The Big 25

The second most significant event in 2006 was the celebration of my 25^th birthday. Typically, I am not really a big fan of my birthdays. I usually stay low key and have a small get together with my family just out of the courtesy. I mean let’s face it, you are just one year closer to your demise, how can that possibly be a celebrated and happy event, but you do feel special on this day and all the attention is on you so I can understand why people love it.

25 is a big one, quarter of a century! I had to do something. I put the word out that I will be celebrating up in Niagara Falls for the entire weekend, hotel, liquor, and all the other fun stuff. It so happened that my birthday fell on Easter weekend, so a lot of people could not make it, which I understood. My birthday and the holiday of Jesus on the same night! There was no way I was going to reschedule, it was monumental, and it was a sign that this year was going to be a turnaround year for me. Out of the people that could make it, a very close circle of friends from Cleveland and my very close friend from Chicago came up to Canada to share the special moment with me. I was disappointed about one other person who was supposed to show up, a close friend from high school, but he didn’t really care much for it so I had to get over it and enjoy myself regardless.

We ended up driving up there in separate cars and stayed at the Embassy which is the best hotel out there because of the amazing views of the falls. I got a bottle of Crisy and for the first time tasted the delicious bubbles that every rapper speaks off in their songs. I remember we were advertising the shit out of it by taking pictures like we had stock in that bitch. You know we just chilled all weekend, went out to eat, played some golf, hit up the bars, checked out the falls, hung out at the suite drinking and chopping shit up, walked around on Clifton Hill.

On Saturday my friends arranged a very nice surprise for me by getting reservations in the restaurant and turns on top of the tower that overlooks the falls. I can’t remember the name of it, but it was a pretty awesome experience. I can actually say that there was no major drama that weekend as we all handled ourselves like civilized adults, compared to some of the other hotel parties that I have been part of, it was a definite delight.

On the way back home we watched family guy which made the time go by really fast. I got home and had to drop my friend off back at the airport and then come home for the continuation of my birthday celebration with my family which was actually on Sunday the 16th.

Overall, it was a memorable experience because it was an intimate and modest celebration that included the best of the best out of my life’s relationships. I was happy that weekend, happy to be alive and thriving at age 25 with full support of my family and friends by my side.

Stuff

I am really overwhelmed with life right now, and just trying to find ways on how to deal with all the shit that's on my plate.

2006 Major Event #1 - Carnival Cruise

I haven’t dedicated much time to the blog in the past couple of weeks because I have been tied up with remodeling my new place, but as promised I wanted to recap 2006, so here is the first significant event that happened in 2006. My first official Carnival cruise, there is so much to write about it, but I am going to try to keep it short and sweet just like the way I like my girls, hahaha :)

In the summer of 2006 one my friends from work invited me to go on a cruise with his wife and her family. I have never been on a cruise before so it definitely sounded like a fun adventure and yet another thing to check off from my huge “Life’s To Do List”. We needed to have a group of four people, so a recklessly entertaining group of 4 cool people was automatically formed, Andrey, Katy, Paul and Calin. Living in a small cabin and trying to get along for a week in itself was an interesting challenge and experience ahead of us. We were set to sail on January 1, 2006.

Sometime in December there was some minor drama that took place in the tight friendship triangle that we run, and honestly I was up in the air about going and dealing with the shit for a week. However, I wasn’t going to let some minor static come in between a great possibility to bond and have fun together, so us being the mature adults that we are, we worked it out. We took off to Ft. Lauderdale on New Year’s weekend. We were down there the whole weekend hanging out at the beach and the hot tubs, bike riding, going to bars and restaurants. To cap it off we had an awesome New Year’s celebration in several of the night clubs right after a delicious Cajun dinner

On Sunday we boarded the ship. And when we got close to it, the ship was just ridiculously immense. It was like a city on water. I was like how the hell did they build this thing?! The first couple of days were confusing and getting lost was not a hard task to accomplish. Once I picked out my popular spots and studied the map, things got easier. While at sea, I pretty much just chilled to my maximum capacity, by eating scrumptious and various breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes, laying out in the sun, gambling, getting massages, hitting up the gym, the sauna, the hot tubs, the steam room, drinking, watching Texas beat USC in the middle of the Atlantic ocean while sipping on a strawberry daiquiri, enjoying the gorgeous sunset and ocean views. There was no limit to the relaxation and the food we ate. At night it was a bit creepy looking out in the ocean in the pitch dark, at times wondering what would happen if I jumped overboard.

Our stops were in Bahamas, Grand Cayman, and Montego Bay. In Bahamas we laid out on the beach and played volleyball with the locals and tourists. In Grand Cayman I got to pet some sting rays while walking around in the middle of the ocean and hit the waves on a jet ski. In Montego Bay I drank cheap beer, tore up the waves in a sick ass wave runner, and refrained from purchasing the numerous drugs that were offered to me. Montego Bay was a bit dirty, but I still managed to have fun and bring back some fine Jamaican rum. We also did some sight seeing and visited different shops on all of of our stops. At night we committed gluttony to royal dinners with limitless appetizers, entrees, and deserts. Then it was either of to disco, drinking, cigar lounging or just hanging out.

Overall it was probably the most relaxing vacation I have ever had and was the first vacation where I went with my friends. It was definitely an exciting experience living together in a small ass room, bonding on the ship, spending time together, and just enjoying ourselves with as little drama as possible. Next time I will probably bring some walk talkies so it easier to find people. I would definitely recommend a cruise as must for anyone who has never been on one. I am hoping to go for another one in 2008.

Happy New Year !

As you know it is my favorite holiday and celebration time of the year. To me it’s like your final chance of the year where you can really appreciate and reflect on all the good things that happened and commemorate all accomplishments that you and your loved ones had. Of course, don’t forget about the unfortunate things that happened and learn from them and realize that they didn’t kill you and that you will still get another chance in the New Year. I suppose for me 2006 was a mixture of awesome, good, decent, and bad, events, but overall I think it was a very fulfilling, learning, and maturing year filled with personal and business related achievements, situations, and lessons which helped me grow. To give you more insight about them, I will probably dedicate the next several blogs to the most significant events of 2006.

I try to keep my celebrations filled with variety
2004 - Family parties
2005 - Spy Bar Cleveland
2006 - Ft. Lauderdale FL
2007 - A sick party over Paul's new house. We had a damn good time, the whole weekend was just delic

I would say that the second half of 2006 made 2007 probably one of the most long-awaited years that I have had in a while. And no I do not have any bullshit New Year’s resolutions; nevertheless it should be a very interesting year. It will be a year where I finally move out into my new home, a year at the end of which I will almost be done with my second degree, a year in which certain people might not play a major role in my life anymore, a year where new people might become part of my life, a year where more aggressive and strategic career decisions will have to be made, and of course I have to save room for surprises, oh and the new Sopranos, Weeds, 24, Entourage, and NipTuck, can’t forget the shows that keep me going.

You probably received a drunk phone from me wishing you all the best in 2007, and if you didn’t it’s probably because my cell phone battery couldn’t handle any more congratulations, so if I missed you, HAPPY NEW YEAR !