A lot has happened the past few days. I’ve been meaning to update this as a means to preserve what goes down during my days and nights, but, unfortunately, my idleness and laziness to put thoughts-to-blog has resulted in stuff I will probably leave out of this entry because I had forgotten them. Touché.

There are few things in life that provide me more gratification than food. Sure it is a means of survival, you have to eat to live. You know Socrates, right? He was quoted saying, “Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.” Ummmmmm thou art most wrongeth Socrates. Food can cure the worst of illnesses and the baddest (that’s a word!) of moods; it’s the definitive cure-it-all. Heck, I come out of a midterm feeling terrible, what better to lift my spirits than a juicy steak, some sweet potato fries and garlic mayo, and tall order of Cola. Feeling lonely in the middle of the night? Move aside teddybear and welcome, Burger! Nomnomnomnom…

The reason why I bring up food is because I had the pleasure of adventuring to a fine-arse establishment by the name of Umami. Originally I figured the place was some sushi restaurant with a name like that. MLA was like, “Hell nah boi!” Turns out the word Umami means “5th taste” in Japanese; I was intrigued to say the least. I boarded the 20 and braced myself to be taken to another dimension, a delicious one at that.

I’ve been accustomed to eating American-style burgers all my life. You know, sesame-seed bun, some L&T, mayo, ketchup, and a sizeable, albeit plain, patty - the usual stuff you see at diners and American movies. Let me tell you one thing about Umami. THEY DO IT BIG! I can’t really transcribe into words the feelings my body experienced during those carefully slow, appreciative bites into some masterfully-made Burgers. Yes, so good they deserve a capital B. We ordered the House and Truffle Burgers, making sure to split each into halves to share with the other. I hate when you have too much of one and want to try other dishes out too. Simultaneously I loathe eating something so daggum delectable only to abruptly run out and want another helping. Seriously, after eating both halves, I could have wolfed another burger; it was that d-e-effing-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. I mean, what more do you need: house-made ketchup, garlic aoili, heaven-sent buns that were hybridized perfectly between soft and chewy, and a juicy patty cooked to medium-rare yet crisped on the edges. I’m sitting here in bed writing this. How self-mutilating!

Oh take me back to the staaaaart Umami

The next day, Saturday, turned out to be my birfday. Usually an unexciting, but nonetheless enjoyable ordeal, I spent most of it with my family. I don’t know if you guys know much about my family, but they are the bee’s knees and elbows. Besides getting me this DELECTABLE cubed beef with cracked pepper dish, I forgot how much I loved them. That is not saying I didn’t love them until Saturday but, after spending a fair share of my day and night with my parents and siblings, I can see where much of who I am comes from. It breaks down like such:

• My oddness - my mother. She says the funniest things sometimes and she doesn’t even know it. MYMOMISACUTIE.COM

• My stubborn resolve - my father. He is one of the strongest people I know. He can open the most closed of jars and endure the toughest of situations.

• My sweetness (don’t laugh) - my sister. How sweet can she be? You should read the bday card she got me. That, and she knows me so well, getting me the perfect button-down.

• My strength - my brother. Years of making fun of me has just been a clever ploy for his love and support of me. Pretty cool guy he is…

Yeah, my family is a charming collection of odds and ends, interwoven to create something that I adore from daybreak to nighttime.

So, besides the family outing, I had a fair share of ridiculousness that night. Who knew BBMak and Lean Like a Cholo would make for appropriate soundtracks to lapdances? I felt so good, too bad I can’t say the same for my grey pants. Poor feller probably got stretched to smithereens. LOL! All-in-all, I fell asleep a happy camper, even after watching 28 Weeks Later, a testament to the sheer awesomeness of the day.

The general atmosphere of bliss has continued in the days that passed. Festival of Books reminded me of those fun carnivals I used to go to, the ones with myriads of tents and booths. Except replace rollercoasters and games with stacks of books. We had a grand time…eating shaved ice spoon-less, photographing hipsters checking out vinyl, listening to fist-pumping kiddy bands play to droves of kiddies unsure of what the ruckus coming out of the speakers is. It was fairly odd seeing UCLA covered in tents and trafficked by hundreds and hundreds of people. FOB made peak hours on Bruinwalk look like a ghosttown. By the end of it, I was inspired to write. Sure enough, here I am!

I need to expand my vocabulary.

P.S. Rob McElhenney, or Mac, from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia said I looked like a little kid when I met him tonight after his Q&A. He was unsure whether or not I was a college student.

And I just turned 20.