Carlos' Surprise Birthday Celebration

Coming home from Miami, I knew I wanted to plan something special for Carlos' 40th. Let's face facts here, turning 40 is a once in a lifetime event. Not to mention, we were due for a kick-ass party and what better time to celebrate.


As clever as I am and resourceful, this was not going to be an easy task. First and foremost, I needed guests. In Miami, I had gotten Ed, Bibi & Trish's contact numbers. That was a good start. I wanted to make sure that Carlos' lifelong friends would be at the surprise party. I had an easier time gathering LA friends. Before I knew it, I had contacted well over 90 of his nearest and dearest. Next up, I needed a venue. After lot of phone calls and many a late night visit to bars, I settled on Benvenuto in West Hollywood (what a fantastic place! I highly recommend). Adding my friends to the mix, I sent out the invitation beginning of February.


I must admit, I had not been this excited about anything in a really long time. I had all kinds of scary thoughts running through my head as well. What if Carlos doesn't like surprises? That's a big one! Not everyone likes being surprised and what I had planned was not 'little'. Cross my fingers and keep on trucking. I still had balloons to order, 9 dozens of red & gold to be exact, 40th birthday decorations and decorative gags to buy, catering request and cake, my love wanted chocolate ice cream cake. Count down time started when Ken R. flew to SFO. By that point, I could hardly contain myself. I was checking the evite every hour just to see if anyone else had RSVP'd. I was desperately trying to catch any new names that Carlos would mention. By the way, did I mention that Carlos thought we were planning just a regular birthday party for him and his roommate for another week.


Well, Friday February 29th finally came and the show began... Ed & Marcy flew out from Miami that Friday morning. Luckily, we had planned for Carlos to know this. What he did not know was that Trish and Bibi were arriving that same night. Luckily, we had plenty of activity to keep us busy. That same weekend, we would be celebrating a dear friend turning fifty.


At that moment, I cannot say how everything would turn out. I could only cross my fingers and toes, pray to the good universe and continue the countdown...