I turn thirty-two years old today, and to celebrate (in advance, sure) I went north to visit Dawn and also spend a bit of time with some folks from Pool. It was a wonderful, fun, relaxing, rejuvenating couple of days, and I shall always be thankful for such an interlude during this particularly stressful time in my life.

Hey, I even got to shoot some pool. I’m still not very good at it, but I am reminded now of how much I used to enjoy that particular pasttime. I even managed to call and sink a moderately tricky 8-ball shot… only to lose the game anyway on account of scratching. Oh well. It was almost a perfect shot.

All through the weekend I was getting presents of one sort or another… for instance, Lilith bought the anime version of Metropolis on DVD for me. Dawn gave me sweets of various kinds, a Pikachu candy dispenser and the most adorable little plush Nekobus from My Neighbor Totoro:

I arrived at work this morning only to find… well, what can best be described as a cookie basket, waiting for me at the front desk. Thank you, Heather!

I also got birthday cards and some brownies from my coworkers, not to mention lunch at one of my favorite restaurants and any number of verbal birthday greetings as I worked around the building.

Yeah. It’s not all bad. I just have to remember that when things go to hell like they’re so prone to doing…