6 posts tagged “birthday”
29 is the atomic number of copper. 29 is also the age I have been since Saturday.
Eva got spayed on Thursday last week, so I took Friday off to stay home and care for her. We spent all day playing Street Fighter IV (yes, she played... maybe), cuddling and napping. It was great. Other than the scar on her stomach, which they sealed with surgical glue rather than stitches, she was in great shape from day one. Her behaviour hadn't changed a bit - she wasn't feeling sorry for herself or moping, she was just as happy and excitable as ever. This cheered me up, because I had read a ton of spaying horror stories before we took her in.
I had a great, but quiet, birthday. On top of all the cards and messages from friends and family, I was spoiled and received...
- Lots of money to spend on nice things
- Saints Row 2: Collector's Edition for Xbox 360 (it's the game, a USB stick shaped like a bullet, a money clip, a poster and an art book in an embossed tin)
- New jeans
- An awesome t-shirt: www.isteamphone.com
I felt very spoiled and very loved. Today, I came into work to find chocolate from my friends Jason and Brad, too.
Jess was very good to me. On top of my presents, I got a tasty breakfast in bed (biscuits and gravy) and she suffered Indian food with me that night. The place we went to was shockingly good, I would say the best Indian I have had in the US so far.
This week, I'm back to work. Rather than sending her to daycare, where she might over-exert herself and mess with her scar, Eva is staying with her aunty Lindsay every day. This kills two birds with one stone - Eva gets one on one care, Lindsay gets all the puppy kisses she wants. WIN!
This was a good weekend. I am going to mention a bunch of people's names - they're mostly co-workers, don't worry.
We had wanted to see WALL-E on Friday, and even arranged to do so with our friends Jason and Brad, but two things transpired to prevent us. First, the showing we wanted to go to sold out right before I could order tickets online. Then Jason had to stay late at work because of a production issue. In the end, we just ate at Chili's (mmm, bacon and beef in a bun) then watched an entire disc of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
Saturday was chores day, so we tidied the crap out of the house, got lunch then Jess went home while I got a haircut. My mane was growing increasingly impossible to deal with and horrible to look at, so it had to be removed. We didn't get long to bum around before we met Doug, got in a cab and headed to Lindsay and Laura's surprise birthday party... at WHIRLYBALL!!!
Whirlyball is awesome. You're in a dodgem car that has a foot pedal and a crank for steering. While steering with one hand, you hold a plastic lacrosse-style net and attempt to throw a small ball at a circle of mesh on a baseball backboard with the other. As well as Jess, Doug, Lindsay, Laura and myself, there was Jeff, Lindsay's husband Doug and a ton of their friends and family. I felt slightly odd crashing into a cousin or brother in an attempt to get the ball, but it was wicked fun. I think I have found my "sport".
Also, for the record, Lindsay's dad owned.
From there, we headed to a bar called Schoolyard for the drinking. More and more people came along as the night progressed - Kristian, Jason, Brad, Brandon, other Jason, Mike and Betsy, and more of the birthday girls' family and friends. Everyone seemed to get along, and we were out till after midnight, at which point we turned into (very drunk) pumpkins and made our way home.
I woke up feeling as fit as a fiddle, possibly aided by drinking piss weak Miller Light all night, but Jess seemed mucho hungovero. Despite that, we managed to get our shit together and walk on up to the corner near Jason and Brad's place to watch the Chicago Gay Pride Parade. The parade had only just started when we got there, and it turned out to be a long old haul. People joined us - Kristian and his brother Kristopher, Jason and Brad's friend Karen, Doug and his friend Jess, another girl called Shelly... I have no idea who she was.
Several hours and two rain-induced interuptions later, we headed to get food, eating at a pizza place called Purgatory Pizza. We were ravenous, and after waving other people's food by our faces for what seemed like forever, they finally brought our pizza out... except they got it wrong. In the end, they gave us the wrong pizza, a smaller version of what we actually ordered and all our drinks for $6. We felt bad, though, and left a huge tip. The pizza itself was tasty... with a really crispy base.
And that was our weekend.
But it is. Bo. At least it's been a fun, productive weekend.
After the cable was installed yesterday, we got some lunch, set up the various boxes in our lounge how we wanted them then headed out to a nearby-ish bar to meet some of my co-workers - Jason, Laura, Kristian, Lindsay, Mike, Peter and various spouses/friends/partners. Jason turned 33 so we all got him tipsy enough to slap people:
There are more photos of the mild debauchery, but I'm only sharing a cute one:
Being the lightweights we are, we ducked out early (but then, we had started drinking before 5pm). Jess ended up watching Bridget Jones while I passed out.
