Slightly Melancholy Birthday

I've heard it said over the years that the older you get, the less birthdays matter. I've never believed this would be true for me - I've always treated my birthday like a national holiday. Every year, I have a big party, and up to 30 people have come to celebrate. Last year, Mum died 5 days before and we held the funeral the day after my birthday, so I wasn't exactly in the mood to celebrate. I thought this would be an aberration from the norm, but maybe my birthday will just never be the same.

I can't kvetch about the day overall. I had a great yoga class in the morning, took a nap with the kitties, took the dog on a nice walk in the park, and had a party at Barley's downtown. Not as many people showed for the party as what I would've wanted, and it seems as though less people attend with each passing year. But I'm thankful for those that did, and a good time was had by all. The fact that my brother forgot my birthday yet again hung over my head. He usually forgets (except last year), but I hear him mention quite often about how one of his friends has a birthday coming up so he's got to buy gifts and attend the party, and everytime, I feel a little hurt that he usually can't be bothered to remember mine. I reminded him in my last email that Saturday was the day, and he replied that he wouldn't forget. I guess it wasn't at the top of his list. Maybe I shouldn't take it so personally.

My party felt anti-climatic in a way - not that I didn't enjoy it, but it just seemed as though something was missing. Maybe it's the fact I will never have cake & wine with Mum again, maybe I'm just getting old, maybe I should just quit dwelling on the bad & focus on the people that did come to celebrate or called with happy birthday wishes, maybe I just have to much on my mind.

Maybe next year will be more like it used to be.

Birthday Resolutions

I never make New Years resolutions. I figure I won't keep them anyway. This year, I have decided to make a birthday resolution.

Today is the first anniversary of Mum's death. I took the day off work & planned on writing today. I've been wanting to tap more into my creative side, and I've been wanting to write more, but my writers block is in full force right now. It's as if my mind is not clear enough to write, but I need to write to clear my mind. I've been so tired today I can't even think straight. My brother has landed himself in some trouble, but I'll save that story for another post tomorrow. Let's just say my stepfather has cut him off, so it's now my issue, and I've been to upset about it to concentrate on myself.

So my resolution is to focus & put the pen to paper. I've been thinking about writing a memoir on the subject of my mothers death and how it affected me, so I'm going to do it. The problem is, most of my ideas come to me while I'm drifting out of consciousness and into sleep at night. I received a journal from my Mum's best friend for graduation, so I'm just going to keep it w/ me at all times, that way I can write down my ideas as they come to me.

What I Do at Work

Not much, obviously, except for trying to find new & exciting ways to waste time. Here are the other Developers I work with.

We've Found "Mr. Rite"

Well, after dating nearly 4 years, Chip & I are still not ready for marriage and/or kids. So instead, we decided to adopt a dog. I figure that should keep us from having to take anymore "commitment" steps for at least another year or two. :)

The newest addition to the family is a retired racing Greyhound. His racing name was Can't Get it Rite, so he's called Rite for short.

We adopted Rite through For the Hounds, a local rescue group. The first meeting was at Petsmart, where we were able to see him interact with strange dogs, kids, and whatever else. We walked him around the store, where he began picking up various toys and treats in his mouth & bringing them to us with a "Hey, buy me this," look on his face.

Rite is 4 years old and he's a really big dog. He weighs just over 80 pounds and is hip high on me while on all fours. Most importantly, he's been kitty tested, and got along well with the 4 cats in his foster home. He's very docile and sweet. He likes to "velcro", which is Greyhound speak for rubbing on you like a cat to show affection. Maybe that's why I like him so much. Rite also seems very intelligent - he's picking up on commands and training quickly. The only problem we've had so far is stairs - Chip lives in a second floor apartment, and Rite is absolutely terrified of the stairs. Of course, I've fallen down them a few times myself, so I can't really blame him.

So I'm now a doggie mommy & kitty mommy. This picture is from the rescue group - I'll take more this weekend & post them as soon as I get the film developed & scanned. Yup, I'm still old skool with a film camera. I finally got a few pictures of the kitties that are decent too, so I'll post those as well. The cats either run off as soon as they see the camera, or the pictures end up with horrible red eye, so hopefully I'll have better luck with Rite. So look for more fur baby pics in a few days.

Graduation Pics

James & his best friend, Taylor.

James with his lady friend, Christine, on the left & me on the right.

Lil' Bro & Big Sis - my Graduation.

More to come after I get film developed & scanned - sorry, I'm old skool & still use film. Should have them ready this weekend or early next week.

Lil' Sis

Some cool pictures of my little sister, Jade.