24: The Day After

Hopefully this title doesn't attract too many Jack Bauer googlers, as this post has nothing to do with the most formulaic of the non-crime dramas on television today (though I suppose terrorism IS a crime, I meant crime drama as in the CSIs and Law And Orders that air on every channel).

Nope, this post has to do with my age. As of yesterday. I have officially survived the second least exciting birthday to precede age 25 (with 17 being a close 3rd, but 20 edging both out by virtue of its proximity to 21). First off, thanks to all the folks who wrote on my wall (facebook), twittered me (twitter), called me (sorry my phone died Alyssa and Grandma), came out on Saturday (you know who you are), and made me breakfast and won me a pie (Leorah). The bulk of my celebrating was dinner with friends at Ajia followed up with pool at Roosevelt's.

So Ajia is an all-you-can-eat (-before-getting-sick-of-the-terrible-service) sushi resturant, and so far is the second best sushi-shop I've tried in philly (though that's not saying much). Eating at Ajia is a once-a-year tradition for me and my friends, as we love sushi and CAN eat a lot, but only once-a-year as the service is so comically bad that one visit gives us at least a year's worth of stories. This time it was particularly interesting as Spring Fling at UPenn coincided with this weekend. A party of about 15 drunken fratboys (and their sorority entourage) had virtually taken over the resturant, creating a huge ruckus and being generally disruptive. Ajia is BYOB, so these guys had brought a whole keg into the restaurant, and were doing keg stands and beer bongs all night. It was hilarious to see the two super-polite women serving their table trying to cope with the spilled beer and disruptive behavior, though it meant waiting an hour and a half for our food.

Roosevelt's could probably sneak its way onto my top 10 list of places to hang out in Philly. Saturdays they have a $10 cover, but inside there's free hot wings and roast beef, and a penny well from 10-12. The place tries to cater to 30-somethings working and living nearby in center city, but their great deals and the fact that they are just across the bridge from Penn draws a lot of older undergrads and many grad students as well. We got there right at 10, and were able to keep the pool table the whole night.

I got a sweet new laptop bag from the folks. If you are in the market I highly recommend the bags from Pacific Designs. I also got some Amazon $$$, which I think I may save till the next iPod update.

All in all it was a satisfying and restful birthday. Thanks to everyone!