Today is my 22nd birthday. I would say that in Spanish, but I am using my laptop and therefore am without a tilde on my keyboard. I don't want to look like I'm not spelling things properly, because that would negate my presence here in Costa Rica. Plus it would just be silliness.

As has been my birthday tradition for the past few years (since pledging K-Psi, I believe), I dressed a little nicer than I normally would this morning. I can't say why for sure, really. I suppose the attention-starved individual within me just hopes somebody will take the bait and say, "Why are you dressed so nice today?" and I will be able to say, "Oh, I do this every year on my birthday." Then I have found a way to let them know it's my birthday without having to pimp it around. Kind of a manipulative way of getting a smile and a "happy birthday," but I have found that it works very well.

I've gotten a good amount of birthday wishes from the staff at Conversa, as well as from several of my friends and classmates. Altogether, as good as a birthday in a foreign country can be expected to be.

Today has made me slightly introspective and nostalgic, as birthdays have a habit of doing to people, and so here are some of the more exciting things I've done since I turned 21, in chronological order:

I have finished training a pledge class for Kappa Kappa Psi.
I have watched the Baylor Lady Bears take the NCAA championship.
I watched my buddy Tom get married, and got to sing at the dinner to boot.
I spent a summer working as a professional hot dog vendor.
I have driven to Omaha to watch Baylor in the College World Series of Baseball.
I took my car past 100,000 miles.
I finally got my hands on the guitar of my dreams. Hooray.
I joined a group of people known as the Party Posse. Hooray again.
I got to play the Waco Hippodrome with the Brian David Band. I mean, it was only one song, but we still brought the house down.
I have spent a semester in a handbell choir.
I have gone to the Hear of Texas fair and realized that I am grossly underweight to be living in Texas.
I have conquered mono, but not before it conquered me for awhile.
I unsuccessfully pledged a fraternity because the registrar's office misled me and made me sad.
I have hosted a party that did, in fact, get shut down by the police, and in the process earned a hilarious story about the fence on my back porch.
I have finally left the North American continent, back when I went to London over New Year's.
I have been to the center of the lower 48 United States (Lebanon, Kansas).
I have also been to see the world's largest ball of twine.
I have had several conversations completely in Spanish. They were mostly one-sided, but I have understood a whole lot more than I ever could have before.
I have rappelled down a waterfall.
I have been to a rainforest.
I have partied in the same pool as Canadians, Israelites, Costa Ricans, and a Dutch person, all in a hotel situated right next to the Caribbean Sea.

I suppose it only gets better from here, eh?

Anyway, I'm not sure how the rest of my day is going to go. I've got to study for the test tomorrow, so that will be next, and after that I suppose I'll go sit in the lobby of El Coco (the bar I'm living in) and see if anybody I know walks in to have a birthday-type dinner with me.

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes, everybody. I have quite honestly lost track of how many people have texted, AIMed, emailed, facebooked or blog-commented to wish me a good day. It's nice to have friends, I tell you that. You guys are the best.

There probably won't be any new entries for a few days, because tomorrow we're leaving direct from school to head to Monteverde; and I'm not sure about the availability of internet in the cloud forest, but I'd bet good money that there's not much. As I said yesterday, I will be getting pictures, so there should be a nice update on Monday or Tuesday.

Listening to - Never Do Anything by the Barenaked Ladies

"No hablo espanol, dammit!"
-Juan