Today is my 36th birthday. Or was it yesterday?

Either way, since I’m in a different time zone, I’ve decided that my birthday can span two days. I know some people celebrate their entire birth month, so I think taking two days isn’t too presumptuous. In either case, my birthday is one of my favorite days of the year, and I am celebrating (have celebrated?) in the country I was born in which is pretty cool. And besides, I hear that the older you get, the more demanding you are allowed to be. So, there you go.

I’ve bought myself a suitcase full of gifts, and my mom has spoiled me rotten as well, but my birthday always leaves me a little melancholy. It’s not that I mind getting older per se, just that what getting older means – time, so precious and so quickly passing.

And honestly, I am a little homesick, too.

But I remember all the blessings in my life — those I love and who love me, and the abundance of health and wealth that have been given to me for the last 36 years. And yes, this birthday is definitely happy.

Thank you for all the well-wishers on Facebook already. How did we ever remember birthdays BFB? (Before Facebook)

We went to a famous Japanese restaurant for an early birthday dinner – had a ten-course sushi meal with five desserts. Because what’s a birthday without five desserts??