Happy birthday in techno

And the "It's my birthday!" pin goes back into my jewelry box for another year. In 1996, my first year in the the 'Burgh, Lara, a college friend (wonder where she is), gave me the pin, which came attached to a birthday card, for my birthday. I have worn it every birthday since. But the emphasis I have placed on my birthday has gone down over the last six or so years.

During the first few years at my current job, I would send out a staff-wide email, reminding everyone that my birthday was only one month a way. I stopped doing that probably in 2000 or 2001. Lynnie, a coworker, used to decorate my workspace with twinkling lights and other paraphernalia, but that stopped once our offices moved across a couple of rivers just before my birthday in 2002; now we put a simple "Happy Birthday" banner across each other's workspace.
For my years, I gathered friends for a birthday dinner at some restaurant in the area, but that too has fallen by the wayside. Most of my friends have kids, and there is just too much going on so close to the holiday. But the one tradition I have refused to surrender is my birthday lunch with coworkers at Mad Mex. Being on the Big Burrito Group mailing list, I am the recipient of a free entree at any of their restaurants, and I have always gone to Mad Mex. This past Tuesday, we did "linner" around 3 p.m., to accommodate a former coworker and her girlfriend. I really look forward to this event every year, and I am glad I can always find a handful of friends to continue the tradition.

Not wanting the celebration to last only one day, on my actual birthday, Brian, Jordan, and I went to one of those Japanese restaurants where they cook at your table. We had a really nice dinner, just the three of us. After we had ordered dessert, Brian took Jordan to the bathroom. A few minutes later, very loud techno music started pumping from the PA system and lights started flashing. I saw our server heading towards me with a large piece of cake with some flower petal-candle contraption that she kept trying to light, and I was left to suffer through this display alone. The one manager must have realized what was going on, and she proceeded to yell at our server in Japanese. Within a minute, Brian and Jordan came back, the pulsating music and blinking lights started again (did I mention the disco ball?!), and the yelling woman lit this crazy candle. Boy was I glad when that was over.

Sure, I might still be a little about my birthday, but, dear friends, to my credit, I am really good at remembering birthdays, so it is not just about me. Here is to my late 30s (which, at 37, I don't think I will hit until next year), a great Christmas, and peace on earth.

What a year 2021 has been (Day 7)

I have almost no words for what happened yesterday at the Capitol. Protesting is one thing (though I truly think it is and has been time to move on). But to storm the Capitol? A friend on Facebook said, quite simply, " Almost 20 years ago a group of people on an airplane sacrificed themselves to protect the Capitol. How far we have fallen!" Indeed. And, yes, it IS storming the Capitol. I have seen numerous videos of people knocking down barricades/fences, pushing police officers, and breaking windows and climbing through them. That is beyond protesting. And even if a protestor did not do those things, if they followed those seditionists past those barricades and into the building, they are just as guilty. I did not support the violent protests this summer that resulted in damages to businesses and public property (I was in full support of the actual protests). But I also acknowledged as a white person, I cannot truly put myself in the position of a black person who is angry a...

Why do they stand up there and say that when they are just lying?

That extra-long title is courtesy of my nine-year-old and was something she uttered during "Say Yes to the Dress" on Friday evening. I watch very little reality TV, but I make an exception for this show because I like to look at the dresses. And sometimes, the stories are heart-warming. Typically at the end of the show, a snippet of a wedding is aired. In this particular show, a woman who was confined to a wheelchair was exchanging vows with her fiance. After the two of them finished, J made her comment. I asked her what she meant as I must have been on the computer while the TV was on, and she explained that because so many people just get divorced, why do they even say "as long as we both shall live"? That is tough one, kid. I tried with what I thought was a sound explanation: Most of the people who get married truly believe they will be together the rest of their lives, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. But if you don't think that you will be ...

Disenfranchised Republican

When I went to vote this a.m., I handed my ID to the guy, since my last name can be tricky. He looked for several minutes in the box with the cards. Then he asked if I was in the right place (there is another area in this room, for people in a different neighborhood, I presume). And I told him that this is where I have always voted. He then reviewed the bound paper list, found my name, but could not figure out why it was there, yet not in the box with the cards. Then he realized what was going on and rather exclaimed, "Oh, you are a Republican!" One of the ladies sitting next to him said, "Oh, one of those." I said I assumed they had not seen too many of "my kind" that morning, and she said I was the third. Then, being the open person I am, I eagerly said I was coming to rock the vote and vote for Ron Paul. One of the women commented that she liked some of the things he had stood for, perhaps to try to make me feel as if I was not voting for a terrible per...

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