Click Here for more pics
I do not know what was going on in May that would stir the birds and the bees. Maybe, that is where the word "may bee" came from. Ludicrous, I know but something happened so that nine months later my friends came popping out of their mommies. Maybe there was a condom shortage in 82' that would explain it. Or may bee there is something about kids born on that day that draws them to me. It was 4 years 4 months and 4 days before I was born that Nicole was born. I guess there are forces beyond my rational. Behold the power of four. No matter the case, there are many birthdays this month and thus crazy gift purchases or dinner obligations. Luckily, my friends rock so it is so much fun.
The two big birthdays this week were Julia's on Valentines and Nicole's two days later. On Valentines, I left Nicole's gifts on the counter so she would stumble on them on as a spicy surprise. We are not big on gifts and standard holidays but suave me still got her various little trinkets that I thought linked together. A black shirt with red lips on it led to a tin of cute lip-gloss that sat on a green frog that made a kissing song when squeezed. The amorous green frog led to a green scented candle, which obviously let to a stick of beef jerky. (What girl does not like meat? See Celery for proof [she gave up being a vegetarian then got her first boy toy.])
In general, in life, all I want is a warm bed and a kind word... and unlimited power. For Valentines, the only think I asked of Nicole was a sentimental handmade balloon animal. Being the pious Pchewy that I am, I even left a how-to book and balloons lying around the room. Nicole has an irrational fear that will not let her blow up a balloon though. I am not sure if she thinks it will explode and pieces will suffocate her or poke her eye out. Maybe she thinks the air pressure will pop her ears out. Sadly, Nicole could not overcome her fear and gave me an un-inflated balloon. I tried to pretend it was a dead snake balloon but inside I sighed at the lackluster effort.
Luckily, Julia's bday was able to rescue me from my sadness. It is funny that it was a romantic day and someone else's birthday but I got to dine at my favorite restaurant, Seoul Garden. When I was not reveling in tantalizing yumminess, I enjoyed people watching the quiet couple that were seated upstairs with us. For the theme of Valentines, the restaurant had balloons with cards inside which represented what percent discount you would receive. The sympathetic hostess was nice enough to let Julia pop one too because it was her birthday.
Along with Valentines came funny protest by anti-love people on campus. One even accosted Julia for having roses sent by her boyfriend. The cuddle-haters were well set up with pamphlets and signs. My favorite was something on the lines of "Love misspelled backwards spells evil"--lol. But when I thought about the anti-love_ites, I went back to the quote from the guy who made the Simpsons. "When the authorities warn you of the dangers of having sex, there is an important lesson to be learned. Do not have sex with the authorities." So my advice to poeple who walk by the protesters is laugh but don't try to save thier them.
Two days later came Nicole's birthday. Giftwise, I got Nicole a artsy green picture frame and a sweet passion purple lamp whose shade rotates by the heat of the light bulb. Also, I got this giant ball that slowly changes colors to set some atmosphere for Nicole's bday, but I'm keeping that sweet machine. In addition, I was going to pile 453.6 graham crackers to spell and "happy birthday" and tell Nicole "Here is your POUND cake". Instead, I opted to make her favorite chocolate frosted white cake with sprinkles. Little did I know she would gorge into the cake and feel those unearthly heights of passion on her birthday but would not touch the leftovers. I ended up dumping 3/4ths of the cake a month later, sprinkles and all.
Now the question of the week in this birthday-inspired blogs is Jimmy's or Sprinkles. Most set the argument like the soda verses pop. They say that sprinkles are more excepted as the word describing the topping and that it is colloquial in places like Pittsburgh to call it Jimmys, like pop. Unfortunately, Jimmys vs Sprinkles is a little more complicated.
Some people like Nicole say Jimmys do not exist. Others say that all those treats are all Jimmys. Still there are those like my coworker Amber and I who believe the rod shaped ones are Jimmys. Finally, some believe the rod shaped chocolate ones are the only Jimmys.
This led me to do some research and here are the results. The Jimmy was invented in Pennsylvania by the same company that makes my favorite Mike N Ikes. They were originally just chocolate shaped rods. Eventually other flavors, colors and shapes arose. Still they distinguish the rods as Jimmys and the whole group as Sprinkles. Eventually the Sprinkle name was seen as more marketable so the word Jimmy has become regional and may fade away. Still if you work at a good Ice cream place, you can order a box and it will still say Jimmys on them.
Always glad to share my ignorance - I've got plenty.
Your Personal Hero
THE BAbbLER
pchewy
Anshu Gupta
http://psubabbler.esmartguy.com
