Birthday Bash

This birthday weekend ended up being a lot of fun. Friday, my birthday, was a busy day, starting with a recording session with my brass quintet, then jetting home for a rehearsal of a concert of Pink Floyd music (yay!). In between, I grilled up a big fat Tbone for dinner, and then went off to the concert.

Dave and Torey invited me over afterwards for some serious Blitzin' action, along with some munchies. The wine was flowing, and my heart was certainly gladdened. We had a great time playing Dutch Blitz and just chatting away the evening. The Canucks were still playing when we finished, and since Dave's a diehard fan, we went across the street to the Nitecap to watch the overtime. It happens to be one of the diviest bars I've ever been in, and it was great fun. We both had a couple of beers, and on the walk back to their house, it was decided that the 1/2 mile drive to my house was a bridge too far in my wine and beer infused state, so I crashed on their couch, which has to be the biggest couch in the county. I slept like a rock, bed spins notwithstanding.

Sleeping in was had by all, and Dave made one of his legendary fritattas for breakfast, which was very tasty, along with some roasted potatoes. I left the Westside B & B at around 12:30, and had a great time. Thanks Dave and Torey! I'm glad we're neighbors!

Then it was off for a shower and then to work, where the bones only had to rehearse for 45 minutes--not bad. I went home, took a nap, and then had plans to go eat burgers at my buddy Erich's house, and watch Napoleon Dynamite. I was running a little late, and so I got a call at 5:00, when I was supposed to be there, and then got over there as quick as I could.

Well, it turned out to be a surprise birthday party. Erich got the entire low brass section there, and he was sneaky enough to finagle Paul and Alison's last name from me, and they were there too. Dave and Torey were able to make it as well. I absolutely had no idea, and was taken completely by surprise--no clue at all.

That's got to be one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me, and everyone showing up meant a lot, along with their generosity in giving me some gifts, which no one needed to do! I was a little stunned for awhile, but I got over that fairly quickly. I've been to a few surprise parties before, and I've often wondered if I would like to have one myself. My usual answer has been no, since despite my hammish nature, I don't really enjoy being the center of attention like that. I think a surprise party can make you feel pretty self conscious, and I certainly felt that way for the first hour or so. But now having experienced it, I think everyone should have a surprise party sometime. It was definitely a good thing.

On Sunday, Torey, Alison, Ren, Eden and I went to the Allegan Antique Market, one of the bonuses of warm weather and a favorite activity of mine. That's a good time, and I think they've caught the bug, and I'm glad. It's looking like this might become a regular thing, since we're already planning to go down at the end of May to the next one. We were there for almost four hours, and my big purchase was the clock I posted below. A successful trip, and a fun way to wrap up a great birthday weekend.

Thanks to all my friends for making this the best of birthdays! Y'all are keepers!