many laughs together going forward.
- I wore a sombrero (see below).
- We moved on to a few other bars that were on College St W. Possibly the now-closed Matador?
- I drank a prairie fire shot which I have been told soured my mood. But come on, those things are nasty.
- Some of us ended the night with street meat near College and Shaw. One of us put a lot of olives on theirs.
- Passing out back at 1796 and honestly have zero memory of how we got there.
I go back and forth on whether I wish this night happened in the age of Instagram and social media, so I can look back on the night and remember more. But, I am also kind of happy there is not a lot of proof of what went on. I had to really dig for the giant hat photo.
The night can continue to be one of my favourite birthday memories in my head and will only get better with age – like me?
It was the first big celebration I got to share with my now wife and I am glad the sombrero look didn’t make her think twice. Maybe it did? That is a story for another day.
Thanks to everyone who made it that night.
Have a great long weekend everyone.
Awww. Nice!