Chalao's Birthday!

         I discovered that last Tuesday was Chalao’s birthday thanks to the omnipotent powers of Facebook. I love birthdays. Not my own, but other people’s. Why, you ask? Cake (duh) and the general atmosphere of celebration... a birthday forces everyone to be cheery. Love. It. 

        Needless to say, a cake was a necessity. I had no clue what thai tradition was but I brought a cake. Had I been in the States, I would have made this cake (it is my favorite act of gastronomic creativity... I have taken decorating classes and everything. no lie) but a lack of an oven makes that impossible here. A store-bought cake would have to suffice. Luckily, the local Big C had several options. After some debate, I chose an S&P ‘Black Forest’ cake with dark chocolate trimmings. If you know me, you’ll notice that my choice was hardly altruistic. 

       I think it went over well. He was totally surprised and it was nice to get a few people from the Biology department together to celebrate. It ended up being a very casual and relaxed get together. There was lots of laughter, a healthy dose of cake, and the quintessential air of celebration I love so much.