a slice of life | celebrating zander's birthday

 "Zander" is short for Alexander, phonetically speaking. He's the kind of man who enjoys the solitude of fishing and the roar of fans at a sporting event in equal measure. He drinks Fat Tire and Dog Fish beers (in so many varieties I can't name them all). He enjoys learning about wine and sipping on it whenever he gets the chance. He'll go hiking if I ask nicely, but secretly he'd rather be fixing up his condo or catching up on his Netflix queue. He named his car "Yota," and reminds me all the time it's with a "T" and not a "D" ("and did you thank her before you shut the door?"). 

Zan's the kind of man who dresses up in a Santa ("Zanta") suit and heads to the busiest bar on a Friday night in December to make everyone laugh and believe a little again. He makes silly jokes and jokes I don't get and truly funny jokes, but always, he's busy making jokes. Zan's laid back and easygoing, and he's incredibly even-keeled. He's gracious when other make a mistake, and he learns from the ones he makes. He's shy underneath his ability to make friends anywhere at any time.

He doesn't usually prefer all the attention on himself, which made it extra special to celebrate him all weekend long. Did I mention Zan was born at 7:57am on June 1? He told me this matter-of-factually while waiting and watching for the clock to turn to 8:36 and said, "What? I was just checking the time."

Friday night, I sent Zan on a wild goose chase scavenger hunt through a few of his favorite bars and restaurants around the city. The last clue led him to his building's roof, where I waited for him with wine, charcuterie, cheese, and a huge hug. It was the most fun birthday gift! (A huge huge huge thank you to the places that let me drop clues and made the hunt a success: Dino, Uber DC, Weygandt Wines, Brickside Food & Drink, and Cleveland Park Bar and Grill!)

We spent Saturday afternoon at Paradise Springs Winery with a group of friends. After our group tasting, we ordered a few bottles and enjoyed meat and cheese and each others company on their beautiful patio. My girlfriend Whitney even played the tambourine with the local musician.

We ended the day with a BBQ and CAKE. (Mmmmmm, cake!) And more wine, always more wine.

Happy birthday, Zan. You put the spring in my steps.