vovat | You're the Birthday, You're the Birthday, You're the Birthday Boy or Girl

Last Friday was

bethje's birthday, and Monday was mine. Neither was all that eventful, but we did go out to eat on both. We went to Applebee's on Beth's birthday, Olive Garden on my own, and Joe's Crab Shack with my mom yesterday. I'd never been to Joe's before, but it was quite good.

And they had a shark hanging from the ceiling!
I had three kinds of shrimp, and while the coconut shrimp was a little too sweet, the fried and crab-stuffed were very tasty. Probably better than Red Lobster, although admittedly it's been a while since I last went there. Speaking of which, they had the salt and pepper in beer bottles, which Red Lobster used to do and I'm not sure they do anymore. The Crab Shack was pretty expensive, so I doubt we'll be going back too often, but I did sign up for their mailing list. I think there might be one near where I work, because I remember co-workers mentioning it. Another restaurant we went to recently was Murray's Cheese Bar on Bleecker Street in Manhattan, where I had a good breakfast sandwich and a biscuit. Gifts I received for my birthday included Amazon and Applebee's gift cards, a collection of Popeye cartoons, Robert Rankin's The Educated Ape and Other Wonders of the Worlds, Belle and Sebastian's The Third Eye Centre, and Black Francis' Live in Nijmegen. I understand I have another present from Beth coming, but it hasn't arrived yet. Actually, I also received an album I already had, because I forgot to clean up my wishlist. I'll have to remember to send that back tomorrow.

It's been a long time since I did anything of much significance for my birthday. The last party I had was when I turned eight. Not that I'm really into parties, but I DO enjoy being the center of attention. At least you sort of get that with Facebook nowadays. The two things I generally try to do on my birthday are: 1) go out to eat, and 2) not work any more than I have to. I remember in college when my birthday rolled around, and I wouldn't do any homework unless it was strictly necessary. Sort of my personal Sabbath, I suppose, although I can still use elevators.

I'm pretty tired right now, but I feel that if I take a nap I likely won't get back up until it's just about time to go to bed again. It's one of the many problems with keeping such an irregular schedule, although I suppose there are some perks. I keep wanting to catch up with stuff on the Internet, but I rarely make it past my e-mail and Tumblr. If you've written any blog entries recently that you think I need to read (anything about Oz or Mario, for instance), you should probably let me know. You know, it's been a long time since I've actually played a video game, but I still write about them. It's weird when someone asks me if I'm into video games, because I totally am, just more on...would it be ostentatious to call it an academic level? I'll admit to knowing nothing whatsoever about Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty, though. They had a midnight release of the newest game in each of those series where I work recently, and while I wasn't there for the actual releases, I did see people getting in line for them. Co-workers were questioning why anyone would do that, and while I don't know that I would, I think for many people it's part of the experience. I mean, what's more interesting, to say that you waited in line to buy something on midnight, or that you just went to the store to get it during normal business hours? I did attend midnight releases for some of the Harry Potter books, although I'm not sure it was necessarily worth it.