Happy Birthday!

In Shanghai, my birthday is almost over.  But in Portland it has just begun.  I am exhausted, jet lagged and full of excitement. 

Happy Birthday to me!  June 28th is my day and this year it is my first full day back in the States after over 5 months of being in Asia.  This morning feels almost as if I never left. Everything is so familiar and normal, but yet so strange.

I came into my old job with Beth this morning, as she is kindly letting me use her car for the day.  We went to Starbucks just like old times and I shocked a bunch of my old co-workers by appearing at 7:30am just like I did everyday the three and a half years that I worked here.  It is like being in the twilight zone, all so familiar… but so not the norm anymore.

Everything is clean too!  Walking through the old tunnel at OHSU between Casey Eye Institute, the Dental school and Doernbecher garage – a tunnel that I always thought was old, nasty and dirty – it felt CLEAN.  Everything here is so clean! 

Oh, and it is like 70 degrees outside, if that, cloudy and raining and everyone is saying it is so hot and humid.  Oh if they only knew… on the other hand, I’m having my best hair day in months because of the LACK of humidity.

Well, I have people to see and things to do.  I have a happy hour planned with a ton of friends in the Portland area tonight, so if you are in the area – call me and you should stop by!

Loving being home!