Last night was my big birthday bash at a karaoke bar on 55th street, called Japas 55. It was great fun. There were about 15 of us and we had our own room. My friend Kevyn and I were the first to arrive and we had fun singing duet versions of "Time After Time," "Moon River" and "Kissing a Fool". Carla made a fool out of herself singing that They Might Be Giants song, "Birdhouse in My Soul." Who knew that song had so many words? But the videos were priceless-- some of them were bordering on soft-core porn! And why did they have the lyrics in Japanese as well? That just doesn't make any sense.

Teddi somehow convinced me that it would be a good idea to sing (with her) "Let's Get Physical" and "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", both of which are in octaves far beyond my capabilities. And Carla wants me to point out that she redeemed herself, karaoke-talent-wise, when she sang the Carpenters' "On The Top of the World."

I only have a few minutes before I have to head into the city to go to [culinary] school. I have a make-up session tonight for the days that I missed earlier this month. I think tonight we'll be fabricating chicken. I'm also wading through this big assignment for work: writing 9 little stories on different food-related companies. The one I just finished was on domestic cheeses. Next up: butter pats imprinted with corporate logos. I kid you not.

My friend Gary apparently chopped the tip off his finger last night and needs me to come over later to help him change the bandage. Yuck. It makes me nervous about the safety of my own fingers--those knives are pretty darn sharp!

Tomorrow I'm going to New Jersey with my friends Kevyn and Dennis. We're making our somewhat regular pilgrimage to Target and IKEA. It's always a fun, but exhausting, day.

This is a test. How exciting.... my first post on my very own Blog! Stay tuned for when I have more time to actually do a good job with this. I promise it'll be worth the wait!