This was certifiably my best birthday ever.
Ever.
Fahim is one terrific guy.
A couple of days ago, we got a phone call from Tony from Travel Sri Lanka to arrange my next restaurant review. That’s right, not my brother, but the other Tony. He gave the contact info for the restaurant to Fahim, who answered the phone, so we could arrange what day we’d like to go.
Fahim gets Sundays and Mondays off, and lately, we’ve been going out and about on Mondays, shopping for DVDs, running errands, buying home theatre systems, you know. Typical shopping stuff. 😀
So when Fahim suggested we do the review on Monday, I agreed. He was thinking dinner, but I suggested lunch instead since we were going out already, and why go out twice in one day when we don’t have to?
So arrange lunch on Monday he did.
It wasn’t until Sunday that I realized that he had just managed to arrange a lunch out at a nice restaurant on my birthday while knowing full well that he wasn’t going to have to foot the bill!
The sneaky little SOB!
I’m laughing at this, of course. Laughing because it took me so long to figure it out. And also laughing because of how well the universe played into Fahim’s hands.
We went out about 10:30 am. Our first stop was to try to find a purse for my niece, Nicole. She wanted something brand name – like Fendi, Louis Vuitton, or that sort of thing – and she didn’t care if it was a knock off. Personally, I think she’d be more entertained if it were a knock off. And why not?
A friend from church said that the place to go was Dehiwela junction. There were three stores there where I could get what I was looking for. Silly me, I didn’t ask for the names of the stores, nor did I get the precise locations. So we get to Dehiwela junction, and Fahim and Mervyn, the trishaw driver, are both shrugging. Where? They have no idea.
We try a few stores that sell bags, but they all say no. They look at us like we’re crazy. No luck. Perhaps they sell the knock offs but don’t care to admit it? Maybe they think Fahim’s going to rat on them? No idea.
All I know is that there ain’t nuthin’ to be had. Ergh!
On to Majestic City.
We arrive and we head to our favorite DVD stores for, what else, but more DVDs. And that’s when Fahim pops the question.
🙂 No, not THAT question, silly. We’re already married!
I have two choices for a birthday gift. Would I like to spend Rs.2000 at Vijitha Yapa, the bookstore, or would I like to get a new digital camera, as long as it’s under Rs.30,000?
Are you nuts?
How difficult a question is this?
Our digital camera, while it does a decent job, is three or four years old. The battery is starting to die – it’s good for 50 or 60 pictures, and that’s hardly enough for me in a busy sightseeing day. I’ve been known to take a couple of hundred photos in a day. . .
Yes, I’m nuts.
That’s been long established.
Anyway, the battery is dying. Plus the lens cover doesn’t fully retract on its own anymore. It’s possible all it needs is a good cleaning, although it could be dying springs or mechanisms or something. And it’s only a 3.1 megapixel camera. I want more power!
Power! Vrooom!!!!
Oh yeah, I’ll take the camera.
But . . . I don’t require the camera today, I tell him. I’m content with the promise of a camera. I don’t want to be forced into picking something out that isn’t going to give us the most bang for the buck or doesn’t have all the features I want. Knowing that I’ll get one is enough for now.
He tells me this on our way to our favorite DVD store. So, like good little addicts, we buy our movies first.
16 regular movies. A Wesley Snipes collectors pack with 16 movies. And Harsh Realm, a sci-fi show that only aired 9 episodes before it was cancelled. It was brilliant. And of course, it was filmed in Vancouver. Plus the DVD of Harsh Realm has 6 more episodes never shown on television. So, I’m happy. 🙂
And the last week or so, Fahim has been working on updating our DVD databased, and with today’s purchases, we’re now sitting at something like 465 movies before Wesley Snipes is even added.
Fahim wants to beat this other guy who has 700 movies in his database. Only because it’s the biggest movie collection he’s heard of.
At the rate we buy and watch movies, that oughta be by, oh, let’s say, April.
