Jen turns 30

I told Sanjai in September that I wanted some kind of celebration. I have been the martyr every year since our first year of dating - insisting that I'm not high maintenance and I don't need any fuss for my birthday. However, this year was different. Sanjai assembled a small group of our Chicago friends to celebrate my birthday, which is exactly what I wanted. We went to eat at Joe's Prime Steak and Stone Crab(not to be confused with Joe's Crab Shack!). We were joined by Neil, Reetu, Tom and Aarthi. We had an incredible meal and lots of laughter. Even though politics came up everyone was civilized and considerate.

Afterwards, we visited a Haunted House in a suburb called Melrose Park. The haunted house was your typical fare of loads of grotesque people jumping out at you. There was a crazy part that I haven't seen any other time. One of the rooms had a space alien who coaxed you into a tunnel that you traversed by walking a railed elevated walkway. However, there were swirling green lights that made the whole room feel like it was spinning. We had to hold the railing in order to pull ourselves to the other side - even though nothing was moving!! The visual stimulation alone was enough to trick our brains into experiencing vertigo. Dad, you would have been finished.

It was such a fun evening. I'm glad I asked for a little something. I was treated to an assortment of spa treatments the next day. I got a fantastic massage that was followed by a pedicure and a manicure. To top it off, when I came down from my massage, I found Reetu waiting for me so we could get our nails done together. It was a great day.

I'll try to better about posting. I've become spoiled by Facebook. Now that my mom and brother are on there I slack in posting. My bad - hope everyone is doing well. Oh my God, I'm 30!

Here's a picture from the Haunted House: