Day 86: Teen rang nahi labne husan, jawani, te mape.

After rolling out of bed at noon today and reading Sonnet 86, I went out for a late lunch with my Enviro girls Claire and Anna. When working as interns at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this year, Claire and I used to have lunch together everyday. In the spirit of old times, we have been planning to have lunch together with Anna for ages now -- and it was awesome to finally see them both!


Post prandium, we ventured into the Black Friday madness at Reston Town Center for a bit, going crazy (actually, making sensible purchases) at Francesca's Boutique and J.Crew.

Not to worry -- no item in this photograph was purchased.

I was home just long enough to prepare for my evening's super sneaky secret mission -- a surprise farewell party for Laurita Gilbourian! Laura leaves on Sunday for five months in France and other European destinations, where she will be teaching English to children, as well as just being the all-around awesome and adventurous girl we know and love. To give her a proper sendoff, Laura's lovely stepmom Jenn invited a group of us to the Kambourian residence to dress in French garb (or, in my case, Laura's Halloween costume), and hide behind furniture to jump out and "suprise!" her when she returned home from dinner.

Who makes a cuter poodle -- Laura or Ratna? Vote by answering the poll on the right!!

My belief is that Laura was adequately surprised, and not at all tipped off by the bewildered beret-bearing boy (brother Jacob!) on her driveway as she pulled in. It was great to feel the love and admiration for this incredible woman in the room tonight, and also such a nice opportunity to catch up with so many wonderful people!


"Merci beaucoup" to you all for being there -- what a great night!

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