My 26 Birthday

My 26 birthday was on 20-08-2008. isn't that a pretty cool date! 2008-2008!! i was kinda hoping that even the day would turn out as spectacular as the date, but on the evening of 19th, i came back home with absolutely no plans for the night. couldn't remember the last time i had no plans on a birthday eve of mine.. anyway, decided to work it out once i got back to my guesthouse. but getting back itself was a problem, because exactly on this day, the skies decided to open up and bring cats, dogs and elephants down on Chennai. so i got stuck in the rain and used the time to buy some chocolates that i can distribute the next day and browse through some groceries. but no matter how much browsing i did to cut time, the rain just wouldn't subside. so i got back wet, only to find no power in the guesthouse. it was the only flat in the entire apartment without power! so there i sat, in my room, all alone, wet from the worst rain Chennai has seen, with no power and no plans for the night, and nothing but a box of chocolates for company. even my roommates who were staying in the guesthouse until a few days back had vacated. so lonliness had taken a whole new definition in my life!
i called my only good friend in Chennai - Harsh, and pretty much forced him to come out and spend some time with me. he was totally surprised that i don't have any plans for the night. i had to explain that i was in a strange city with very few friends and really with no options of going out and having some fun. so the poor guy obliged, and came riding all the way at 10 in the night. by the time we went to our usual hang-out - bikes n barrels, the only pub that allows stags (coz they have a separate section for "scum-bags" like us), it was past 11. we ordered beers and just hung out drinking and chatting. just when it turned 12, the waiter brings a cake! i couldn't believe my eyes. just 2 hours back, i was wondering how today is going to be my worst birthday ever, and here i was, having a good time with a good friend (which in so many ways is better than being out with a 100 people who hardly matter to you) and now with even a cake to cut! so i blew the candle, made an apt wish for the night and cut the cake and shared it wit Harsh. i gave him the rest of the cake and asked him to distribute it wit his roommates. soon the calls started coming through and i was wrapped in that for the next one hour, when Harsh drove me back to the guesthouse. pretty soon, i was grabbing my 40 winks and the next day, i wore my new 'birthday dress' and went to office and distributed the chocolates to everyone. spent the whole day doing the work my boss gave me and attending to calls and answering msgs on gtalk/orkut/facebook. by evening, i was once again faced with the dilemma of a plan for th rest of the night. i decided to ask my 2 colleagues out for dinner, and Vergis and Bishak were only too kind to give me company. so we went to a restaurant that i really wanted to go to for some time, had an awesome meal and then, after bidding goodbye, called Gita as she said she would meet up in case she was free. she was indeed free and i went out with her and one of her friends, Karthik to Zaras - the best club in Chennai. of course, it wasn't very happening as it was a week night, but we hung out there any case. just as were about to start on the drinks we ordered, the waiters began doing a round of the entire restaurant in a train like fashion with a cake in their hands. i was beginning to wonder whether it could be for me. but then dismissed the idea coz we just landed there, and there was no way my colleagues could have planned so much for me.
but all of a sudden, all the waiters gathered around our table, began singing happy birthday, even got my name right. they gave me the cake to cut and it was the sweetest thing ever! i shared the cake wit the other 2, and after my beer, came riding back to my place. when i entered the room, i find a bouquet of flowers saying, "wit love, from Bangalore" i knew instantly that China and Sin were behind this. it was the best thing ever. come back home after a really long day and find a beautiful set of flowers from the most beautiful city on this planet!
so now, im sitting in bed, just 15 minutes after my 26 bday (its 0015 hours now) and wondering how a day with maddening rains and no electricity turned out to be a day with 2 cakes to be cut, hanging out at two cool (of the only three!) places in Chennai, wit really cool friends and most of all - a lovely bunch of flowers from my favourite city.
this was really a fabulous birthday and i must really thank all the lovely friends that made it so special to me.