5/30/04 Natalie and I attend Richard's 23rd B-day:

I told George to not look at how attractive my girlfriend was when she showed up at my apartment this morning, so George dutifully looked away.

George was at my apartment to drop off a hard drive with an edited school play on it. I have him and Mike editing plays for me now. Natalie and I were about to head out to Allendaly by train to attend Richard's 23rd B-day celebration at his parent's house.

Natalier carries flowers for the Ulivellas, George carries another unedited school play back to his place.

It was one of those days where everything looked gorgeous, including Trinity Church in the heart of the financial district.

At the end of our train ride on New Jersey Transit, Richard was waiting for us at Waldwick with the car.

Natalie hopped the fence like a pro, even with skirt and high heels.

23.

Appetizers were already looks appetizing.

The sauce.

We chatted for a while, and then Rich gave Natalie the grand tour of the house.

NYU diploma on the wall already!

Gold tassel. Good GPA!

Master Bedroom.

Master Bath.

I wanted to see how much more I would weigh after I ate a Ulivella party dinner. Before eating, I weighed 155 lbs.

Vinny and Arlene, next door neighbors, help in the kitchen.

Aunt Kathy and Uncle Vito.

Aunt Sarah and Rich's Dad.

Mrs. Ulivella was wearing a head covering when we showed up, but the family quickly made her take it off, to show off her new hair. The chemotherapy is over, and Mrs. Ulivella is sporting an urban artsy look with the short white hair. She's nervous about it but got used to it with much family encouragement throughout the day.

Cousin Alexandra.

Then Natalie got a tour of the basement.

She liked a lot of the artwork and photos on the walls.

Here she is behind the secret door to the electrical box behind the main screen in the theatre.

The front door. Rich explains a bit about the neighborhood's young history.

The houses across the street.

And down the block.

Inside, food was being served.

Cousin Matthew.

We ate out back because the weather was perfect. Rich, Natalie, and I sat on the lawn.

"Uli" cuts the steak. It was excellent.

Natalie enjoys a demo of the theatre.

She is overwhelmed by the quality of the theatre... and by my very presence in the room. :)

Dessert is served.

With cake.

Which we decorated immensely.

The torch method was extremely effective in lighting the 25+ wicks on the cake.

We sang "happy birthday."

And Richard blew out the candles.

Old plastic coffee mugs with the Ulivella name on them were brought out of storage for the occasion.

Then Rich made coffee and espresso for the family.

And Uli served up the after dinner drinks.

And cards were read, and gifts were opened.

And then Natalie planted herself at the kitchen sink, next to Aunt Sarah. Aunt Sarah ALWAYS does the dishes after a family meal, and she won't hear of it if you suggest otherwise. In fact, Aunt Sarah never lets anyone help her either. She says that she loves doing the dishes, and has been enjoying doing them since she was a little girl. When she was a young mother, she told us, she used to put sheet music up on the window sill as she washed the dishes, and she sang to herself, imagining herself as Judy Garland. Aunt Sarah appreciates the meditative qualities of dish washing. And so, whenever the dishes need to be done, and at the Ulivella house, you can bet that there's a large load of dishes at the end of a feast, Sarah plants herself right in front of the sink, and her ability to stay there in the face of pleas to the contrary coming in from all sides is legendary amongst the Ulivellas. But whispers started to pass through the crowd these evening, over the din of the running water at the sink in the background, and eventually they came to me, and whispered in my ear was the "look at the sink" that everyone else was hearing, and when I looked, I saw Natalie, standing right by Aunt Sarah's side, helping with the dishes. Natalie was holding her ground where all else had historically failed. And I got a few smiles and winks from the people in the room, suggesting something to the effect of... "she's a keeper."

Eventually, the dishes were done, and Richard was allowed to the sink to handle the big pots and pans. Natalie stayed on drying duty.

The women set about cleaning up the rest of the kitchen.

I helped Natalie dry. A little.

The dining room was returned to its usual configuration.

And the men sat on the couch in the den and watched Grease II on the TV.

And when I weighed myself, I found that I had lost exactly one pound from the whole experience, and concluded that somehow, the Ulivella feast is some form of a diet of happiness and health.

And the Ulivella's were nice enough to swing by Natalie's place "on their way" in to our Apartment in the Financial District. And it was a good time had by all.