my answer:
i didn't have one
no committee chairperson for the "re-elect billy for another year of life" party
i wrote my own script. so here is what i did:
april 5, 2008
It is no secret that I love baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals. So after getting a last minute rescue ride from a friend to st. louis friday night, i was ready to go roll with my opening birthday activity a Cardinals vs. Nationals game at Busch Stadium. After getting a quick breakfast in, I made it to the stadium a good 45 minutes before the first pitch. I am completely OCD about catching the first pitch. my sweetheart friends got to the stadium a minute before the first pitch, they opted for the environmentally friendly Metro train, and that stop at Busch is infamous for its traffic volume overload during the baseball season. well during my wait in line for my now standard jumbo hot dog and lemonade, the first pitch made its way for a strike across the plate. unphased by missing the first pitch and the first batter, i triumphed by enjoying a very solid outing from Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright and some key hitting by Yadier Molina. In the end i was rewarded with a Cardinals' 5-4 victory, along with a masterful eating performance by me:
- Hot Dog
- Lemonade
- Pretzel
- 1/2 of a Snocone
- Ice Cream in a baseball helmet
All in all, a great day at the ball park.
Afterwards, i made my way over to the delmar loop and picked up tickets for the New Pornographers and Okkervil River show at The Pageant. Thanks to the likes of Ticketmaster these tickets could have been loaded with various fees (Convenience, Shipping, Marinating, Printing, Friendship, etc.) BUT because i chose to actually drive to the box office AND pay in cash i was able to receive the privilege of purchasing the tickets at face value. WOW! face value ticket prices, what a concept!! I am looking forward to that show, i totally fell in love with okkervil river's "stage names" album.
Okay so i stayed in st. louis and after being incredibly cranky with my family. i was just tired and full from crappy (yet delicious) ballpark food, we settled on a sushi bar for an early dinner, and they drove me back in time to catch Bald Eagle's set opening for Cursive.
In years past, I would get, as the kids call it, "ripped" on my birthday. I mean terrificly drunk. To put it in context on my 30th birthday, i had to sleep in a closet in the hallway of my apartment building, because i gave my car keys to a friend for safe keeping but did not have them with me when i arrived to my apartment door. tired, cold and stupid, i slept off my birthday in the hallway closet. i know, i know... stupid.
so this year with sobriety being my centerpiece, i found my friends to be at a loss as to what to get me for my birthday.
"uh i would get you a bar tab, but you're not drinking. so um yeah."
that's fair, and i'm not looking for presents by any means. but there are several alternatives of acknowledgement besides alcohol. but here was my score for my birthday:
- money. always good
- the sweetest of lunches at cafe berlin
- case of smart water
- case of clif bars
- breakfast at ernie's
- twenty text messages
- ten phone calls
- five myspace messages
- two email messages
- several hugs
- several gropes
the only thing missing from my day of days was a late night round of baseball catch, but i was given a rain check on that.
No comments:
Post a Comment