I felt very manly.
We got that home, and then spent the day tidying up the apartment, going on a huge grocery shop (in which more than 50% of the items we bought were vegetables or fruit), watching the hilarigross reunion special of Rock Of Love With Bret Michaels and generally bumming around.
It's a shame it's over already.
It's been a good week.
With the launch out of the way, work has been less hectic. There were still bits and pieces to do on the sites we launched - some post-launch bug fixes, new features and responses to feedback. Other than that, I got to move onto my other project which - while also bearing an ever-looming deadline - I am comfortable about.
Tuesday was Jess' birthday so we went to our favourite Mexican place. As it was a special occasion, we had cocktails and dessert... and I'm very glad we did. Despite it being a girly drink, I love pina colada; and the weird ice cream things we had for dessert were very tasty. Jess really wanted to go to a Thai place, but given the distance, this was a perfect substitute.
Yesterday, I left work just after 5.30pm and got home around 6.15pm, despite having to take a detour to drop off our rent cheque. Considering last week I didn't leave work/get home until around the same time the following morning, it was nice. Jess was staying late at work, though, so I didn't know what to do with myself.
I did very little. I made myself a very simple and meat-free dinner, watched a whole disc of Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law then got into bed and played Solitaire on my swanky new phone. Somehow, I held off the sleepiness washing over me until Jess was home and in bed.
She had to get up early again this morning, leaving me to bum around. I spent my morning devouring another disc of Harvey Birdman, dicking around on the computer (it's amazing how much time you can waste looking at online galleries, Wikipedia entries and Amazon) and playing more Solitaire and Bubble Breaker.
My lunch was a bit more interesting - Jess had brought me home some steak, mashed potatoes and broccoli last night so I reheated that and downed it with copious amounts of Diet Coke. My dessert was Dairy Milk from our stash of imported chocolate.
I'm about to get a shower then head to meet Jess after work so we can pick up the last of her birthday presents. Despite two consecutive weeks of one of us working the weekend, things are calming down as the weather slowly (oh so slowly) picks up.
This week's calmer Dale is soundtracked by...
- One Cell In The Sea by A Fine Frenzy
- Deserter's Songs by Mercury Rev
- Armchair Apocrypha by Andrew Bird
- Logic Will Break Your Heart by The Stills
As gloomy as she seems to be about aging another year, it would be very remiss of me not to wish Jess a very, very happy birthday!
Just don't get as wasted as this guy...
What a week.
Tuesday marked the one year anniversary of my getting on a plane at Heathrow with two big bags, a guitar and a smaller bag and stepping off at O'Hare to begin my new life in America.
I still remember that day. I could barely sleep - partially because I was on the floor at my parents' house, and partly because I was so nervous. My mum refused to come as she didn't want to cry in public, so it was just me and one of my two dads in the car.
I don't remember the flight, but I do remember getting off, getting through customs with my shiny new visa and meeting Jess. We got a cab back to our place - a place I had never seen before as Jess had only just moved in a few months prior.
Since then, it's been a busy year: we got married (twice... sort of); I got a job that has kept me plenty busy; we've had ups and downs with US Immigration; we've been to gigs and movies and restaurants; I've made new friends and somehow kept in touch with old ones. I won't feel fully settled in until I get my green card, but it wasn't as hard as it could have been.
And from one anniversary to another as yesterday as the anniversary of my being born. 28 years old... Jebus. Although I was at work and busy, it was a good birthday. I got money, vouchers and presents up the wazoo; I got to eat Indian food (double nice as Jess hates it) and a tasty, giant banana cupcake; I went for a nice lunch with Leslie and Jason at work. I feel spoiled, but old.
Today is the piece de resistance. A project that started back in November; that has caused plenty of long days, late nights and weekends; that has seen myself and several co-workers amassing wrinkles, grey hairs and scruffy facial hair... this project that has been our lives finally launches today. It's a huge deal: we launch the latest version of our platform, written from scratch, with a massive site for Comcast - one of the biggest cable TV companies in the US - and a smaller one for Bresnan. Right now, we're just finishing the final preparations after a couple of test runs before our five hour launch at 6pm.
If we get through this, we can get through anything.
