It is your birthday.

I hope my fellow Office-lovers caught the reference above...

So today I turned the big 2-3. Nearly a quarter of a century old! 7 years away from 30! Old enough to drink, not old enough to rent a car! Any way you put it, today is my 23rd birthday.

The day started out wonderfully, I woke up extra early to send a bon voyage text message, then managed to get in a few more hours of ZZZs before I had to get up for work. Despite going to bed before 11 PM last night (a very rare occurance), I could not get myself motivated to actually get up at my 9 AM alarm, and pressed snooze till 10:15, when I absolutely had to get up. The day got off to a bit of a rough start...

I've gotten into the habit of leaving my clock radio on as I get ready in the mornings, and lately I've been on a bit of an NPR kick. The Walt Bodein show plays from 10-11 when I'm getting ready, and it's usually pretty entertaining! Well, today the main topic of discussion just happened to be: (duh duh duuuuh) suicide! How to prevent it, how to cope with it, and various statistics. Needless to say, I took it as a bad omen for the rest of the day. While hurrying about to get dressed and hair dried, I got a nice, albeit, awkward phone call from an ex wishing me happy birthday. I realize that I do have some difficulty forming complex sentences before noon, so I'll take the blame on that awkwardness. As I got downstairs, expecting to find the usual birthday card from my mother on the kitchen table, I was disappointed to see no cards or presents, but shook it off anyway and was determined to be in a good mood!

So I managed to get out the door, fully dressed, hair dried, makeup on, feeling great! During the drive I started to contemplate what kind of goodies I'd like to pick up for work, debating between cookies or bagels, when I get my first birthday surprise. As I was in the right lane on K-10, a guy in a crappy brown acura pulled up beside me, honked his horn to get my attention, and in the few seconds I look over managed to drawn my attention downward where he was blatantly pleasuring himself at 70 MPH. Absolutely disgusted, I looked away, but not before noticing the empty child's car-seat in the back of his car. Awesome.

When I got to Lawrence I picked up some bagels and my favorite garden veggie shmear, and spent the afternoon reading the 18th century French equivalent to a daytime soap opera, otherwise known as Fantômas. Overall, a boring, dreary day at work, but interrupted by a few pleasant text messages. Unfortunately, I could not get the image of my freeway flasher out of my head. So I headed home feeling somewhat dejected, hoping, but doubting, that I could be cheered up at dinner with my parents.

When I got home, my second birthday surprise was waiting for me. A lovely bouquet of spring flowers with a very sweet note had been sent to my house. Then, my mother presented me with a small box of gourmet chocolates and one of her signature, corny birthday cards. Within 5 minutes I had a smile on my face again! So I went to dinner with the 'rents and Katie/Steve-o, where I got my favorite grilled mahi tacos- yum! And when I got home, I got a great phone call from Amy, Katie, and Sam wishing me happy birthday. Tonight- a warm bed, some chocolates, and probably reruns of The Office on Netflix.

Needless to say, this was a day of ups and downs. But the thing that leaves me smiling at the end of it are the efforts made by my family and friends. The ones who really, truly love me. When I was convinced that the day was ruined, and my mood couldn't possibly be improved, a few people really swept in and proved me wrong. There also something to be said for all of the facebook wall posts which I've been reading since I got home. I know that it's a small effort, but it really does make me happy to know that I know so many great, friendly people. So, to anyone and everyone that made today great, THANK YOU! It meant a lot to me, and I hope that I can return the favor to some, if not all, of you someday!