A Rather Dull Update

Minimal pizazz, and certainly nothing in the way of bells or whistles.

My birthday was a series of three days this year! Monday, Mom, Chelsea, and Michelle visited me, bringing the long-in-the-way cedar chest. I suppose it is time it passed on to the next McKalips lady. We went to Macaroni Grill where Chelsea played entertainer by questioning the waitress in the least mundane terms. August 11th dawned sultry and... well, I'm not sure. I slept in and went to work for the whole day. Becky found me at work and delivered a bouquet of picked flowers which still sit in the dining room, cheering the world. In the evening, Lachelle, Adriane, Joella, Angela and I went to the Dispensing Company for my first public drink! A white Zinfindel--as girly and flowery as they come, so I'm told.

On Wednesday, Joella and I used the gift that Lachelle and Brian had given us as thank you's for helping with the wedding: an hour-long massage at the Lancaster School of Massage. Oh my. Praise the Lord. Just thinking about it straightens my posture and helps me to breathe more easily. In the evening, Kelly and Sladana came to celebrate with me. We met BJ and Brian at Quips where I ordered the hot wings (on a five-heat scale: mild, medium, hot, ____, hari kari). It turns out the hot wings are extraordinarily hot. It is BJ's custom to order a half dozen hari kari wings for the purposes of torture to all newcomers. I was compelled to eat one. The burning began as I finished it. Then it moved through my whole body. My lips swelled up. My eyes teared uncontrollably. The nail beds under my fingernails that had touched the cursed sauce hurt until the following morning. My stomach was in ruins on Thursday. But all this and, more, all of you, have made my 21st birthday the best one so far! Thank you!

Tomorrow, Tim, Adriane, and their son Elisha and I are headed to Ohio to attend Kara's wedding on Sunday. This will be the first time that my team from Honduras will have been together since we left Harrisburg in 2007! Then, Tuesday of next week, I'll be headed to Mexico with my friends' children. I'll be there until August 30th, and consequently unreachable by phone. But I'll find a computer.