I remember it like it was yesterday.
I was 9. It was a hot summer day in Cyprus at my grandmother's back yard. My bicycle hit top speed, but chose a rather unfortunate and irreparable route towards the hen-house, resulting to my landing on a pile of mud and chicken poop. I sat down and watched the chicken stare at me, probably thinking something along the lines of "What a wacko."
I run to the house to brag about the mess I did with a huge smile on my face, only to find 15 relatives of mine --grandparents, aunts, cousins, in a my-big-fat-greek-wedding style-- preparing the birthday cake. We couldn't stop laughing with the smell and the picture of my clothes and face.
A few minutes later I blew the candles. My wish was to remember this very happy moment ten years later and continue getting myself into similarly hilarious places and situations.
The day I was turning 19 was a hot summer day, albeit without my face covered in poop. Instead, I found myself in the shower with a whole bunch of finely-chopped green parsley all over me. A buddy of mine finally managed to get back at me for a similarly crazy prank I did to him. We laughed 'till tears came out. At that point I remembered the hen-house incident, along with the promise I made to myself back then.
A decade later, these incidents are still coming back to me now.
The past years were a blessing to me. I feel so fortunate for everything that has happened to me, and I feel grateful to all my friends, my family and the people I worked with. Thank you all for everything.
Happy birthday wacko. Here's to another 10 years full of joy and happiness.
Here's to all the crazy people out there.
(pic by Neal Sanche -- CC by-nc)