My birthday came and went without the usual ticker tape parade....ok, ok, so there isn't usually a parade on my birthday but rather, a blizzard. I didn't even get that this year. Dave was pretty cute, he marched into my appartment hiding what was in his hands. He tells me to come around the corner and surprises me with little Eskimo Birthday Pies and a bottle of bubbly. He said, "I knew you'd never eat a whole cake or anything, so I thought I'd get these." Awe, how nice. I'm at my parents' house visiting. After I had a quick cooking lesson from the Thai and Vietnamese ladies I work with at the Yokohama, I've learned how to make a wonderful dish that I wanted to share with everyone. While visiting the 'rents, my mother and I made Papaya Salad together. It was FANTABULOUS if I do say so myself. My dad even tried it and liked it. It's not for the faint at heart, it's got a bit of a fishy smell to it due to the fish sauce and dried prawns, but it's got such a lovely variety of flavors (sour lime and tamarind, salty, sweet, hot). It's a taste explosion I highly recomend to everyone.