Birthday recap

So, my birthday has come and gone, leaving me officially 23 years old, one of those fun years where nothing actually changes and you just feel older. (To be fair, I'm not sure if there are any milestones left that actually change what you can do except 25 and full car rental, which somehow isn't all that exciting.) Of course, I don't really feel that much older, but give it time - I'm sure as soon as I hear about some high school students born in 1991, I'm going to feel decrepit.

Anyway, here's the recap:

My parents sent me a package on Saturday which, against all post office odds, arrived on Sunday. Inside were five books, including a "Great Movies" book that my mom had autographed by Roger Ebert when he was at a signing in the DC area. Cool. There was also some money (not in cash form, of course) and $100 in Borders gift cards, which I put mostly to use yesterday.

Alma and I went to Par King for a round of mini golf - we finally got to play on the red course again and I did pretty well - 42 was one over par due to a mediocre back nine, but I had two holes-in-one in a row on the front nine, which was awesome.

Then we went for steak at an Outback. I warned Alma jokingly not to tell them it was my birthday, so of course she did, which was cute of her. The free ice cream wasn't bad, though it was kind of funny that it was topped with a scoop (literally) of whipped cream that was about as big as the scoop of ice cream. I'm a little alarmed that this means their whipped cream probably comes out of some sort of gallon container. The steak was good, anyway.

Then it was off to Borders to burn through the gift cards. I still have 20 bucks left on one of them, so I can get another CD or two or a DVD yet, but I started by getting the two CDs on my earlier list that I knew could be found at a Borders: The Last Broadcast and Out-of-State Plates. Then I sucked it up and bought the Simpsons Season Six. For those of you who are thinking of getting it, the packaging that it comes in is kind of lame. I don't mind the idea, but as Alma noted, they should have made it a metal tin shaped like Homer's head that opened from the side. Instead, it's plastic and has to be pulled open from the top. Inside there's a card saying that "anal-retentive nerds" can call an 800 number to get a box that fits normally on their shelves. Whether this means a box that looks like the previous five seasons, into which the DVDs can actually be transferred, or whether it just means some cheap cardboard that makes things rectangular, I don't know. I also don't know whether it's free or not (though you'd think it would be).

Odd note from watching some of the DVDs: in "A Star is Burns," the huge belch let out by Eudora Welty is missing from the soundtrack, even though it shows up in the closed captioning.

Anyway, it was an excellent birthday. Activities, food, and things I enjoy, and I got to spend the whole day with Alma, which as far as I'm concerned is the most important part. She really is the best.