Happy Birthday To Me!!!!!!!!!

My day started off with breakfast at the Holiday Inn which is usually a treat and this day was no disappointment. I got to eat pancakes and bacon and an omelet. All while enjoying the company of a good friend. Then I had to do some business which put the party on hold but as soon as 5pm hit we were back in action. My girl K arranged for something to go down as a surprise and all the participants did a great job keeping it all under wraps. I was told to go home after 5 and I got there to find three boxes walking around my living room with chinese words on them.
I was really afraid at first but then I calmed down when I heard familiar voices coming from within the boxes. Then I got lots of great gifts. I'm a pretty harsh judge when it comes to gifts that I receive but all the ones I got this year were really fun and I appreciated them thoroughly. There was more surprises to come but I didn't even know it. There was a huge box sitting next to the TV that said GIFT on it in English. I kind of suspected what was inside but I was not real sure. What I suspected was my good buddy was inside but then I began to here little puppy sounds from inside. So I start thinking, "Well I'm sure my buddy is in there but why is there a dog in there with him?" My buddy has been wanting to buy a dog for a while now, especially now that it's the year of the dog over here. So I'm thinking that maybe he went ahead and bought the dog and was so excited about it that he wanted the dog to be a part my surprise birthday party. So now I'm finally instructed to open the huge box. And what did I find.............? my buddy and a little dog stuffed into this box along with more gifts. So he hands me the dog and some gifts and I sit down and start opening the gifts and then I read the tag that tied around the dogs neck. Well the dog turns out to be a gift from a friend who had not showed up for the party yet.
I was pretty surprised about it and didn't really know what to say. I mean, I'm leaving here in about 5 months and I just was not expecting to receive a puppy today. He still doesn't have a name yet but if you have some suggestions on a good Mongolian name, let me know.
Anyway, after all that we sat around and ate sopapilla cheesecake and lemon pie all prepared by Special K Kitchens Inc.
I think the strangest gift I got was a bar of sports deodarant. Random but I really like who gave it to me so it's no big deal.
After all this fun at my house we went to eat great great great Mongolian food at one of the best places in town. Like all good Mongolian meals, this one was complete with great singing. After dinner we went to listen to my friend sing some of my favorite songs. He's a great singer!!! It was a fantastic birthday. One of those that will rank among the top three in my book. Thanks again Kel!!

This is my little brother Josh and his new fiancee Melanie!!!!

Congratulations, Josh and Melanie! I so wish I could have been there to celebrate your engagement with you but I'm still tied up trying to find me a wife over here. Just kidding. Josh, I guess you were able to convince Mel's dad that getting married in med school was not only doable but would be a great thing for his daughter. Way to win over the dad. Be sure and video the wedding for me cause I don't want to miss that too.
Just kidding again. After being off the wedding circuit for a couple of years, it'll be great to be a part of the action again. Make sure you pic something awesome for me to sing, although I'm pretty sure the decision has been made already. Have fun planning. I love you guys

Viewer Discretion Is Advised!

I never thought it could happen to me but alas I was asked to suck the marrow out of a sheep's leg bone. Some of the minority people around here are acustomed to eating every bit of the sheep including the marrow from the bone after they have eaten the bone itself clean. I've heard many stories about this practice but never been with my friends when they dine this way. Some people say that if you live long enough you can experience anything. This fateful evening, I was initiated into the next level of acceptance by sucking the marrow from this sheep bone. I'll spare you the rest of the details because the picture kind of speaks for itself. Just for the record, this was probably the most disgusting thing I've eaten in all of Asia. That includes eating dog twice. However, it made my friends feel really good and at home with me. I'm not sure why they were all laughing while I was doing this but for the sake of my pride I'll assume it's a cultural thing I just didn't catch.