B-day in China

Sunday marks my second birthday spent in China, which I suppose is why I ascribe any significance to it in the first place, other than the fact that I share this b-day with a couple of really cool people: my twin bro, Michael Jordan, Denise Richards, Michael Bay, to name a few. Of course, I do appreciate any good chance to get together with family for food, but after passing the 18, and then 21, age milestones, the actual act of growing one day or one year older does not seem particularly significant to me. And since I can't be back home for the food with family (siblings and parents will recall the tear-jerking b-day at my favorite Ethiopian Restaurant!), then the point is altogether moot. I guess one cool thing that comes from living in China on my b-day is that I get to be the first to call and wish my twin a happy b-day, since I'll be celebrating our day 15 hours ahead of Colorado time.

That being said, I was very pleasantly taken aback when my co-workers made a very big deal and threw an incredible surprise party for me last Friday.

Since my actual b-day falls on a non-work day and in the middle of a week-long holiday (Chinese New Year), my boss made a strategic decision to hold my party early- when I least suspected anything! I arrived at work, prepared for a "quarterly meeting" between my Marketing Department and the Admissions Department, at our second campus, only to receive a call that the meeting had been shifted back to our office at the first campus. So I hailed a taxi and arrived back at the main campus a few minutes later. I was completely surprised to see my co-workers, as well as some of their families, gathered around a chocolate "smorgasbord" and surrounded by decorations! By this time, I realized that the meeting was a ruse all along!

 

The chocolate came at a price, however, and my penance was to take in a helium-balloon mouthful and make a speech! Everyone had a good laugh!