No hay quinto malo.

Our “postre of the day” initiative got a bit out of hand today, as it is Laura’s birthday, and we have been doing nothing but celebrating since last night. After work yesterday, Laura checked out a nearby museum while I hit the gym, and then we both headed over to Isa’s place with Adriana for a night of rump-shaking and tiramisu-making. Isabel and Laura remained hard at work preparing Spanish cuisine while Adriana and I salsa-ed and meringue-ed to my favorite Latin American playlist (purveyed by the beautiful Colombiana Diana Morales). It was truly a lovely evening exchanging laughs, stories, and dance steps with some of the sweetest people I know.

Back home, I waited until midnight to present Laura with what I thought was a Kinder Sorpresa, her favorite type of chocolate which is readily available in Mexico and not elsewhere. But to my horror, I had purchased several of these little chocolate eggs with surprise toys inside, but by the wrong brand. My first attempt at a birthday present was a disgrace.

In the morning, I sprung out of bed in typical clumsy Ratna style and threw together a birthday breakfast of musical cake and decaffeinated espresso for my best friend before we set out for work, I still reeling from my chocolate mistake.

I led Laura, Isa, and Ari in our daily morning meditation, and then Dani taught Friday morning yoga -- what a way to start the day! And what an incredibly unique office community to be part of.

The day has been a rush of birthday wishes for Laura and editing emissions calculations for me. We just returned from a late lunch at Japanika, a nearby Japanese restaurant, which was so wonderfully enjoyable: we got to hear the life stories and philosophies of a few of our colleagues. One notable pair was the enviable Ricardo and Daniela, who told us about a trip they took to India and Thailand for a total of 8 months four years ago, traveling around India for 2 weeks before spending 2 months at an ashram (SO legit) and then touring around Thailand before they ran out of money and started working for 6 months as diving instructors, and leading tours to swim with sharks, jump from cliffs, and snorkel. If Laura and I thought our gap years were intense, these two are on a whole different level.

What followed was a conversation with several members of the table about loving one's work and figuring out ways to do what one wants in life, without fear of anything. If this is truly the philosophy of our colleagues at CMM, as it seems to be, then I can't think of a better group of people by whom to be surrounded.

Lunch ended with a lovely Spanish serenade for Laura, with Ari singing her own tune and our loving table erupting into laughs. Friday is the day when everyone in the office gathers round for dessert brought in by one person, but Laura and I are too stuffed to even consider going to the kitchen for our fifth dessert of the day right now.

We are so happy to be here, and even more excited for the office party tonight in La Roma, a swanky part of town...it’s time to continue the celebrations!