Big Day for Birthdays

I need to wish a few people a very happy birthday.

Happy Birthday Ilene! Ilene and I have been friends for almost 10 years now. We met when we were sophomores. I remember the night she and her roommates took me out for an audition to be their roommate the following year. I guess I passed because Ilene and I lived together for three years after that.

Ilene and I were fellow humanities/art history students in college. We spent a lot of time passing notes in class; having vocabulary and "outwit me" contests. It’s amazing we got A’s in all those classes. We would write poems back and forth until our attention in class became necessary.

I worked in the LRC in the main library – the cool place to study because you could listen to music. Of course that was back in the olden days before everyone had an iPod. I worked up at the desk and people would check out CDs or bring in their own and I would play them at their appropriate listening carrel. Ilene would come and study there and when she got bored she would bring me notes (or have someone bring them to me).

Here is one that made me laugh pretty hard because it is so Ilene.
I knew what answer she was looking for.

One time I lent her my hair elastic when I was at work and she wrote me a thank you note in Latin. Somehow my dad got a hold of that (I must have left it in his office in the HFAC) and he set it to music as a Gregorian Chant. That was weird.

One of my favorite Ilene memories was when I came into her office one morning to sadly report that the boy I liked (and I thought liked me), the one I’d flirted with for weeks turned out to have a girlfriend. He worked with me at the LRC. Ilene came into the LRC later that afternoon with some flowers and this card:


Ilene has a magical way of knowing exactly how to love her friends. She can sympathize with me and make fun of me at the same time and I still know she cares.

We, along with our friend Marni moved to Portland after college. But sadly, we had to part ways as she stayed in Oregon to date a boy and I moved to SLC to work for the Arts Council.

She came to Salt Lake sometime the following winter to visit. Here we are in front of the car I had just bought all by myself. It was my first car and a big milestone for me.
A couple months later Ilene got married to the boy she dated in Oregon (that’s her cute husband in the back). Clearly, a big milestone for her.
I still have my car and she still has her husband, so both were good investments. Ilene and Dan now have two adorable boys and they live in Washington. For a good read, you should check out her blog (linked at the right). To read one of my favorite posts, click here.

I also need to wish a happy birthday to my niece Piper who turns two today. She is a gorgeous little girl and says “happy” cuter than anyone I know.

Last, but certainly not least, Happy Birthday to Kristi! I don't have a photo of her, but Kristi is great for many reasons, one being she makes me laugh all the time. I’m sorry I’m missing your dinner tonight but I will catch you and everyone else for cake afterwards!