Birthday ruminations

This is what a slice of heaven looks like.

Normally, I would opt for angel food cake for my birthday because that is what my mom always made me (I think we can all read the obvious subtext of why she never made it for my other siblings, so lets move on.) As it happens, they do not have angel food cake mix here in the lonely south pacific. My lovely wife made it from scratch last year, which was a real treat. This year, however, I thought I would branch out a bit and asked her to make me a chocolate cake. She delivered.

What you see above is something like a mud cake with a layer of chocolate truffle through the middle, just to prove she could transcend any chocolate craving I could throw down before her. And if that wasn't enough, she slathered on chocolate frosting just to throw all subtlety and caution to the wind. I think my body started pumping out insulin just from smelling it.


Cora thoughtfully contemplating chocolate yummyness



It was a good day. I was able to talk with my mom and sister on the phone. I received some lovely cards, a few books and a new cast iron pan that I can't wait to try out.



A few years ago, my friend O'Steven told me to take stock in my life and see what was important to me. I wrote him a list and I look back on it every once in a while. Most years, on my birthday, I write another list (trying not to look at previous lists) to see what was important to me through the past year. They usually have common themes - food, pop culture...

What do I need in life?

time with my wife
smiling kids
a good game of Scrabulous
hot cocoa and Tim Tams
warm bread
acceleration
quality wool socks
sunglasses
packing tape
a hammer, a socket set and a phillips screw driver
e-mail
6-inch subway sub, medium drink and 2 cookies
butter
a good book
witty banter
a thesaurus
time to reflect
pocket knife
family photos
international phone cards
saturday morning with my family
blueberry pancakes
100 cuts with my bokken each night
work mentors and life mentors
black 0.4 mm felt tip pen and grid paper
IT support
grace
old friends
pain pills
mixed cd's
staying centered

Yeah, I know it reads like one of those lame "everything I learned in kindergarten" books. Once I go down the road of writing about sentimental things it always looks like that. This list isn't that comprehensive. I may add to it in the next few days. I think it is one of those things that may not mean much to anyone else but the person who wrote it.

Another trip around the sun.