I had a sweet birthday.
Training the staff and making sure they are complying with the appropriate procedures in the computer system has been a real bear for the last few weeks, but today there was definite progress which was a big encouragement.
Then Amanda, my director's wife, cooked a delicious meal in my honor and we had a little party. Thai food, legit salad and brownies for dessert. :-) We had a small gathering with the two of them, Wilson, and Mustafa. Those guys are a riot when they get together. A recurring topic of the evening was Wilson and Mustafa trying to learn how to pronounce the name "Arnold Schwarzenegger." It was the cause of much animation and laughter.
The dinner went kind of late, so Mustafa gave Wilson and I a ride home on his boda. The whole way to my house, the two of them competed over serenading me in strange, falsetto versions of the Happy Birthday song. It was so absolutely ridiculous; I couldn't help but be touched and embarrassed all at the same time.
I really enjoy the unselfconscious and silly style of humor here sometimes. Something about it is so endearingly innocent and simple. At the same time, to me it demonstrates an underlying wisdom born of a rather hard life. Life is difficult, times are tough, and there isn't always much hope of things improving. Yet people find reasons to rejoice anyway, in the midst of all of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment