here's what 31 looks like!

my very favorite customer, eric, brought me a homemade bottle of wine for my birthday! a friend of his made it, and he was worried about it having gone to vinegar (since it's all organic, no sulfites, that sort of thing), but as you can see, it is indeed quite palatable. in fact, it is delicious. more sweet than "medium sweet," but it truly tastes like a fresh raspberry. a raspberry with an attitude.
i am enjoying a glass as we speak. or you read and i type. whatever. there's a good chance i'll enjoy more than one glass, as well. in fact, i'm going to go pour glass two right now! then watch cartoons!
maggie made me a pine cone pet (with her mom's help, of course. we love mag, but we are not letting her use a hot glue gun just yet!), and my pop was kind enough to drive all the way from the island to my work to give it to me, along with my birthday card from my family. seeing pop at work just about killed me. trying not to burst into tears the minute i saw him was pretty intense. i know that my little troubles are small, but the fact is that i haven't gotten to see my family or spend any real time with them in a few weeks and it was seeing dad this afternoon that made me realize how much i miss them, as well as how comforting they are just by being around. i am not getting an official present from them, because they helped me save my stuff in storage in that was my present, but i could care less. they got me this sweet card that sings "my girl" when you open it and after pop left i ran straight to the bathroom where i cried my eyes out for about fifteen minutes. partly because i'm sad*, but mostly because everyone today was just really, seriously, awesome.

my friends got me this rad cake in the shape of cheese wedges, i got big hugs, a friend i hadn't seen in a while went out of his way to come see me at work, and everyone was just genuinely, honestly nice and wonderful. it's still hard for me to see the guy at work and miss piggy palling around, but knowing that 85% of the people i work with care about me and worked hard to make my birthday special just blew me away. i'm very lucky. thanks for all the birthday well wishes, i appreciate them all. it was a good day, and tomorrow when i get to go out and celebrate i'm sure it will also be fantastic. hooray for another year! let's all cross our fingers that my 31st year on earth is reasonably pleasant and i meet a nice, tall boy to make-out with and my cat stops peeing on my pj's. she really seems to enjoy doing that if i leave them on the floor in the bathroom. crazy.

*i got some bad news about my grandmother today. truth be told, i was kind of surprised at my reaction. she is not a woman i particularly like, nor does she care much for me, but the fact remains that she is my mother's mother; hearing about her hurt or in pain or struggling is hard for me. not only do i feel badly for her, but then i start worrying about my mom and how she's doing and it spirals downward from there. my grandmother may not be the nicest woman, she may not have been the best mother or grandmother, but she is family and hearing about what she's going through right now made me cry pretty hard. just when i start thinking i'm a cold-hearted bad-ass bitch i inevitably start sobbing like a schoolgirl. my cover is blown! i'm sensitive! dammit!