Birthday Weekend. A weekend of changes?...

Well, the big 38 hit me like a saran-wrapped jello mold on Thursday (not hard but you end up thinking you need to wash) but I was able to walk away from it with out too much fanfare. (I got the cards from my mom and Rosa but, it being a Thursday - honestly - what do you do on a Thursday night?)

Friday brought another set of cards. Tim from Oregon (and his trusty, Indian sidekick, Autumn) sent me what was easily the funniest card of the year. The other card was from my sister, Audrey, sounding... oh.... completely out-of-touch with reality. Now, I have no problem losing touch with reality, but I usually don't do it in a birthday card... oh well.

Friday night, I drove down to San Diego to pick up Tim (from San Diego)(yes, I know a couple Tims) and bring him back for a weekend of drunken debauchery. We didn't drink a whole lot that night but, I figured, Saturday night awaited. I was really surprised, though, by wrapped gifts. Yes, wrapped gifts. Tim actually bought me gifts and wrapped them. You see... guys... well, we are (what's the word?) lazy. Gift wrapping doesn't often happen. It was cool.

Saturday, we drove around doing errands (this is "old person speak" for "hung out")(it just happens). We made the requisite stop at DVDPlanet, where I bought a couple gifts for my Keith (whose birthday was that day) and my mom (for whom I just felt like buying a gift), and then went grocery shopping. (That's a nice way of saying "booze shopping".) As I refuse to cross picket lines (workers of the world unite, already!), we went to Stater Brothers, a company that I've heard, takes decent care of their employees.

That night, Tim and I, along with Keith, went to dinner with my mom. She was so happy to sit with her boys again. It was the first time the three of us had been at a table together in, easily, ten years. It's been kind of like a dream for her and it was nice to help make that dream come true. After, Tim and I started on our drunken debauch... but it didn't really turn out like that. We had three pitchers of apple martinis - and LOTS of cigarettes - but at 10pm, Tim started to get the hiccups. He laid down to try and get rid of them... and passed out. Let's face it. We're old. I mean, I'm older than he by two years but my circle of friends is past the "stay up all night drinking" age by a decade, easily! Oh well.

We spent Sunday relaxing and watching movies. We first saw "Wrong Turn", which is a highly ironic title because we took a wrong turn by putting it into the DVD player. If you ever want to watch a movie about stupid people - that's the way to go. And it's not just that the people were stupid, the director kept ignoring things like, oh, gravity, or that when a person dies you shouldn't show them running around later in the film. It was bad. Then, we watched Bergman's "Through a Glass Darkly". I, being a Bergman fan, got a lot out of it. Tim, not being one, endured. After, as we were out smoking, Tim asked how I liked it. I started talking about the imagery and how Bergman shoots his scenes with such efficiency and the depth of the characters. Tim seemed happy he didn't fall asleep. Hey, I can dig that. I mean, there are plenty of movies that I don't have a taste for and I certainly can't expect everyone to like what I like. These were both new movies to both of us so, from that perspective, it was interesting to compare notes after.

Then, we went to TGIFridays (hate that name) for dinner. Steve works there and he stepped out to talk for a bit. I hadn't seen him since the end of "Play it Again", so it was nice to catch up.

Over the course of the weekend, I decided I'd start laying off the smokes and hitting the gym again. So, it was one last, blow-out weekend... which wasn't really a "blow-out" but, at my age, I guess I just have to start getting used to that.

But I have to start getting used to the idea that Rosa has moved on and doesn't want me and it's time to begin looking for a future without her. While it's easy to spend those days in the self-flagellating purgatory of booze and smokes, purgatory was never meant to be permanent. It's time to get up and dust myself off... again. So, watch this space for more updates on that. I am now 225 pounds (that's about 102 kilograms to those who care). That's five pounds over my "3 Days of Rain" fighting weight - and by no means close to my "just lost Rosa" 240 pounds. My goal this time is 210.

... As I said, watch this space.

The interesting part will be how I deal with Keith. Keith comes by quite often now and, he being a smoker, tends to tempt me with ciggies. My plan is to allow him to smoke outside - but not to join him!

... We'll see.

And now, it's Monday morning... I'm at work... time to get some sleep!