This has been a good birthday, I think, even though it's been a little weird splitting up the celebrations over two days - or even three if you count the lunch with work on Friday. The very best part was that my friend Tim Cummings, an artist guy who's stuff is all over the walls of my flat, managed to make it to my dinner tonight. I haven't seen him in about 10 years so it was a real treat and has probably resulted in my staying up later than I should have.

Dinner tonight was my traditional "little birthday dinner," moved from Chinese in Seattle to Indian in Tooting. Years ago I realized it was more fun and less hassle to make it a dinner where I treat my friends, which can make for a limited guest list but tends to be unlimited fun for me. I like having a chance to having all of my good friends around me while I enjoy their company, and, really, it's so much better if I don't have to cook the food. This year was Masaledar on Tooting High Street - a place which allows you to bring your own booze (something that wouldn't happen in Seattle). Amazingly we only made it through three bottles of wine - thank you everyone who came, it was lovely to see you (and it was almost an entirely different cast of folks from last night which meant extra YAY for me to see them). It was silly having happy birthday sang to me while I waited to blow out a lighter, but, hey, it's tradition.

I am now the proud owner of tickets to see the Mariinsky (formerly the Kirov) Ballet's Swan Lake in August (thanks, wechsler!), and SO many good books. Books are great, books are the gift that keeps on giving, books will stay with me for months and months and when I've finished them I will share them with other people. Thanks to everyone who's tried to help me out of the horrible situation of Not Having Something To Read. For a person who buys almost a book a week, this is far more of a problem than it ought to be. Still, I ought to be covered at least through the autumn at this rate. And yet ... somehow I feel that before July has finished, I'll still wind up buying another book! Ah, sweet addiction.

Two years ago, on my birthday, Michael Manning posted this picture on his LJ page (metalweb):




which I later bought, because, to me, it really represented me, greeting the sun on my birthday, the longest day of the year. (Or, indeed, saying goodbye to the New Sun, as per his commentary.)

This year, for a birthday present from shadowdaddy, the print was framed. In our old house, we couldn't put pictures on the wall, so there was no point framing it (not that we could afford to at the time; buying this was an exercise in hope and patience, but Mr. Manning was willing to wait for me). But now it's ready to hang and we can enjoy it regularly instead of just when I dare take it out of its envelope. And I opened the package early so I could show it off to people tomorrow

I'm kind of excited. I'll settle down in a bit.

I need some patio lights to make the Caterpillar's Den look suitably exotic ...

a croquet set (anyone got one they could lend?) ...

and God knows what else, a clean house would be a start.

Yesterday evening had rather a lot of the comic to it. I left work, bored stiff, promptly at 5, skipping the gym in order to have a drink with shadowdaddy, then headed over to souldier_blue's place. Only ... I realized just as the doors were closing at Southwark station that I'd become overly engrossed in my book (George Alec Effinger's A Fire in the Sun) and missed my station, thinking for some reason I was going to Bermondsey. So I got off at London Bridge, went across the station, and headed back to Southwark.

About ten minutes of sunlight (and more reading) later and I suddenly got the feeling that, er, maybe I was actually going to Bermondsey. I wasn't able to get either S_B or wechsler on the phone, but, fortunately, I was able to access the internet (I have a strange suspicion my new phone is perhaps just not receiving texts at all, or possibly even not sending them) ... and I discovered I had been heading to the right stop originally. Back down the steps and on the train I went. Gah.

Fortunately, both of them had been running late, and when I made it they had just headed to Poppy Hana, so I sat down, ordered gyoza and spinach and egg "sushi" and had a nice meal. wechsler gave me an early birthday present, books one and two of A La Recherche, so now I shall be obliged to make the effort and improve my literary French. Afterwards we headed over to SB's flat, which is just extremely cute although rather creepily located inside of a church (with parishoners exiting as we came in the building!). I had a good time poking through her "bag o' stuff I am getting rid of" and hopefully she enjoyed our noisy company (I may have scandalized the church-goers if any of them heard me through the open windows). I was quite thrilled by her library and liberated a Storm Constantine/Michael Moorcock book that I had once owned, never read, and unfortunately lent out to someone who disappeared off of the face of the planet. Hopefully I will continue in a fixed place and my ability to return it will be higher than that of Ziggy,the shaggy bookseller of Twice Sold Tales.

