Well yesterday was my 32nd birthday. Happy birthday to me! I had a great day thanks to Shawn.

We woke up early and went to a favorite place, the Shady Maple for breakfast (hey it’s free on your birthday!). I ate light though and just had a few favorite things. We came back to the house and dealt with the HDTV issues (see yesterday’s post). Shawn said he wanted to go visit AJ at his new apartment. We headed down to his place and it’s really nice. He has it decorated nicely and it’s very roomy. We sat around and chatted and finally Shawn said he was ready to leave, and we headed downtown, I was under the impression we were going to meet a friend for some drinks but we ended up at the Loews Philadelphia. The hotel is the famous PSFS building the building is an impressive skyscraper that originally served as a bank branch, retail store space and office space. The building was closed in 1992 when PSFS went bankrupt and was purchased by Loews eventually to be converted into a hotel.

It was a hell of a surprise I had no idea he was planning anything! I asked what was going on and he said we’re staying here for the nite and we have reservations at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. I was so happy. We checked in to the hotel which is so cool, the lobby is the lobby of the bank and is covered in black granite and cherry colored wood, the vault is exposed and is impressive. Our room was a corner room on the 25th floor and the view from the room was impressive…

View from the Loews Philadelphia

We settled in, got changed and went to the restaurant. Let me start by saying I’ve never had a better meal in my life. The food was awesome, the atmosphere extremely comfortable and the company exquisite. We ate so much that even right now my side is still hurting. We started with martinis, followed by salads, Shawn had a lettuce wedge big enough for two, smothered in blue cheese and bacon. I had a tasty Caesar. Dinner for me was a Filet Mignon cooked Medium, Potatoes Au Gratin and Asparagus with Hollandaise sauce. It was hands down the best steak I’ve ever eaten. The asparagus was perfectly al dente and the sauce was delish. The potatoes au gratin were made with a sharp white cheddar sauce and shredded mild yellow cheddar baked on top. Fantastic Shawn had Cowboy Rib eye, a bone in steak that was amazing. Garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed mushrooms. It was so tasty. I had a second martini that was very stiff and hit me hard. Dessert was a Key Lime Tart, with 2 candles (one for this year, one for the future as our waiter, Ron, informed us). The tart was amazing and even though I was too full, I ate it anyway. Amazing meal.

After dinner we went back to the hotel and rested awhile. We gave AJ a called and arranged for him to come down and go over to Bump for drinks. When we got there it was kinda of dead. It filled up and there were lots of things to giggle at, I did get cruised by a daddy bear and young, very muscular Asian guy dressed in vintage from head to toe kept staring at us. After a few more drinks at Bump, we headed over to Woody’s, a very popular club in Philly. I had not been there in about 6 years and I found out two things…

1. nothing ever changes at Woody’s, it was exactly the same bullshit as before
2. I am so not cut out for places like that.

I was not at all impressed with the people who had no consideration for others, the noise, the smell, the attitudes or the crowd. I like places like the Dugout in NYC which to me was more of a bar, and less of a club. We had two queens who kept jumping up on the stairs behind us and shaking their asses. Trash! I also had a couple next to me who were obviously having an argument over me. It appears the one guy got caught checking me out by the other and that didn’t sit well. What I don’t understand is that it was pretty obvious that Shawn and I were together! Still it was a little nice to be the center of attention for a few seconds!

After Woody’s we went back to the hotel and and Shawn gave me my gift, a Griffin Technologies iMic, a USB sound card for my Mac. I need it to do the recording for the podcast. I am so excited, I can’t wait to use it. Next, I grabbed a shower and crashed. I was so tired. We got up this morning and are now headed out to my parents, sadly my mom was admitted to the hospital while we were out on the town :(. We’re still waiting to see what they’re gonna do with her, I sure hope they send her home.

All in all except for that, it was an amazing birthday! Thank you Shawn