Birthday dinner

So I'd ordered two dresses from exclusively.in and they sent me one. Apparently the other one will only get made in July due to some incomprehensible reasons that I really don't give a damn about. I told the customer service woman as much. This is the first time I ordered clothes online and I must admit it's a bit of a pain in the ass. The dress takes forever to get to you and then you spend more money getting it altered to fit you well. This one arrived in time for my birthday and thankfully I got enough time to have it altered. I must say I'm quite happy with the result but I'm convinced that I just don't have the patience for online clothes shopping. I would rather be able to try on a dress for size, dance in the changing room to understand if it moves well and buy if I'm convinced.

Anshuman promised me my birthday dinner and there I am all dressed up in my stilts and new dress. I wore slippers to the car and only got into the heels once we reached the place. He didn't tell me where we were going. When I said,"Just tell me!" He replied,"Sarvanna Bhojanshala." So I gave up. We drove and at some point he missed the exit and we drove deep into Palm Jumeirah. He kept me guessing till we finally reached The One & Only Resorts
and were shown to our table at 101 restaurant. It's a lovely sparkly place with a

beautiful view of the Atlantis glittering across the ocean. We sat outside even though it was a bit warm but the view totally made up for it. I asked him to order for us. He makes better food choices for me than I do. I find fancy restaurant menus quite intimidating. The fish was wonderful and Anshuman tackled his grilled chicken with a fork and knife like a pro. I thought to myself,"That can't be easy. If it were left up to me I would bite into the meat like a wild animal." So I asked him why he wouldn't use his fingers. He said,"Well, when in Rome." In other news I don't like artichokes. They taste like nothing. I do however love bread but then I always knew that.

I went to the ladies room to take a selfie. They have the best lighting in bathrooms. I know it sounds odd and ridiculous but it's true. Seriously if you want to shoot a nice selfie of yourself go to a nice restaurant and click one in the bathroom. There were two young girls looking at their phones and giggling, waiting for me to leave so they could take their own selfies. And I was too embarrassed to take a picture of myself in front of them like a vain arse so I had to leave.

And that's me showing off my new ring from a kiosk in Ibn Batuta. I'm not much for statement rings but I do like this one. As I have grown older I have not only come to accept that I have a little pig's nose but now I think it's rather cute. I have also come to accept the fact that my face still longs to be a teenager and gets a couple of zits every month like clockwork. All the aloe vera gel in the world has not helped. And I no longer care. This reminds me of a friend of mine Jatandeep Singh, affectionately known to us at NID as Cybill. He used to suffer from horrid zits and more than once I heard him say with a smile,"I love my pimples." I'm yet to reach that state of zen. Ok enough about zits!

So we were reclining on soft sofas when I spotted some pink heart shaped balloons which said,"Happy birthday". Of course I had to go find the person who shared my birthday. They were a group of about eight people. I asked whose birthday it was and one of the girls pointed to a woman saying,"Our sister." I turned to her with my arms wide open and exclaimed,"It's my birthday

too!!" She got up and we hugged like old friends. I kissed her on both cheeks as we wished each other a happy birthday. Everyone at the table wished me a wonderful birthday and I said,"When I saw the balloons I couldn't stop myself from coming over!" The lovely woman, dressed in a head scarf probably Egyptian or Jordanian replied,"They're for you!" We, born on the 23rd of June are the best!

Actually now I know two people in Dubai who are born on the same day as me. The other person is a guy called Aditya affectionately known as Nikki who goes to a foreign land every year to celebrate his birthday. He's not much for birthday parties quite like me. We're born exactly ten years apart. Of course he's a good boy and has a great sense of humour which comes with being born on this wonderful June day. Being born in the hottest month of the year the Gods blessed us with a warm heart. I once asked Anshuman,"Do you think I'm a beautiful person?" he replied,"Yes baby you're very beautiful." I said,"No! no! not my face I mean as a person." He mumbled half asleep,"Yes baby, you have a beautiful heart. One day I will eat it." I burst out laughing.

Ankita, Pushpita and Sohana came over bearing gifts. Sohana smelled the roses and said,"Wow!" This little girl simply cannot stay still. She opened all available drawers, chased Ninna around and then tried to feed her soggy paper (don't even ask). She kept asking for cake and there was none. I felt quite awful about that. I was so happy with the flowers and the candles that I completely forgot about getting cake! Well my darling Sohana cake is due.

When I dab on perfume Ninna knows the mom is going out and leaving me alone for a couple of hours. So there she is sulking on the sofa. My living room was filled with the smell of fresh roses and a cinnamon candle. If you look closely you will notice most things have failed to remain at a right angle including the curtain rod. Do I care? Nope. Ankita has made several failed attempts at fixing my paintings. But then she's a perfectionist. Sometimes I wish I was too but the feeling doesn't last for

very long. I go right back to being my usual laid back self. I'm comfortable like that.

So happy birthday to me!