Birthday fun! :)

So, yesterday was my birthday. It started (as usual) as a pretty casual day, I suppose, online. Essentially I was playing with my new toys (a keyboard, mouse, cables, RAM, webcam, video card etc.) that I had received for my birthday (thanks JD).

And then Beth and I went to Red Robin for lunch (and some good conversation). We stopped by the City Centre Market afterward for some party snacks, before heading back home. The party wasn't until the late afternoon/early evening and it had pretty good attendance. I had been emotional that morning — thinking of Leslie Gore's song It's My Party (I consider it a birthday theme song, even if the content's not 100% awesome-happy fun stuff), but was looking forward to some birthday board games and whatnot. A great number of awesome people attended, and I even got a call from Brendan and a Skype call from Richard (I hadn't seen this Richard in 5+ years so it was pretty significant! — he even said that I hadn't changed in all of this time, which was kind of a surprising compliment, I think).

The night was pretty low key — we looked at pictures on my TV (playing from my computer), talked, and played: Chez Geek, Munchkin, and Partini. It was a pretty good evening all in all.

So yeah, I'm apparently another year older. It's been a remarkably good year, too. Lots of change. Before this year I wouldn't have thought that I would do many of the things that I did end up doing. And I probably feel older and wiser for many of the things that I have done. I guess I also feel more tech savvy too, but I could probably blame that on particular individuals more than anything else.

Vague plans for the next year:
– Get noticeably more physically fit (visible and activity related change).
– Organize my finances more logically
– Get more organized in general
– Get thesis off the ground (really do this)
– Continue to work on personal development and life balance
– Work to foster/develop better interpersonal relationships with those who matter to me
– Take time for me.

I am very thankful for many of the people who have entered my life this year. Regardless of what happens in the future, they have made an impact. So thank you to everyone. I like to think that I'm wiser for what I have done, seen and whatnot in the past year. Life is not easy, but it sure is worthwhile.