Suddenly I realized I was being tricked by the late, late summer sunset, and that it was already after nine, so we rushed out the door to head back to Putney. It really is amazing how late the sun is up this time of the year - the sky was still red and purple at a quarter after ten. I managed to not stay up too much later though and woke up feeling shiny and sleek. I even look nice today. Somehow I think the fact that today is my Friday this week is really making for a good overall attitude on my part (although wearing a black silk shirt with French cuffs does have its own charm). Yay!

I realized tonight that I'd never realistically be in a rock band ever. I was thinking that it was admitting that you'd never read Remembrance of Things Past that meant you'd hit middle age, but I think that "no me singing on the stage" (other than karaoke) will be my real marker.

Damn damn dammity damn.

Going to see Cat Power when you can't hear what Chan is singing because the music is amplified so badly is no good. I got tired out around 10:30 (the show was supposed to start at 7:30 - it didn't say anything about there being two opening bands) and headed home before the set was over. I was frustrated and not connecting with the performance and missing singing with Howard and realizing I'd never have a birthday that was that much fun again, only 6 more weeks but no croquet and no 16 people jammed into the Old Szechuan and no Howard, and no singing, and the best I can hope for is "Am Dram" and karaoke. And hello 40.

I'm at loose ends on Thursday. Anyone want a visit from a cowgirl? Or a movie or dinner in town?

My birthday party was a smashing success, thankfully entirely metaphorically. Things got off to a rushed start, since I had the Tablet story to wrap up, and when my first guests arrived the dishes still weren't done and my contribution to the pot luck was still entirely in a conceptual form. But Nick and Janna were, of course, the exact kind of helpful guests that you'd want to have come over at that point, and instead of insisting that we drop everything and start entertaining them, they patiently sat in the kitchen and chatted while I whipped up some eggs vindaloo and Worthy Opponent did a little last-minute cleaning. Next to arrive was dagmar_b, followed by Matt (I opened the bottle of tequila he brought me and gave it a happy birthday swig) and then (in no order) Rachel, Troy, motomotoyama, and miss_villanelle.

I got the sangria a-chillin in the fridge, then we made ourselves comfy with (oops ... I've got a visitor ... more later)

I'm back ... my computer froze up and ate rather a lot of work, so I'll say:
Other guest were Chris, Maurie, Cathy, and Mike and Nina.
The food all went over well. The cake was very enthusiastically received.
People gave me nice and thoughtful gifts. I was very surprised to receive a present from my father (Princes of Florence), delivered by my brother. I was also really excited about getting a massage certificate and pass to the Medgar Evers pool from dagmar_b (wow, someone is actually listening when I babble!). People hung out, ate, played games and drank sangria until about 11:30, and we still have lots of food (and sangria) left over.

Tonight we're going to go to Sorry Charlie's, where I will be performing more songs from Chicago and Cabaret.

I'm home, and I kind of thought that I would have heard from Q*** this afternoon, but no such luck. They came off really desperate in the interview, so I thought they'd snap me up right away. I seemed to hit it off with most everyone, provided that they aren't all big pokerfaces. Their payscale was a little low, about $5/10 K off of what I was expecting. We'll see. They say they have realy low turnover - a little hard to believe given the payscale. I'm hoping it's because they really don't overwork their employees (like they said) and that the work is pretty close to full time in general.

Going home after the interview took me to Koraku, DMV (for that license renewal thing, only took 15 minutes), Gelatiamo, and Ticket/Ticket (for half-priced tickets to the Scot Auguston puppet show at 10 tonight). When I got home I discovered I had a birthday card from my dad in the mail. He said he's been thinking of me. It's nice to know that at least once a year I bubble up in his head, somewhere far below trivia night at the bar and The Search for Cigarettes. (It's funny, I'd never hope to be as important to him as cigarettes, but I could hope to at least outrank trivia night.) He's supposed to be coming out here and I'm not really looking forward to it.


You have a surprise kiss! Your partner is always
pleasantly pleased to have you jump outta no
where to dote them with a fun peck on the cheek
or more passionate embrace. super markets and
work places are your favorite places to attack
your loved one with all your love =p


What kind of kiss are you?
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