Birthday Month

My birthday isn't until October 21st, but I received two gifts early this year, so I well be able to celebrate the whole month. Next Monday Julie is taking me to the Browns Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants, and yesterday my gift arrived from my parents, who will be out of town for my birthday. Waiting for me when I got home from work was this gem: I wanted something to work out with while I was watching television or on the computer, or just feeling too lazy to go to the gym. You can put it anywhere and just pedal or work on your arms while you are doing other things like drinking beer for instance. I love to multi-task.

It was a tough decision because I almost asked for this chair that I saw on the Ellen Degeneres show. Believe me, this video is worth watching.

Happy Birthday To Me (6 Months From Now)

I was partially joking when I told Julie I wanted to go the Monday Night Football game between the Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants on October 13, 2008. By partially joking I meant it in that way when you hope someone takes you seriously, and if they don't, you can just say: "What? I was just joking-I would never really ask for something like that for my birthday six months away from now." Thankfully she took me seriously. Today I got my birthday wish six months in advance when she purchased this view for that evening:

It's Been A Long Two Weeks

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of fun (except the part where the Indians choked to the Red Sox). My birthday week was filled with fun adventures including the opportunity to meet one of my favorite writers, comedians and actresses, Amy Sedaris. A couple days later I went on my birthday goal bike ride from my house to my friend's house in Chagrin Falls (20 miles), and then spent the rest of the day at the Winking Lizard in Bedford, which is a lot more fun than it might sound. Apparently at the Winking Lizard you get a free birthday shot called "The Blowjob" which creates for good photo opportunities, but the taste was too sweet for me. We also taste tested the new wing sauces (spicy seasme and garlic parmesean) they are offering which got a four out of five wings ranking from me.

On my actual birthday we went to Niagara Falls. Before heading to Canada, we stopped in Buffalo for some recommended wings at Gabriel's Gate that were really good (four out of five wings). We had an amazing time in Niagara Falls and got a beautiful room overlooking the Falls at the Marriott. It was a great trip, but Canada is just so damn expensive that it makes it hard to go there anymore. Remember when the American dollar was actually worth something?

Halloween was this past weekend and I decided to do it up this year. I went as Captain Cock Block (Julie went as Q-Bert). For those of you that don't know what a cock block is, here is the definition according to Urban Dictionary: "An act of ill etiquette in which a male is speaking to one female in a group of females, and the alpha female creates a disruptive environment" Now just imagine that in human form, or just check out the slideshow below.

The Difference Between 31 and 32 is 40!

I was able to reach my goal of losing forty pounds by my birthday! Complete details of the best birthday weekend ever will follow later in the week!

I Graduated!

I finally cashed in on my last birthday present and it was worth the wait! Last night I went to beer school at the Great Lakes Brewing Company. It was the coolest thing I think I have done in a long time and I recommend it to anyone in the Cleveland area. For the price of $15, you get to go on a tour of the brewing company, learn the history of the building and surrounding buildings, learn how beer is made, learn how they name their beers, taste their five main beers and then they give you a souveneir glass and an awesome t-shirt that lets everyone know you graduated from beer school. It might be one of my proudest moments and I am sure my parents are equally as proud.

One thing to keep in mind if you do the tour is that you should eat first. I was given this advice by someone who did it before me, so plans were made to go to the Flying Fig. Ironically, and this has never happened at the Fig before, it took our food too long to come out and we weren't able to eat. I am a beer drinker, so I didn't think it would be that big of a deal except for the fact that the beer tasting was more like a drinking contest. While they talk about their five main beers you are drinking each one in a plastic cup (imagine every keg party you have attended but with expensive, good beer). It only takes them about 20 minutes to talk about all the beers, so you have slammed five cups of strong beer in that short time. Hmmm...I wonder if that was why I liked it so much.

Birthday Blog

This was one of the best birthdays ever. I have included some pics from my birthday weekend, which included: a crazy memory-filled Friday night with my parents and their friends at Pickwick and Frolic followed by after-dinner drinks at the Marriott; Staying up until the wee hours of the morning with my brother and Liz after seeing Joan Jett which was an incredible show; Partying with Mindy on Sunday with incredible seats at the Indigo Girls concert followed by drinks at the Old Angle. My friends and family are so incredible and I had such a blast over the past couple days. Pictured below: me with my cake first thing Sunday morning, Mindy and I Sunday before the show, Liz and I Saturday after the show, Joan Jett rocking out and sharing a birthday drink with my parents' friend at Pickwick and Frolic.

Ten Years In The Making

Tomorrow I will celebrate ten years of legally drinking, or as some people might call it: my 31st birthday. While it is not quite as exciting as turning 21, I am still looking forward to turning a year older and spending this weekend with friends, who have been more than generous with the birthday activities. Tonight I will be celebrating with Maria, who also happens to be sending me to beer school at The Great Lakes Brewing Company; Saturday I am going to see Joan Jett courtesy of Liz and on Sunday Mindy is treating me to the Indigo Girls concert. I am sure I will be putting the experience I have gained over the past ten years to good use this weekend.

My Next T-Shirt

My birthday is in less than a month and I would probably wear an XL. To purchase this shirt for that special blogger in your life, please go to the Busted T-shirt website.

Dionysus Would Have Been Proud

Had a great birthday party Friday night and was able to stop stressing when the guests started to arrive. I must admit people were taking bets early on as to when my head would implode. Alas, I am unscathed as the party was a success. Perhaps the best part of the party was the recap the next day as everyone lay around a little hungover with their own personal stories of the night to share. I have found a good recipe for birthday party success includes sangria, a hot dog buffet, great friends, family and lots of alcohol.

As for the most important part…I made a birthday wish for the first time in my life. I mean I have faked them before, and I have also just thought of the craziest stuff because I never took them seriously. This time I decided to follow-through with the gesture and finally put some thought and feeling into the whole ordeal. Then I started thinking…What is up with the birthday wish anyway? I did a little research and found that in ancient times, people prayed over the flames of an open fire. They believed the smoke carried their thoughts up to the gods (in my case *Dionysus). Hopefully he was listening Friday night.

*Dionysus=the god of wine, represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but also its social and beneficent influences.

Happy 30th Birthday To Me!

The day has finally arrived. I am officially thirty years old. Unlike most people, I have been looking forward to turning thirty. It makes me feel more refined. Twenty-nine always seemed like such an immature age. And if you know anything about me, you know I am nothing if not refined and mature.

I look back on my twenties and I can’t stop smiling. The past ten years have been filled with so many firsts and so many good times. Tonight many of the people who have made the past ten years so special will be joining me. We will not only be celebrating my birthday, but also enduring friendships. At this time in my life I feel so lucky. I am surrounded by some of the best people in the world. I can’t wait to see what the next ten years holds for me.

A special birthday shout-out to my parents for not only bringing me into this world thirty years ago, but for letting me celebrate my birthday in style at their house.

Birthday Dance Party, Who Knew?

Thanks to the best public relations practitioner in Cleveland I was able to get some pictures uploaded to my blog from a birthday party last week. Lately things always seem to end up as an impromptu dance party and this event was no different. Karen and I decided to break it down right by the door. Those poor people.