Thinking back, I have definitely had better birthdays.
Ones that don’t involve babysitting reactions which look like chocolate soufflé but smell like concentrated vinegar.
Ones that don’t involve cleaning up said reaction after the oil bath overheated while I was in a meeting.
Ones that don’t involve said reaction mixture splashing onto my pristine lab coat and arms.
As my lab mate kindly pointed out: “Hey, at least you got a story for your birthday.” Thanks, R—.