nothing says "i love you" like a shoe full of swords n spiderman

i am now 38. which doesn't feel much different than 37, except my book is at the publishers, our house in new mexico that has been such a pain in the ass closes out the end of this month (with enough money for us to break even on every house-related loan!) and i am making more money from my gi bill this semester than i thought because the summer semester is accelerated.

nos. 1 n 2 are doing well, except that i think we need to up no. 1's dosage on his adhd medication because his behavior is showing a lack of control that concerns me and needs to be fixed before he starts school again.

and the title? well, today i went to the gym after class and when i put on my running shoe, i felt something:

"what the--?" it was a little plastic lego sword.

spiderman was living in my other shoe.

just those little reminders from afar, "hey, i'm still here, and i still care."

kinda like this post.

darth sardonic

i got...

for my birthday, i got:

two retro chairs for the manroom (commonly known as the garage) and a thursday tshirt as well as a couple other things at a local thrift store that just opened for under 30 bucks. (i will be back to visit them alot!)

a stack of playboy and penthouse magazines from my barber, and not because it was my birthday, but because they have free subscriptions to both, and they don't put them out since the place is frequented by predominantly old men and they don't wanna give anyone a heart attack. or offend anyone's sensibilities. the mags on top of a killer and inexpensive haircut.

37 bday spanks via text. heh heh.

a new cam for the computer, as well as a cool tshirt that was on sale.

asked by the boss if i was ok the morning after. everyone assumed i would get drunker'n an irish wake and stumble in feeling rough and tore up the next day. but i was fresh as a spring daisy. now, sunday morning when i go in for a few hours... well, that might be a different story.

well-wishes via text from more people than i didn't even expect to remember it was my bday. even more well-wishes via this blog, facebook, suicidegirls, and other places i can't even remember now. some people texted me AND left me bday messages. some people left me bday messages in two places online (krissie).

spent a half-hour talking to the guy who will eventually repunch my industrial, and for half of what i paid for the original job that turned out to be half-fucked-up.

and, since this all happened on a thursday, which is a short day at work, i got all this while working a normal day and before i would've been off work any other day.

some bday wishes still trickle in.

overall, a damn-fine day.

more celebrating this weekend which i may or may not share here. who knows?

i surely don't.

darth sardonic

did i remember to keep your beer as full as mine?

i am 36 years old today.

i should point out that i don't feel, look, or, for that matter, act like a 36-year-old. well, that is, if there is even a way that a 36-year-old should look and act.

i'm a bit pensive today, though i think it has little to do with my birthday, it is just something i do every so often.

i am happy. right here, right now. with things just the way they are. that is not to say that i don't have some regrets, and that there aren't things i might like to change about our current situation, but overall i am extremely pleased with my life.

actually, i think it is better than i could've hoped when i was, say, 16. or even 26.

on a different subject, i have some great friends. i have, during this time my wife has been gone, tended to keep strictly to myself. i don't want to be the kind of fella that calls everyone hoping someone will keep him entertained. i don't feel that it is anybody else's job. i don't mind being by myself, and i enjoy my own company, particularly when i am feeling down. no one else should have to put up with me when i am being whiney and mopey. at least that is my attitude.

well, despite all that, i get regular calls from a few of my friends. checking up on me. seeing if i need anything. only just now, one of our friends called and sang me happy birthday, and although she was sick, said she wanted to try and make me dinner this week. she's already planning on coming to my birthday shindig this saturday, but on top of that wants to make me dinner. my buddy s instists he is paying for our regular friday night's food and drinks, even though he, too is coming to the party on saturday. my other friends, a&m, will also be at the party, despite the fact that m is having hernia surgery tomorrow.

this group of people, along with a few others, have made regular contact and made sure i am alright, physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.

the joke about "friends will help you move, good friends will help you move a body"? i think i could easily call s, e, a&m, m&g, and probably my mom, and by christ, they would turn covering up a homicide into a big party, complete with h'ors deouvres and entertainment. not saying that i will kill anyone, but they would help me if i needed it.

i have to say, i am a little overwhelmed suddenly to become aware that finally, after having discarded numerous "friends" over time, i am surrounded by people who care about me easily as much as i care about them, and show it openly.

everyone in the world should be as lucky and as happy as me.

a few notes: yes, a winged unicorn. so that i might fly around, and could stab people who ask too many questions. hahahahaha. mainly, i was coming up with stuff that seemed as unlikely as me getting a weekend to myself.

"off" was my nice way of saying that my sister-in-law is "not right in the head" or "slow" or "not all there."

the father's day bbq wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be, and it was nice, considering how i have been feeling about my own kids lately, to see them calmly sitting and watching a movie whilst their cousins tore around the house getting into everything they could reach and nearly ending up in the er numerous times. by comparison, my kids are sweet, cherubic angels, and i just needed reminding.

darth sardonic