I went to a surprise birthday scavenger hunt around NYC yesterday. First off, on the list of cool surprises, a scavenger hunt is pretty much the bottom of the list. A surprise should be a diamond ring or a long-awaited puppy or a huge mountain of cheese fries. "Surprise, we're about to walk around NYC for 8 hours" isn't that much of a crowd pleaser. I was crabby about it from the beginning, but M insisted I put on a happy face. I did my best (and the fact that I was the one who figured out all the hints boosted my spirits considerably), but about halfway through, even the birthday girl stopped pretending she was having fun.

I've never been big on surprises. I don't understand people who like surprises, or want to be surprised. Once you want it, it's not really a surprise, now is it? Once you want it, it's an expectation, and at that point, a surprise is just a disappointment waiting to happen. You see it on wedding boards all the time- girls completely destroyed by the fact that their "surprise" marriage proposal didn't live up to their dreams. Hey dummies, if you wanted things a certain way, you should've done what us assertive girls do: ask for what you want! What's more important, a surprise or getting what you want? For me, it's always been the latter. And that's why I always get what I want! I am woman, hear me roar!