The 3rd Annual 21st Birthday Party

Chris has been making not-so-subtle noises all week about wanting me to come hang out, so on Friday I gave in and invited myself over. At 7 pm, when we were still at work, I was a mite irritated that he was still "finishing things up," but didn't think it was particularly out of the ordinary. Eventually, we got to his place around 7:45, and I thought it was a bit odd the way he was offering to take my bag for me...until we stepped into the kitchen and a dozen people jumped out and yelled, "SURPRISE! Happy Birthday!!" That's right, my surprise birthday party was that much more shocking, given that it was 10 days late. And here I was wondering why the Fed Crew hadn't planned anything fun for the weekend.

I was floored, particularly since I'd no idea that it was coming. Granted, we all know that I tend to be really unobservant. At one point last week, I glanced at Chris' monitor, which had an email with the subject line "Surprise party for 'stal" in the inbox, whereupon I commented, "Man, you have a lot of unopened NY Times emails!" and turned away. Also, Alex apparently stored the cake (an apple tart) in the Fed kitchen frig, and I didn't notice a thing, despite storing my lunch there every day.

Adhering to Nate's "Thou shalt not bring meat into the house of a vegetarian" rule, the gang had thrown together a potluck dinner with butternut squash soup, couscous, pasta salad, brie & baguette, and caprese kebabs in the shape of a bouquet of flowers. Just as we were settling in with full stomachs, there was a knock, and the door was thrown open to reveal...Rich and Sumit! Yes indeed, the economists had arrived, and Sumit was even toting a handle of vodka for additional libations. Can we discuss how the finance team has the best economists EVER?

The past week marked my 1-year anniversary of moving to Chicago and starting work at the Fed. Who would've known that a year later I'd be partying with a fabulous Chicago posse and my boss? What a surreal, magical ride. :)