Feeling like quite the stud this morning, I must say!
Last night was Glenda's big birthday party. The party wasn't a surprise--we'd been honing the 70 person guest list for months, complete with a dozen friends from our old life in the states. The food was amazing: cochinita pibil (a Yuccatan pork preparation), four different kinds of salsas with fresh chips, homemade polvarones (cookies) and brownies (leaded and unleaded). The tequila was flowing, my buddy Billy White was expertly pounding his flamenco guitar in the atrium and a few of us percussionists sat in with him for some spontaneous booming and bashing.
But then, around 8:15, we gathered in the center of the house, I made a toast and Glenda began opening her gifts (we had asked for no gifts or gag gifts only, and while most people complied there were a few outstanding presents--jewelry and paintings from our artist friends and so on).
Then people took turns saying things to Glenda, and it was a significant moment, to witness the love from our closest friends from the states and our closest new friends here.
At the end, I sang a new song for her (You Before Me) and it was perfect--right in my range, not a single mistake even though one of the brownies kicked in right in the middle of the bridge and I realized that I had no recollection of the last line I'd sung, and I couldn't figure out why the bridge felt 45 minutes long! Glenda had no clue that I had been writing this song for over a month, and she's not easy to surprise because she is so freaking smart and sometimes I slip up and give her too many hints. So that was nice, but that's not the big one.
After the song, I invited everyone out onto the front lawn for 'something cool.' As soon as everyone came out into the night, I gave the signal which got relayed down the block and the next thing you knew, the sky was lit up with a 10 minute fireworks display! These guys came from a neighboring town and totally rocked the party--most Mexican fireworks are homemade but they are not only pro level, they are unique. And enormous, and colorful, and they go off right above your head (or at least it feels that way). I saw some specific fireworks I'd never seen before--when I was planning the show last week in secret, I chose things from a menu but I only had a vague idea what they would look like. As it turns out, the guy guided me to a thrilling program. Glenda and I held each other in the front lawn, surrounded by some of our closest friends, while we watched.
One of my friends apparently turned to his wife and joked "Great, he's succeeded in making the rest of us guys look like total assholes!"
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