My 25th Birthday, No Cake, 1st Rice Drink and an Advice for Life!

So I promised on my instagram account that I would be writing about this... and here it goes !! Make sure you read this till the end to actually know what happened.

For those who missed my post on instagram, please click on the below link to reach the page -

My Instagram Post

It was 22nd of July, 2015, my 25th birthday and I was super excited to celebrate it in a place like California, USA. Who wouldn't be? :S

I was with my Mom and Dad.. now most you must be thinking '.. California = ok, 25th birthday = ok, with parents = WHAT!!?' ... i could also think like that, but it would have kept me away from the unforgettable advice that i received while i was out for lunch with them... Unknowingly, i chose to be happy and eagerly wait for whatever would have happened...

The night before my birthday, wasn't very exciting. My birthday eve was just a normal dinner at a mexican place where I got a sea food burrito... and someone suggested me to try out a mexican drink called 'ochata' made from rice with a flavour of cinnamon. I was tempted, but was unsure of trying out a new drink with someone i didn't know very well... I may not have like it and would end up in an awkward situation wherein I might have to gulp down the whole drink and puke later out of disgust OR simply leave the glass full, disappointing the person I was with.

How could a drink made from rice taste?? I was curious but passed the offer as I was very unsure of my reaction. 

Since I was in a different time zone, my friends back in India had already wished me on 'my afternoon' (their midnight).. which was a beautiful gesture. However, I didn't know that, that meant I wouldn't be getting any calls at all on the midnight of my american birthday :P
It was my first birthday ever, where I didn't have a cake to cut as it struck 12am and no calls from any of my real friends.

I had a very weird feeling when i slept that night. The birthday eve wasn't the best, and I wasn't expecting anything massive for the next day either. We were supposed to move out of our airbnb home and drive to Oakland to catch our next flight to Texas in around 5pm. I just knew the best thing to do was to think that it wasn't my birthday at all! Thinking about the date would only keep reminding me more about the reality and  I would expect more out of my day.

So we woke up the next day (my american birthday), like it was any normal day. Mom Dad wished me, hugged me, and we started planning our day. Only after sometime, we back calculated and realized that we only had enough time to go out for lunch and then head straight to the airport.

Mom and Dad wishing me, made me think about how when you are away from the world, from all your friends, your family will always be there with you.. be it good times/ bad times, or times when you don't realise what an important part they play in your life.

We knew about this market close by, where we had been going for groceries/ movies and needed to go to FedEx to get our flight tickets printed. After getting our tickets we found a place in the market to grab some lunch. It was a mexican place called 'Mexicali Grill'. Oh no, not mexican agaaiiiin!!!

But i told myself, this experience should be different from the night before.. It will be different! in a good way :)

We planned to sit outside and enjoy the Californian weather for the last time... Who knows if I'll ever come back again. I sat there on one side of the table with Mom and Dad sitting opposite me.

Now here comes the heroic entry of this guy... He's the waiter and he gets us the best nachos with awesome salsa sauce that Ive had in my life..! And I am not exaggerating. It just tasted perfect.. or maybe I was just too happy to be with the people who care about me. It felt like bliss.

We gave the waiter our order with our mouths half full of the awesome nachos.. This time I was smart enough not to order sea food burrito, but to order hard shell sea food taco instead!

Just as the waiter was leaving (sorry Ive lost his name somewhere in my memory bank).. I asked him for 'Ochata'.. He was very happy to hear that I knew about this drink and was happy to serve me. It was pretty sunny out there, but pleasant and windy at the same time. While we all were waiting for our drinks, Mom Dad started their self session.. 'When bored, jus take out your phone and start clicking random pictures.. Of anything you find remotely worth remembering'. I felt a lil silly, but knew that they were enjoying this moment.

A few minutes later, the waiter arrived again with our drinks, followed by food. To my surprise, Ochata was very refreshingly tasty. I sort of felt happy that I hadn't tried it the night before, I was happy that I was trying something new on my birthday with the people I loved. The seafood taco beat my expectations. It was delicious!

The waiter paid another visit very soon to ask us how the food was. Our response was obvious, and so was our repeat order for another round of drinks. While me and Dad ordered something more, Mom started with clicking selfies again, when my Dad asked the guy to wait, got the selfie clicked and then continued with the order again. This time, the waited let out a small laugh followed by a slight sound of something. Seemed like he wanted to say something. He noted the rest of the order and started heading back to the kitchen when I called for him again. He turned around and reached our table. I asked him if there was something he wanted to say? This is what he said to me :

'I wish I had someone with whom I could click pictures. I wish I could be with someone the way they are with each other (pointing to my parents). You know what? I will not find anyone with whom I can be like this, because I have never seen this example in my house. But you will. You will find this love because you have seen this all you life. You will find someone and share this love with him.'