Strangest Birthday . . .

So, weird blog posting, here . . . because I'm going to talk about myself (I don't like to do that), and all of the feel-good things that happened on my birthday.  Nothing groundbreaking or earth-shattering, but just a series of niceties that just so happened to coincide on my birthday.

• Woke up early and had breakfast with Sharon at Bruegger's Bagels. This in and of itself is nice; we rarely take the time to do this because we work.  I was going to bring bagels in for my colleagues to help me celebrate my birthday (this is how they roll at FE), but I didn't for some reason.  I found that when I had arrived, my team lead's wife had made cookies, so the bagels weren't needed anyway. 

• I got to drive the Murano to work - special indeed - to enjoy a day of luxury. Sorry, Sebring--I still love you--I am unfaithful to you but only a few times.

• Jennifer brought in two cookbooks for me to preview - one of which I was very interested in after a recent conversation -How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Super thoughtful of her (and I hadn't even asked her to do this).

• My application patching at work went on seamlessly. 

• My team decided to get Chinese food for lunch today, and I knew that ahead of time, and had gone to the ATM before work - just go have cash on hand so I could pay.  But when I arrived at the ATM, it was out of service, so I figured I'd wing it when the time came and something would work out.  Come lunch time, they very unexpectedly sprung for mine so I didn't need cash after all!  

• My team lead rode with me to pick up the Chinese food, and on the way, explained to me how I might come by an increase in pay soon (something I've been after for over a year, and in a bad economy).

• Erin so happened to bring in a USB wireless dongle to allow me to connect my newly built home theater PC to the network until such time as I get it 'wired'.

• I left work at 3:00 today (yay!) because I have to work tonight (boo!).  Stuart walked out to the parking lot with me and gave me a Wells Banana Bread Beer, a lager we've both enjoyed on occasion together.

• Also, I know that people are busy these days. And family sometimes can forget birthdays . . . things happen. I hadn't heard from my mother/father-in-law, nor my brother/sister-in-law.  Sharon sent me an e-mail sometime during the day, wondering if I had been forgotten (I was, too) . . . and not 10 short minutes later, I received an e-mail from my brother-in-law announcing, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONKEY BOY!". When I arrived home from work, in the snail-mailbox were 2 cards - one from each of the respective aforementioned parties. Strange, yet perfect coincidences. :)

• I found a driver that I needed for my laptop (been tough finding it).

• Roger remembered it's my birthday, and he called me.

• I got a few small gifts I've been wanting for a bit (things I wouldn't ordinarily purchase for myself).

• Sharon brought me some sweet confections from Papa Joe's (legendary, if you're an Akronite you know this). 

•  My Horoscope . . . just . . . read it for yourself (confirms a certain suspicion)

If today is your birthday, everyone recognizes that you are a sensible and astute business person and you may even receive a reward or promotion in late March, but your best luck and general good fortune will most likely appear in September. That is the best time for you to put important plans into motion or to start something of importance. Avoid making commitments or promises in early March when you may have more than your fair share of obligations and when your charisma is at a low point. By June, life will seem rosier and people will be more generous toward you.

I happen to feel that all of these good things happened to me because it's my birthday. So this blog post was intended to pay homage to all of these nice things which I experienced today. Don't ya just want every day to be this sweet?