¡Feliz Cumpleaños 'Bu'!

New York City, Saturday, 27th of November 2010.

It's the following morning after a night of unrestricted liberties at home. Letting myself go freely has its consequences that I have to pay today as a result of experiencing too much of Jameson induced good feelings.

As you can imagine the brain doesn't respond easily to the commands coming from the mind. Neither its counterpart, the body, can work its way out of its sluggishness. Both the body and the mind are trying hard to find the spark that would set them in motion just for facing the light challenges of an worry free day like it is the beginning of the weekend.

But suddenly the woes start eventually to fade. A couple of  SMS had the power to shake things up. All the lassitude of the world leaves way to some clear path of action that was not so clear just moments ago.

Exactly between 11:06 and 11:16 AM:

"In one hour? Nice hot drink. What do you think?"

"One and a half! If you mean chocolate or tea or coffee"     ...

 .... "One and a half then," .....

That was it. That was the most important part of the exchange that provided the leverage I desperately needed to jump start my day and after a very hot shower I was more than ready to move around and go out and encounter the world. That meant not staying at home and instead walking from my house for ten minutes in the direction to the Yankee Stadium, home of the most successful Pro-team in the world but not to see the Yankees or anything related to sports but to the Hard Rock Cafe branch inside the Stadium. They must have something hot in there.

As soon as I leave the house I'm welcomed by very strong winds that make the cold feel really cold. It's not a joke, a slap in my face is how it feels like but I don't complain. It's true that those winds get through my 4 layers of clothing (which resulted insufficient for the occasion) and pierce my body but they make me feel alive too.

Around 1:00 PM, I'm already at the counter of the Hard Rock Cafe. Only coffee I can ask to the young lady that is serving me on the other side of it; no chocolate, no tea as I'd have preferred. You know, coffee is the first thing useful I make in my mornings and today was not the day I was going to miss it. This is one of these days I need it the most.
Anyway, just regular American coffee is what she has, not a fancy one like that showing in the menu, but it is hot and meets all the requirements I had agreed to share with Sophie! So, I go for it, not once but twice with a refill that the lady pleasantly offered herself to bring.

A couple of sips of my second coffee and I want to trade it for a beer. I'm just listening to Paul McCartney on the many screens of the bar..., Bob Marley follows Paul.

People come and go on my right side of the counter. Others occupy tables to my left. Entire families or just couples rejoice themselves taking turns and pictures around a huge guitar behind the reception desk on the right side of the door.

The tourists: I like them, I like to see the excitement reflected on their faces. They're in the Hard Rock Cafe. Not any Hard Rock but the one at the Yankee Stadium, the home of the mighty Yankees of New York. I envy this people because I don't have what they have: I left my emotions behind....I'm now a local guy who can't feel what they feel and has to relive the experiences through their eyes. They have to live and show their feelings so I can live and experience them as well.

Oh gosh! What a complication of life!

What is not a complication for me is to find a reason to trade the coffee for a beer or for something else, something stronger or much more 'poisonous' as you may be tempted to think. Here I have to confess that I can spend days and weeks without drinking anything besides water but once I start it's easy for me to continue for days or weeks as well.

Last week the Irish coffee opened the gates, Thursday was Thanksgiving day in the United States, a special holiday where people show their appreciation emptying the merchandise in the Liquor Stores and I was not the exception. I just followed the trend.

Yesterday was Friday and today the 27 of November it's Pichiplayas or Bu's Birthday. How could you not celebrate? Even if you were not in the mood you put yourself there. And now I'm just not ordering a beer but a Mojito because that goes much better with the lively spirit of this beautiful Spaniard that today celebrates her 19th birthday.

However I think one Mojito is not enough so I'm asking for a second one because the occasion is perfect to recognize how important it is to count on her in our lives, the enchanting and always cheerful friend who day and night makes our life less stressful with all her charm.

If you don't believe me just take a look at her here!

Isn't she like the sunshine? Or like the sunrise and easy as a Sun-day morning? I won't get upset if you want to compare her with a full moon in the middle of the sky at midnight.

For me, however, the most important thing I admire in her it's that at her tiny age she's like one of us, a real person, curious and thirsty of knowledge, looking for wisdom, meaning or answers to life questions with always a smile in her face, always... Add just her love for music and you just have the complete package.

"Another Mojito, please"  She really deserves that in her name I drink this third one!

Yeah! For her, in her name, we wish her a very Happy Birthday (Dear B......)!

Cheers Sophie! ...And thanks!