Happy Birthday to me!

Here’s a bit of trivia, my birthday in UNIX Time is -45001800. I guess they use the negative symbol instead of some acronym on the end such as BC.

You know, 40 doesn’t hurt as much as I thought it would when I was say 18 or 25. I will pimp slap the first person who says or writes “40 is the new…” Thanks to my lawyer friends who deal with the “colorful” (and violent) residents of Williamson County, I know exactly how to do it with my knuckles…Ike Turner style! I just lack a big ring to leave a mark like The Phantom.

On a more peaceful note, this birthday has been pretty nice. It’s laid back as many have been but this year I’m borrowing a page from Nelson Mandela’s playbook on his 90th, just in a different order. Last weekend and today have been small parties, eating too much, so on, to commemorate the actual date. The more formal, pomp and circumstance celebration will be in Vegas around September joined with the wedding anniversary and Somara’s birthday.

I’m not too distraught over my original plan of doing it in Vegas, surrounded with friends and family members. Somara’s surgery in March was a higher priority. Her well being was more important than the brief disappointment I felt. I can’t perform a Vegas Trifecta if she died or was too ill to attend. But be warned, you read it here in Picayune first, make tentative plans next year to join me in Las Vegas! What’s so special about 41? It’s a prime number which is good enough for me and I have $500 in vouchers for MGM-Mirage. If the $250 we’re taking are too difficult to use on anything other than a hotel room, guess what? There will be a party suite at one of those resorts for everyone to hang out at.

This is definitely another moment of reflection since I’m not at the halfway point of my life expectancy…if I inherited my maternal grandparents’ DNA; Grandpa made it to 93 and Grandma to 95. Things look pretty good too. I own a house, my car still holds up, I’ve been married for five years, I’m surrounded by great friends plus I’ve been reunited with some others (Cindy in Minneapolis, I’m looking in your direction!), including family members I always thought were awesome (my cousins Dana, Denise and Leesa with Aunt Colleen). Sure a couple have given me the kiss off too (they’ll remain nameless since one I hope will forgive me, when I know what I did, and another will come around eventually, I’m persistent). There are four cats who enjoy my company. Trust me, Molly may be gruff in public but in private, she’s putty in my hands when I scratch behind her ears.

Oddly, I haven’t received the e-mail I wrote myself last year from Futureme.org. Maybe it’ll appear tonight. I know I must write another for 41-Me. Even better, I’ve lost over 10 pounds! I’m not sure what the exact number is, I wasn’t measuring until I got back from Jose’s wedding. That was an awful 243 pounds (110 kg for the Europeans). As of today, the Wii Fit said I am 227 (103 kg), I could’ve been lower if I didn’t each too much at Alamo last night. I probably continue to resemble the Simpson character from last year. In 2009, I should be thinner.

What else? Forty has been good. It’s not quite 35 because Vegas is a tough act to beat. It easily clobbered 30, 25, 18 and 16. Those all stunk due to my situation; either getting ready to leave for what could be greener pastures (30, back to Austin two days later; 18, it was Marquette University in three weeks) or I realized my life was going nowhere quickly. Forty will be getting better in 49 days since it will join 35 on the Las Vegas front…yeah, I’m a broken record there. Relax. Somara and I are making tentative plans to travel elsewhere in 2009 if things pan out on her job front.

Last year I promised to make a special movie which received some assistance from numerous people but I didn’t complete it. I do guarantee it will be completed in September. So enjoy this goofiness from the party and a proposal on birthday parties from Patton Oswalt.