Birthday Gifts

Another birthday has come and gone, and having turned 26 I am now officially on my way to 30 years old. Though approaching that age is just a wee little bit scary, I'm a firm believer in the you're-only-as-old-as-you-feel philosophy, and as Amy would tell you, some [editor's note: where "some" means "most"] days that comes out in the 14-16 year old range.

I had a great birthday, which included an excellent cake Amy made for me from a recipe I got from a coworker. The gist of the recipe: cookie on bottom, frosting on top, cake in the middle. Deliciousness all around. We also attempted to go bowling at the new bowling alley by the MCI Center, but discovered upon arrival that reservations are typically required to get a lane. Since bowling wasn't an option, we did the next best thing you can do in a bowling alley; we parked ourselves at the bar, ordered some drinks, and watched many basketball games on a wall of widescreen TVs.

Finally, a list of a few random events that occurred close to my birthday which I will claim as birthday gifts:

• Our vehicle of burden for the past 7 months finally decided to leave us. A 1994 Buick Skylark, it had been in Amy's family since it was new, and had been a solid car for us up until we moved to DC. Ever since we got here, however, the automobile has not been its old reliable self. Flat tires, dead batteries, and most recently, an alternator needing replacement, finally motivated us (me mostly; Amy had been ready to get rid of it since the flat tire) to take a drive to Car Max. They made the process of selling pretty painless, and we were happy with the offer they made. Most of all we're happy that we'll no longer have to pay outrageous monthly parking fees for our apartment's garage.
• Prince channeling Jimi Hendrix with his rocking guitar-driven performance on Saturday Night Live last weekend. He played a tasty tune called "Fury", and got me excited about his next album coming out in March, called "3121". Hopefully his next tour makes a stop in DC!