privileged [priv-uh-lijd]
belonging to a class that enjoys special privileges; favored
Synonyms include: empowered, entitled, granted

My birthday plans each year always offer some sort of dilemma. What to do, when to do it, who to ask, etc. This year, all I wanted to do on my birthday was not drive...especially in the rain. Rainy days on February 13th have been as predictable as losses on Clipper game days. You know it's coming; you just don't know how bad it's gonna to be. This year was no different and like a storm on a wedding day, I just looked at it as a downpour of blessings because, honestly, that is what it was.

Ate Tin picked me up bright and early, we attended 8:00 am mass, had breakfast at Porto's, went to Target (where she bought me a new hair toy that flatirons AND curls hair! Can I get a HELL YEAH! Thanks, Ate & Jeff!), and then hung out at my house before lunchtime. When eating time came around, I was lucky enough to have not just Ate join me for lunch at Cheesecake Factory, but Iya, Riann, Joe and Matt too (Thanks for lunch, guys!). We even saw a fellow Glendale resident, the Game (random!) there. After lunch, the girls and I watched Confessions of a Shop-a-holic. Cute movie, though I would've loved it if it was a bit more faithful to Sophie Kinsella's popular series but like all book-to-movie adaptations, you can't expect the world. After some coffee talk with Riann and Iya at Coffee Bean, Riann and I attended mass again and then, for dinner, mom and dad bought Thai BBQ and I had a nice meal with my family. One of the best presents I could get this year was my grandfather's homecoming(He's doing great, by the way!). On Sunday night I was treated to a great sushi dinner with a bunch of great friends who drove from far and near. All weekend, I got texts, emails and phonecall greetings. What a wonderful way to say hello to my 31st year!

I am not a princess or heiress who is waiting my turn to rule a country or run a multi-million dollar company. I am not the daughter of a politician or a child of a famous designer who lives and breathes material wealth that I haven't done anything to earn. I don't live in a mansion inhabited by servants who who work daily to prepare my meals and clean up after me. Through many eyes, I am just your average, 31 year old, middle class citizen who will probably die never having earned even a quarter of what Paris Hilton is worth. But if I had the chance to choose another kind of life over the one I've been so blessed to live already, I would be foolish to offer even a second thought because frankly...this is the life.