Birthdays

Some place a great deal of significance on them. It's a reason to go out and celebrate and buy extravagant things, a new Rolex, and new BMW, a big fast boat,  or as we refer to them on the crik, a penis boat complete with two blondes in thong bikinis permanently mounted on the bow via suntan lotion.
As for me, going out to dinner last night with Belle and the man-child with one of the gift cards she won, by kicking my ass, in golf was great.  Well wishes from many of our blog buds via Belle's post really made me smile. Heck, I even got an email from my little brother (who turns fifty next  year..heh).
This year, I hit 52. When I turned 50, fortunately things were busier for those around me and I didn't have to go through the "over the hill" birthday party. Stealth has it's merits.  It was a non-event to me. When I turned 40, it was pretty much the same.  The watershed birthday for me was when I turned 30.  It was when I realized I wasn't a teenager with a job and a bank account anymore. (I still think the voting age should be raised to 30)  It was the year my daughter was born. Holy crap Batman! I'm not bullet proof anymore!
I really had a pretty good birthday today. I put myself to bed at a decent hour last night, so I felt fine when I got up this morning.  Finally, I have a new project on the very near horizon in Austin. I spent 10 hours today trouble shooting a network backup problem that proved my suspicions and resolved in a successful backup of a half terabyte of data right before I left for home. My kids are healthy and busting their respective asses in college. My wife is happy.
And, therefore, I am happy.
happy b'day to me.