Hippo Bird Day!

Yes indeedy, it's that time o' the year again..The kiddos are going back to school, hurricanes are swirling around on the weather maps, Vogue magazine weighs 20 pounds...Yep. Birthday time!

When I was a kid, birthdays were the shit. Cake, presents, all the little pals, you know, the works. I always got to pick what I wanted for my birthday dinner (lasagne). As I grew older (10 or 11) my Mom started throwing 'End of The Summer' parties, no presents please, instead of having a neighborhood birthday party for me. I don't think I'm scarred for life, but others might argue with that statement. I always felt kind of gypped, but I didn't dare complain, since after all, we were having a party, for goodness sakes.

So I think birthdays are a big deal. But I forget them if they're not written down. I feel especially bad this year, because my little buddy, my co-Virgo pal, Emily was born on the 28th, and in my grand pissyness, I forgot about it. She's still of the age where birthdays should be a BFD. Her Mom's birthday is Tax Day, and thats the only way I remember it, but still half the time, forget that, being that I'm just an asshole.

The worst birthday forgetting episode was in 2001. In short order, 9/11 happened, DrunkBrook finally admitted he wasn't at truck school, but was shacked up with some bimbo, and I was moving out of my apartment. (The first time in 14 years I had moved) So I was a little less than stable. I had been calling my Mom for days, and only getting her machine at the office and the house. Which is weird. So I got panicky, and started calling very frequently. Finally she picked up the phone. After I got finished admonishing her about not answering the phone, I told her about the new house. All I was getting were short, snippy answers, so finally I asked what the hell was going on. "YOU FORGOT MY BIRTHDAY" and started in on this major bitchfest. Fuuuuuuckk.....(At the time, Me and OP were still buddies, and I called her in an absolute panic. Freaking the fuck out. I was pissed and distraught at the same time. As I jabbered on, at some point I described it as "A potpourri of emotions!!" She laughed at that til the day she found this blog.) That night I went to bed thinking that I was on Mom's shit list for the next several years. (Big Momma is a MAJOR grudge holder)

The next morning, I called the local florist and sent the biggest bouquet of flowers they had and had some kind of note saying SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY...Mom didn't forgive me at first, but eventually got around to it. But she's waiting for the right time to pull it out of the old guilt sack and beat me about the head and shoulders with it. I know her. By now, it's marked on every single calendar I own. I am not doing THAT again.

Obbie is in my life now, and he's not used to birthdays being a big deal. For his birthday, I made him his favorite dinner, and got him a digital camera. (It's a piece of shit, and has never worked right.) But he seemed to have a good day, and that made me happy. For my birthday last year, we got drunk, since thats what we spent a good deal of our time together doing. We had dinner, and went out, and he got me some cute gifts and flowers. Thats all I wanted. Seriously. Just a little acknowledgement of the day, and some time with my bestest pal.

Today, I stopped for my morning coffee, and got a piece of peanut butter cheesecake as a treat. It was yummy. I had several emails from my good buddies wishing me Happy Birthday, a birthday thread on the two forums I post on, and too much work on my desk to really linger anywhere.

Tonight we're going for dinner at my Mom's house with cake and ice cream, and that'll be fine too. We'll snicker and snork and act like fools (same as it ever was)and life will be good. Tomorrow he's taking me out for mussels at the local Italian place, and we'll both eat happy. What else is there? I couldn't ask for much more than good friends and good fun. Thanks everyone!