It’s official. I’m a quarter of a century old, and I made the change here in BA. As soon as I get back to NJ I’ll be riding the SCAT bus to Shop Rite on Sundays with the rest of my cronies.

After deciding to spend my birthday here instead of in Bolivia, I had to decide what to do and where to go. What clubs might be fun? Where was good food to be found? I figured if it came down to it, I could scout out a parilla and eat by myself. You have to be careful about where you go, though. BA is a wonderful place for culture and experience, but it’s also a place where bad trends go to die.

My friend explained that the mullet is popular here because everyone loves the Rolling Stones, and Mick Jagger had a mullet. Of course, this was in the 80s, but apparently that’s besides the point. My friend confessed that in his younger years, he too had a mullet. Disco is also alive and well here, with tunes from Anita Ward blasting in the 711-type convenience stores. And there’s nothing like hearing Donna Summer or the Bee Gees when you’re on hold. Sure beats light music.

Luckily, Moni and David decided to come out for my birthday. A few nights before, I visited my favorite restaurant, La Querencia, where another woman sat down at the table next to me and, in English, ordered wine. The waitress explained that they couldn’t serve wine because elections took place the following day. The woman muttered, “That is ridiculous” before ordering a beer. Again, the waitress explained that beer is also alcohol, and could not be served. At this point, the woman grew agitated and said, “Well that is the stupidest law I’ve heard of. You know, I was really looking forward to that.”

Sure, it may be a stupid law. But the waitress didn’t make it! Fortunately, the woman was nice for the duration of her meal.

On my birthday, I woke up to find my internet out and a cold wind blowing outside. I had planned on going to Puerto Madero, but as I took the subway downtown, a series of things went wrong and I became frustrated. Finally, halfway through the day now, I decided to just go back to my apartment and do something fun in the afternoon. I got comfort food, found my internet back on, and happily ate some chicken nuggets while watching Charmed. Needless to say, the rest of the day/night was fantastic. I Skyped with my family and then met up with Moni and David at a Mexican restaurant (not Chilango’s caliber, but what can be?) and then went across the street to continue our festivities.

Something I have been learning lately is that you make the best of situations. You can never control what life hands you, but you can always control how you react to it.

with Moni at dinner