SIDENOTE: a happy birthday to me

Well, it's official.  As of yesterday, I'm in my late 20s (my brother was quick to remind me). Thanks to all my incredible family and friends for sending tons of bday love my way this past weekend.  Now to rambling in my old age:

• On Saturday I went with my dad to the 84th annual San Gennaro festival in Little Italy.  A mob scene that attracts millions of people, questionable people, each year (can you say, serious anxiety).  There were calzones, street meat, zeppolis and cannolis galore - an attempt at merchandising the cast of the Jersey Shore, and the reason I'm scared to tell people I'm Italian.  Clearly my dad (an Italian immigrant) knew the man at the calzone tent from the "old neighborhood", and clearly his name was Pete the Hook.  We got fresh calzones made especially for us - something my dad called the "hook" up. See what he did there?

• As for mobsters - HBO's Boardwalk Empire was awesome and I plan to be a follower for the season until I decide Steve Buschemi is too ugly for me. 
• When we were younger, a successful birthday consisted of getting the sick toy that you were holding out for, having the cool peeps from your grade show up to your ceramics party and then passing out Dunkin Doughnuts munchkins to your class and all the teachers who always claimed to be on a diet (or was that just Long Island??).  Now a successful birthday consists of texts and opening up your G-mail account to see you have 65 new emails from your friend Facebook titled "XX posted on your wall."
• My brother set me up to the challenge to get at least a solid 100 Facebook wall posts by end of day - even though my birthday was on a Sunday (no easy feat).  I won without having to call in reinforcements, so thank you to my closest and not as closest friends for making it all possible.
• I really get bothered when I see perfectly, healthy men (with two legs and nice watches) sitting down on the subway while a lady stands up in front of them.  Or how I always offer my seat to a pregnant woman or older person - while other bums sit and watch.  Chivalry was dead until Don Draper came to town ... stand up, give her your seat and stand like a gentleman.  A- thank you.
• Monday morning started with a trip to the office Keurig coffee machine - which was clearly broken. So I took a trip down to our company's second floor to use their machine.  No skim milk. Took the elevator down to the cafeteria to pay for my coffee and opted for the large.  Realized I had just $1 in cash (the cashier pardoned my ridiculousness by charging me for the small).  Rode the elevator up with the lady who stocks the fridges and 20 cartons of skim milk.
• I will be extending my birthday for the remainder of the month, because that's how I roll.  On my to-do list for the week is to make my "30 before 30" list.  I'm definitely going to put "lose 5 lbs" on there. Three years is a reasonable goal for that, right?

-HMOH