The Great Bacon Waffle

A man opened his eyes on the morning of his 37th birthday, stretched his feet out from under the covers, remembered that he had the day off from work, and announced: "I need a Belgian waffle with bacon inside it."

And I'll tell you, I can't think of a better way to start the day.

After we had breakfast I wandered over to the Nordstrom Rack to look for sandals, and who would have guessed they were having a one-day sale on my birthday? Not me! So of course, I had to take advantage of it. It's not every year that Fate simply hands you a Red Tag Sale on your special day. After that I wandered down to the Recycle Book Store on the Alameda and wandered in the stacks while time flowed around me. Between the smell of the books, the cool air conditioning, and the anticipation of finding unexpected treasure, used bookstores are really something to be savored. I left with a Micheal Chabon first edition and the new Nick Hornby. I lingered over a box set of Paddington books, but decided to save them for the library.

Oh, and I just found out that Matt Ruff has a new book in the works. Hurray! In the meantime I'm going to send him my copies of "Fool on the Hill" and "Sewer, Gas & Electric" to sign.

Don't know what else the day is going to bring. It's our anniversary as well, which is fun because I get to give and receive presents on the same day (I have a mystery date planned for us next month in the city). I've been thinking about whether there's anything significant I've learned over the last year, any bits of wisdom or lore coming to mind as I approach 40.... And you know, I'm not coming up with a whole lot. I can certainly say that this was the year that the bizarre aches and pains started -- completely out of nowhere, thank you very much. I mean, what the hell? Why in the world should my toes hurt when I get out of bed in the morning? That's just wrong.

But other than that, life is good. Even with work still kicking my ass these days, I can't complain. I'm learning a lot there, that's certain. And it's getting easier. But yeah, I'm amazingly blessed, when I consider it. Can't wait to see what the next year or two brings, as there are sure to be adventures in our near future.

Speaking of which, my brother is due to become a dad again, 5 days from now (they had to schedule Erica's delivery, due to complications the last time). They are just now barely getting settled in their new place in Albany, NY and thought that on top of a new job and a new city, they'd throw in a new baby as well. Isabel Avery Beyer. I think. We shall see.

Had more work done on the tattoo last night, and we are in the home stretch. Maybe six more hours or so, and I think we'll be wrapping it up. I'm counting about 22 so far. I need to get some pictures taken and posted, with some closeups of the ants.

I like the ants.