A real post for a change.

You know, instead of a quiz, or pictures. (well, this one will have pictures too)

Let's talk about birthdays.

As many of you who read this blog know, I grew up as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. I didn't celebrate any holidays, including birthdays. I was actually df'd right around my 26th birthday, and in the middle of breaking up with my husband. It was rather chaotic, to say the least. Oh, and I started cosmetology school around that time, too. Busy.

So, my first birthday that I actually celebrated was my 27th. And it was on the 27th. So it was my Golden Birthday. Cool first birthday, huh!

This was my present to myself that first birthday:

Now, my first/27th birthday happened to fall on a Tuesday. I went to school Tuesday through Saturday, and worked Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. So not only did I have school on my birthday, I had to work, too!

Now, I worked at a place called the Fox & Hound over off of Metcalf. I'd been there for almost a year by then, so I knew everyone that worked there, and we had many regular customers. Monday night (before my birthday) a group of us went out for Service Industry Night, and I got totally smashed. AND I got to meet Andre Rison that night. Although he was mean to one of my friends and wouldn't dance with me even though it WAS my birthday at that point! Granted, he didn't dance with anyone, claimed he had a bum knee or something like that. What-ev.

Anyway, I showed up about two hours late for school the next day, still a bit hung over. They knew it was my birthday, so they just laughed at me. Bastards.

That night, I only had to work until 10pm. It was the only night I worked that I didn't close, so I hadn't bothered getting off work. Some of my regular customers (who were kinda cute, too, I really should have hooked up with one of them) knew it was my birthday, so they told me they would buy me a drink after I got off. (I'm cool with free alcohol, aren't you?) So after I clocked out, I went to my friend Kristina's house to change clothes. While I was there, she got roped into coming in and closing the kitchen. (She worked there too, that's how we met.) So she drives us back over to the Fox, and I went and hung out with my regulars.

Kris made me a sandwich since I hadn't really eaten. She even brought it out to me. She came back 10 minutes later and I was literally falling off of my chair!

ONE drink, people, ONE drink! FALLING OFF OF THE CHAIR.

Mind you, it was a drink called Three Kings, but still, ONE drink! Okay, so Three Kings is a shot of Johnny Walker, a shot of Jack Daniels, and a shot of Jim Beam, so it's equal to THREE shots, but, damn. Falling off the chair!

Then some of the guys I worked with bought me two more shots. I believe Jeremy had to drive me back to Kristina's house that night. And I showed up late for school the next day, too. Again. And they laughed at me, again. Bastards.

I loved that birthday. It was great.

The following Halloween, I met my future (current) husband (which is anther story I need to write), and for my 28th birthday he gave me a pair of emerald earrings that I still wear to this day. That was a good birthday, too, of course, but not nearly as memorable as my first!

Now, Keith and I usually just go out for steak on my birthday. Last year fell through due to lack of a babysitter, that kinda sucked. But next year? Oh yeah, we're going out! We are NOT repeating what happened on our last anniversary, either!