It’s my birthday! I’m 44, making this the most symmetrical birthday since I was 33, and until I’m 55.

No huge plans for today, other than making deadline for Sunday’s column. After work, some colleagues are taking me to Mix Bowl Cafe for dinner. Yes, a birthday celebration in Pomona. Where else?

Maybe I can mark another menu item or two off my Mix Bowl list. Can I persuade my friends to order the soup with both liver and tendon, so I can eat a few spoonfuls but not have an entire bowl of it? Probably not. But I’m looking forward to experiencing firsthand the Asian-pop version of “Happy Birthday” I heard on a previous visit, plus the complimentary bowl of mixed fruit with ice. So nice.

* UPDATE: The dinner was fun, nobody ordered the liver and tendon soup (probably contributing to the fun-ness) and the mixed fruit with ice was yummy. But they didn’t play the prerecorded “Happy Birthday” song. Well, maybe next year.