Birthday gifts!

I staged my birthday party as an exchange of sorts, wherein I lured people to my apartment with promises of cake. In return, I asked that each guest teach me something. The guests were creative and entertaining; many promised future lessons in X, since there was not enough time at the party for all the learning.

Here, then, is what my guests taught [promised to teach] me for my birthday:

• how to belly dance
• how to make ravioli
• disappointment*
• how to make Thai food (dish of my choice)
• how to make metal plate armor (stop signs are apparently a good source of raw material)
• how to break into a coke machine
• how to make char cloth
• that "gauche" and "wink" are cognates (and the derivations thereof)
• how to make flammable gel from just 3 common kitchen products
• how to tie knots or the true meaning of lust* (I chose knots!)

The starred items earned extra points for entertaining delivery. I'll write about each thing as I learn it, to keep you updated.


This post's theme word is bailiwick, "a person's area of expertise or interest." I look forward to learning about their bailiwicks.