sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

May 16, 2007


happy birthday to my random duck
posted by soe 9:00 am

Rudi *hearts* snow

Rudi and I have known each other since we were sophomores in college — more than a third of our lifetimes now — and I’m more in love with him now than when we first started dating our senior year.

He loves to bike and ski and excels at both. I frankly think he’s crazy to want to strap boards to his feet and hurtle down a hillside at 30 miles an hour or to ride a bike up any sort of incline for excruciating distances, but I’m delighted that he finds such joy in it. I know Rudi wishes I would share his love of these activities, so he’s always happy when I suggest he accompany me on a ride, even when he knows that he will have to ride backwards and with only one leg in order to keep up with my slow pace and tendency toward “Sunday riding.”

Self photo at Bayside Market

To relax, he likes to cook and I am the lucky and eager taste-tester for dishes he whips up in the kitchen. He is gifted in that he can taste (and identify) individual flavors and can often reconstruct dishes I’ve enjoyed in restaurants just by playing around in the kitchen. He loves almost all types of food (except untoasted marshmallow) and I know that he limits his culinary scope by omitting the meats that I don’t eat.

He loves music. Rudi’s tastes are eclectic and he enjoys lots of different types of music, although the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and (to a lesser extent) Pink Floyd remain favorites. He loves concerts and would attend as many as his budget allowed if he had the time. His cd collection is extensive (and his digital download archive is growing), and he’s happy to recommend new artists you might like or even to lend you his cds to take home. He was an early proponent of the iPod, buying us a pair to celebrate our both finally being employed here in D.C., to the envy of all my new coworkers.

Rudi also loves politics. He likes watching talking heads, reading tracts, and dissecting theories. He’s not afraid to argue with anyone and, indeed, is really now the political one in the family. (Stop laughing, guys. I’m serious!) It’s been fascinating to watch his interest in international affairs turn toward domestic policy over the last decade.

Rudi and his Knucks

He laughs with gusto and his amusement is apparent to anyone who shares a comedy with us at the movie theater. It makes my soul skip with joy whenever I say something witty enough to make him chortle.

Kind and loving and sweet, Rudi’s a loyal friend (even when exasperated by behavior he doesn’t understand). He’s far from perfect, but he is wonderful and I’m lucky to have him in my life.

Happy birthday, dear. I hope you have lots of fun today on your day off. May the hills come easily and may the tunes truly rock.

(Birthday salutations can be left at his blog. I’m sure he’d be delighted to hear from you.)

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