Turning 50

Yesterday was my 50th birthday. I don't feel 50...in my head anyway. Sometimes my body feels it and more. But I'm still pretty young at heart for a curmudgeon of epic proportions. Here's a rundown of the day's activities.
I took the day off of work. We slept in, went to lunch at Five Guys and then hit a couple new (to us) antique stores downtown. They were meh. We then drove north, stopped at Shake 'n Go for a chocolate malt and headed to another antique mall we like in Edmonds. Score! I found 2 more ornaments (Hulk and Batman on the Batcycle) for the Marty Tree. I also bought a stack of old comic books. We left there and raced over to Richmond Beach for the sunset. Beautiful!
We went home to rest up a bit. Watched an episode of Castle and then got ready for the party.
The big 50 party was held at the Rickshaw Restaurant and Lounge. We reserved the big room on the side. About 50 people showed up! Amazing and overwhelming! We had a great time. I got some incredible gifts. I have some very generous friends. The cake was amazing, too. My friend Heather went over and above.
At 9pm the karaoke started and we had a blast! I was serenaded by an Ape singing Bill Withers, a rendition of "All That Jazz", "Crazy", "I'm A Believer", "Your Own Personal Jesus" and many more. I dueted to "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" and "I Got You, Babe" and "Rainbow Connection." I headbanged to "Bohemian Rhapsody" and I killed on "White Room." Seriously, I can't remember the last time I had that much fun. I think everybody had a great time. It was a spectacular night. Makes me wish I could turn 50 more often.
I learned a lot last night as well. I learned that I have many friends here in the PNW and that they think I'm a pretty okay guy. I get down on myself quite a lot and it was a great pick me up to be celebrated in that way. Whenever I get down I'm going to try and push my mind back to that party or all the other good times I've spent with friends.
I also learned (although I already knew it) that I have an awesome wife. She threw the party for me and did a great job! Even though she doesn't karaoke, she let me have a good time and celebrated with me. I take her for granted a lot but I'm nothing without her. I love you, baby!

Click the header to go to FB to see the album of photos from the night. They're fun!

Booklist

 I'm back to recording my books read. I'm starting w/ only what I've read so far in 2012 so I can keep up with the year. My goal is to read at least 1 book a week. I'm a bit of a slow reader.


A Fine Dark Line by Joe R. Lansdale
A pretty good southern gothic coming-of-age tale about a boy who investigates a decades old murder. Not as good as his The Bottoms but worth a read.


All Earth, Thrown to the Sky by Joe R. Lansdale
Another southern gothic story. It's a genre I like. This story centers on 3 orphans trying to escape the Dustbowl and a couple of gangsters. I enjoyed it for what it was. 


Gilliam on Gilliam by Terry Gilliam
A biography/interview with one of my favorite directors. Although his work of late has been lacking, I count Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Time Bandits and The Fisher King as some of my favorite films. This book is an insight into his early career. It bogs down a bit in places but an interesting read nonetheless.


The Thirteen Hallows by Michael Scott
I read a couple of other books by Scott (Vampires of Hollywood, The Alchemyst) and liked them so I thought I'd give this new one a try. It's not as good as the others. The story stayed fairly shallow. By the end of the book it felt like not enough had happened to get the story to the end.

Ape House by Sara Gruen
An inconsistently good story about some Bonobo apes who are kidnapped and used as fodder for a reality show. The human characters stories jumped around a lot. It seemed scattershot. The main story of the apes triumphed over those flaws and I really liked it.