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It's been a decent birthday. A group of friends from work took me to the Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch on Thursday. Gooey birthday dessert with a candle, singing waitstaff performing a blissfully short and cheerfully moronic 'Happy Birthday' song, etc. We had fun. I take birthday wishes seriously and was happy to have a candle to blow out.

I had another chance for wishmaking today when, on our company party Argosy cruise, I was called to the stage for 60 or so people to sing happy birthday to me. The regional director's ( a woman for whom we have, shall we say, mixed feelings) birthday is this Sunday. While everyone was singing Happy Birthday to me, I wished her a happy birthday as well. She must be serious about wishmaking too, because she blew out the candle on my cake. I walked back to my table with the slice of cake and announced what had happened and everyone thought it was a hoot. Tina summed it up well "That is so typical of her! It's like she was saying 'We're done with your birthday thing- Whuff!- go back to your table" Christy pulled a lighter from her purse, rekindled my birthday candle, and I got to make my wish. Thank you.

From this picture, you might imagine that my birthday wish was to lose weight:



That's not a wish, it's a plan. I simply have to face the fact that sugar is to me what vodka is to an alcoholic. Hi Wendy, welcome.

Here are some other pictures from the cruise, which was wonderful. It was a clear but cold and windy day. I was the only person on the boat to (briefly) venture onto the deck. It was blustery indeed. It was far more pleasant to enjoy the tour of Elliott Bay from inside the cabin.