27

Lunch at Absinthe in the sunshine. Beginning with a bloody mary, ending with a plated candle. One of the drinks on the cocktail menu "is Juanathan's homage to the intricate relationship between whiskey and horses." Amazing. In the bathroom, I thought about how you are supposed to sing Happy Birthday twice when you lather the soap to wash your hands. I made the bubbles and thought, "It's true."

We strolled down the street, discovered a tiny park between Haight and Page, and hopped onto the 71 to go to the Academy of Sciences. When I thought about what I wanted for my birthday, one of my thoughts was I want to see something beautiful, which brought me to the fish. The new museum is really nice despite my memories of the previous version, that I visited for so many weekends and school field trips. Looking at the upside down jellyfish, the tree frogs, the chameleons, the anemones, it all makes me feel so small in the good way, a humbling happy smallness. No matter what happens to me, there will always be lionfish, octopi, and penguins, and all they need to do is breathe.

From the park onto another bus downtown for sushi before the Show. VIP seats at Wicked! Fabulous costumes, great music, epic scenes. Being up close was really a special experience. A criscendo to a fabulous day, the first day of being 27 . . .