It's My Party
And fortunately, I didn't have to do any crying. My birthday was mostly filled with fun and surprises.
It's funny to reflect on where I was at this point last year, as opposed to now. Shortly after 12 AM on September 13, 2009, one of my o so friendly neighbors saw fit to call the police on me. Oh alright, I'll concede that my music was probably a bit... loud. But still! Ya could've come over and said something instead of trying to get a brotha sent to jail. I think that night was the beginning of my rough times.
Anyhow, enough of that. On the subject of getting to know people, I've apparently made huge strides in that area. By the time I rolled over and retrieved my phone, the texts were already rolling in. I actually would venture as far as to say that I received more Facebook wall posts today than I had otherwise, combined.
And let's not even get into the chocolate. Yay chocolate! My cousin's girlfriend had already given me some delicious cupcakes, and another classmate, the person from my brain class with whom I'd been e-mailing, has baked me a cake as well. Somebody wanna come over and help me polish off this stuff?
So today began on a somewhat somber note. But then that's how life works these days. Because I hadn't heard from my counselor at the North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind, I'd finally opted to contact the supervisor. He then asked her to contact me by the end of the week, and she responded nearly immediately. However, she says that they've already authorized my tuition payment, or at least up to the maximum allowable amount for grad students. This isn't showing on the university's record though, so I have to try and figure out what is going on there. Another piece in my never-ending saga.
That craziness behind me, I headed over to my usual spot at the library to try and get more of this first assignment I must complete for my brain class. I have to summarize an article, 1 of 4 that I'll need to find over the course of the semester. Certain elements must be addressed, which forces me to grasp an understanding of what the article is talking about. It's dense stuff though, so I won't send it off till tomorrow when I have a chance to proofread it again and make final adjustments.
I scrambled back over to the apartment for a quick catnap while I waited for my ride to come and collect me for the night's festivities. Of course, I didn't actually end up sleeping any because I got sucked in to responding to all those messages.
So the restaurant I'd chosen, on recommendation of hollym4784 , was called Spanky's. This place is located at the corner of Franklin and Columbia Streets, which means that if I wish to go there again it should be very easy to locate. By the time we arrived, the rest of our party had already been seated. There was a couple immediately to my left, and I think three other people on the other side of the table, along with the person who'd brought me sitting on my right.
Again it was rather loud. I'd never mentioned, but I got some new molds for these hearing aids on Friday which made them sound even better than they had before. Even so, trying to stay in a conversation that could bounce any of six directions overlaid with the general din of the place was quite a challenge. Well? At least I could say something on ocasion. I definitely still enjoyed myself.
The thing that I was really waiting for was the food. I ordered a blue cheese burger with chips and lemonade. If I had to describe the taste of blue cheese, it would be something like "I'ma clog your arteries, but you're gonna enjoy every minute of it!" That, is some good stuff.
In a very nice gesture, the couple presented me with a birthday card. Inside, I found some of that rare, in these parts, green paper. And in these days when every penny counts, that was certainly a much appreciated gift.
Then they rolled out the dessert. It was a ridiculously big bowl of ice cream cake that we probably could have split among us. Instead, I ended up tackling that mammoth by myself. I think I ate at least half of it. And of course, they had to do that amusing if slightly embarrassing thing where they sang Happy Birthday for all to hear. I turned red, no doubt. Ha, ha.
And that was the substance of my day. A pretty darn good one, if I do say so myself. I'm just winding down to a football game, after having had the obligatory conversation with the folks. Surprisingly, the Kansas City Chiefs are taking it to the San Diego Chargers 14-7. It remains to be seen how long that will last. Let's not even talk about the attrocity that was the Carolina Panthers yesterday. We got rolled by the Giants 31-18. I wish we could find a real quarterback.
I'd better be headed to bed in a few moments, as it's the dreaded early class again. Thanks all, and goodnight.
It's funny to reflect on where I was at this point last year, as opposed to now. Shortly after 12 AM on September 13, 2009, one of my o so friendly neighbors saw fit to call the police on me. Oh alright, I'll concede that my music was probably a bit... loud. But still! Ya could've come over and said something instead of trying to get a brotha sent to jail. I think that night was the beginning of my rough times.
Anyhow, enough of that. On the subject of getting to know people, I've apparently made huge strides in that area. By the time I rolled over and retrieved my phone, the texts were already rolling in. I actually would venture as far as to say that I received more Facebook wall posts today than I had otherwise, combined.
And let's not even get into the chocolate. Yay chocolate! My cousin's girlfriend had already given me some delicious cupcakes, and another classmate, the person from my brain class with whom I'd been e-mailing, has baked me a cake as well. Somebody wanna come over and help me polish off this stuff?
So today began on a somewhat somber note. But then that's how life works these days. Because I hadn't heard from my counselor at the North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind, I'd finally opted to contact the supervisor. He then asked her to contact me by the end of the week, and she responded nearly immediately. However, she says that they've already authorized my tuition payment, or at least up to the maximum allowable amount for grad students. This isn't showing on the university's record though, so I have to try and figure out what is going on there. Another piece in my never-ending saga.
That craziness behind me, I headed over to my usual spot at the library to try and get more of this first assignment I must complete for my brain class. I have to summarize an article, 1 of 4 that I'll need to find over the course of the semester. Certain elements must be addressed, which forces me to grasp an understanding of what the article is talking about. It's dense stuff though, so I won't send it off till tomorrow when I have a chance to proofread it again and make final adjustments.
I scrambled back over to the apartment for a quick catnap while I waited for my ride to come and collect me for the night's festivities. Of course, I didn't actually end up sleeping any because I got sucked in to responding to all those messages.
So the restaurant I'd chosen, on recommendation of hollym4784 , was called Spanky's. This place is located at the corner of Franklin and Columbia Streets, which means that if I wish to go there again it should be very easy to locate. By the time we arrived, the rest of our party had already been seated. There was a couple immediately to my left, and I think three other people on the other side of the table, along with the person who'd brought me sitting on my right.
Again it was rather loud. I'd never mentioned, but I got some new molds for these hearing aids on Friday which made them sound even better than they had before. Even so, trying to stay in a conversation that could bounce any of six directions overlaid with the general din of the place was quite a challenge. Well? At least I could say something on ocasion. I definitely still enjoyed myself.
The thing that I was really waiting for was the food. I ordered a blue cheese burger with chips and lemonade. If I had to describe the taste of blue cheese, it would be something like "I'ma clog your arteries, but you're gonna enjoy every minute of it!" That, is some good stuff.
In a very nice gesture, the couple presented me with a birthday card. Inside, I found some of that rare, in these parts, green paper. And in these days when every penny counts, that was certainly a much appreciated gift.
Then they rolled out the dessert. It was a ridiculously big bowl of ice cream cake that we probably could have split among us. Instead, I ended up tackling that mammoth by myself. I think I ate at least half of it. And of course, they had to do that amusing if slightly embarrassing thing where they sang Happy Birthday for all to hear. I turned red, no doubt. Ha, ha.
And that was the substance of my day. A pretty darn good one, if I do say so myself. I'm just winding down to a football game, after having had the obligatory conversation with the folks. Surprisingly, the Kansas City Chiefs are taking it to the San Diego Chargers 14-7. It remains to be seen how long that will last. Let's not even talk about the attrocity that was the Carolina Panthers yesterday. We got rolled by the Giants 31-18. I wish we could find a real quarterback.
I'd better be headed to bed in a few moments, as it's the dreaded early class again. Thanks all, and goodnight.