Wednesday's What-nots!

**First off, lemme just say that I'm sorry I've been away for so long, but I've been so focused on my birthday that I haven't been able to concentrate on much else. So , I'm back with great news!

** I went to work a half day on Friday, which, of course, was my birthday. And all my friends had something else to do, so I offered to take Charlotte with me for a birthday date. Jay's mom came up for the party, so they went to the dinner theatre since he had more free tickets; so did Marcella and Jay. Charlotte, of course, is Marcella and Jay's daughter and her birthday is on same day as mine. She turned 8. She and I went to see IronMan after I picked her up. It was an awesome movie! Robert Downey Jr. has moved up on my list of favorite actors. Afterwards, we had some fun running through the rain looking for some place to eat. We first tried Buffalo Wild Wings (Charlotte's suggestion) but there was a waiting list and Charlotte wasn't having it! We dashed through the drizzle over to Applebee's and ate there; me and my little birthday date. Afterwards we came home and played a couple of games, namely Payday. I let her win like a nice uncle. :-)

**My sister (Rozzie) and nephew (Aurrie') arrived on Friday nite, later than expected due to flight delays. They were scheduled to be here at 6:30, but didn't actually arrive til midnight (in the middle of a horribly rainy nite). But we had a great time together. We stayed up til at least 4 that morning, laughing and talking just like old times. The weather ended up being glorious! We went to the Mall of Americas on Saturday before the party. I miss them sooo much! My nephew is still a handful. I bought myself a t-shirt and belt buckle that says "Got Beer". I know - kinda red-necky, but I needed a buckle for my jeans, so it fit me and I got it. We had a really good time while they were here and I was glad to have them here for such a great day in my life.

**My party was a genuine success!! I gotta say that it was the best party ever thrown for me! I don't know exactly how many people were there, but I would guess between 40 and 50 came and went. Everybody seemed to have a great time, and the pictures are really awesome! I lost count of the shots after the 3rd one, and I was carted off to bed at around 1:30 a.m. or so. There was a DJ, Karaoke, eating and drinking and dancing, oh my! What a party! I'm still in afterglow. That night my name shoulda been Gropey McGroperson. I was so affectionate and kissy. It was heelarious! It's gonna be hard to top that one. I have to give all the credit to Jeremy, who planned a wonderful event, and Jared, who gave so much of himself and his time to make my night magnanimous.

**Some of the great gifts I received: Unforgivable cologne (P. Diddy), Electric coffeemaker, Volleyball/Badminton set, about $150.00 in gift cards, frames, candles, diffusers, liquor and shoes. It was a quite a haul! Thanks to all my friends who thought of me. What's funny is that my "friends" in Texas didn't so much as send me a card. I thought that was really interesting. I would say "outta sight, outta mind", but I talked to all of them on a regular basis. Oh well, I'm thankful for everything I have and everyone in my life anyway.

**My best friend and I have our bff anniversary this month. It was this time last year that we met and hit it off while we were all in Paris. Me and Jerr and he and his partner, Larry. Jared and I were just there for the trip, while Larry and Jeremy were there for a hotel conference. We happened upon each other at the McDonald's in the entertainment village outside the hotel and hit it off immediately. He and Larry have a lot to do with the success of my relationship with Jeremy. I'm grateful to him for being so inspirational to me. He's the best, most inspirational person I've ever met and with Jeremy's love and Jared's friendship, I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I say all the time he and Larry are the best!

**I'm all set as far as furthering my education goes! I've applied for and was accepted by Normandale College. I've registered for two classes, Creative Writing and Business Writing and have been approved for financial aid. My first class starts on June 2nd, and I am super-stoked. I'm looking forward to lots of homework. I say that now, but when the time comes, I'll prolly be like "dayum, I ain't finished yet?!" I'm excited to find out how many of my actual credits will transfer. I know I have at least 64 hours, but how many will transfer will be the interesting thing. Yay, I'm enrolled! I'm a college student! You can pat me on the back later. heehee

**I played tennis today!!! YAY!! It was the first time this season, but I got out there and hit me some balls!! I was just hitting against the backboard, but it felt so great to just swing and hit; chasing balls and sweating, running and being winded. I plan to go out as much as I can. I was all set to go yesterday, but the rain stopped me. Today, I got home from work, dropped my work clothes and put on my play clothes! It was only 30 or 40 minutes, but it felt great!!

Well, I think that's all and you've been brung up to speed. If I remember something, it'll be in Thursday's things. Deuces!! Let's all say a prayer for Syesha on American Idol......(hummmmmmmmmm)