Retirement Becomes Poor Fund

A little over 10 years ago I bought a large plastic bud light bottle full of popcorn while I was working at K-Mart. Those were the good old days when I was making around $7 an hour which was just about the same hourly wage I was getting if you averaged out my salary and number of hours worked in the eight years since college.

Any who ... after I ate the stale popcorn I had a decision to make. Throw the large plastic bottle away or keep it for decoration. Like most college kids any form of alcohol decor is a good thing so I put it on top of my entertainment center. This bottle as it turned out had a slit in the cap like it was a piggy bank for drunks so I started using it as such. Thankfully back then there was such a thing as 25 cent beer night at Washington's Bar and Grill in Fort Collins so for every beer I drank I usually came home with 50 cents in change (I was a big tipper back then). That usually added up to around $5 so my drunken piggy started adding up fast.

My bar change gave me a great idea. I never use change to pay for anything and hate it lying around so whenever I got change I would just throw it in the bottle. I decided that I would let the bottle fill up and then cash it out and put it into my savings as a sort of retirement fund built strictly off change. I was always taught growing up to save money.

That brings me to today. My plans haven't exactly worked out the way I envisioned them 10 years ago. I have stuck with my bottle all this time, putting change in whenever I acquired it. The problem I face now is I have been self-imposed unemployed for eight months and my savings is starting to run dry. Apparently bill collectors don't understand that when you aren't making any money you shouldn't have to pay off your car payments or your cell phone bills. Thus I decided to prematurely cash in my drunken piggy before it was all the way filled in order to have a little extra money for my bills.

When I was in elementary school I remember my teacher used to bring in a jar full of jelly beans and the student in the class that guessed closest to the number of jelly beans in the jar would win a cool prize. I thought I would do the same so I polled a few family members close by and offered up a free Frosty from Wendy's to the person who came closest to the change in the bottle. I started the guessing with an estimate (or hope really) that there was $250. My family members were even more optimistic than me as I was the low end of the spectrum. Here are the guesses.

Ben - $250
My dad - $270
My grandma - $300
My sister - $340
My mom - $400
My stepmom - $423

The next step to my process was to carry it over to my mom's house where I was going to roll the change. Luckily she is a bank teller and has access to plenty of the little coin papers. I noticed that over the years this bottle has gotten a lot heavier than it was when it contained some old popcorn. So when I hauled it over I threw it on the bathroom scale to see how much it weighed. The result was 46 pounds. I may have needed to start taking PED's to move it if I let it fill all the way to the top.

I thought there was a lot of change in the bottle but once I dumped it out on the card table it looked like a lot more. I put a $20 bill on the table to show the size of the pile. Yes I did have a 20 spot even though I am broke but only because I have saved it from the $90 I made working part time in the month of June. That is a monthly salary comparable to the stories of wages when my grandparents were my age. Only then it would buy a couple of oxen,  a wagon tongue, some salt beef and ammunition to hunt buffalo on the Oregon Trail.

Well luckily I was wrapping these coins in the afternoon so I had a chance to watch Around the Horn and PTI on ESPN (which ironically are the same topics that are included in hot clicks each day on SI.com) and Seinfeld on TBS. This helped the coin wrapping go a lot faster as it would take me about four hours to sort while my mom would wrap the coins. In the end I was very ecstatic with the results.

Here is what I ended up with ...

55 rolls and 11 loose pennies for $27.61
13 rolls of nickles for $26.00
18 rolls of dimes for $90.00
32 rolls and five loose quarters for $321.25
4 50 cent pieces
2 gold dollar coins

For a grand total of ........ $468.86

It looks like I will be able to make my car payments for two more months now. And luckily I have since acquired approximately 99 cents in my bottle so I can make good on the Frosty I owe my step mom. My retirement fund will have to start over again once someone finally hires me.

Age Milestones

This past week my family celebrated two milestones with my grandparents reaching their 60th wedding anniversary and my great grandmother turning 102 years old. To me these are both numbers you don't see that often anymore.

Last Wednesday we had a small get together at my grandparents' house, consisting of happy hour drinks, cheese and crackers and cake. My grandparents have never really liked receiving gifts so we had a card shower for them. The community and friends/family supplied a large stack of cards wishing them well on their accomplishment. This was a perfect party because my Grandpa Don likes happy hour and it was just a handful of people joking around so they had fun. I don't like buying greeting cards so I made one with my limited resources. I did find this cool picture of them when they were younger.

My Grandpa Don told a story of how he promised my Grandma Joyce when they got together that they would be together 60 years. He was proud of this story but we all joked about which one had their bags packed first to get away from the other one after they reached that promise. Truthfully though they have never had a lot but they made the most of what they did have and were great to all of us around them.

I feel very fortunate that both my sets of grandparents were married for at least 60 years. I am now sure if that happens very often or will ever happen again the way people divorce nowadays. My other grandparents were married 65 years and were a few weeks from 66 when my Grandpa passed away in December.

The second milestone we celebrated was my Great Grandmother Edrie hitting 102. The last two years I have been in North Carolina and Texas when she had parties for 100 and 101 so I was ecstatic that I was able to join her for 102. She is a special lady. She still cooks, cleans and does the laundry although she doesn't move as fast as she used to. She still looks great and still loves the Chicago Cubs and watches them all the time (god bless her).

We had a family gathering at the train depot in town with a potluck lunch to celebrate. Then we opened up the party to the town so many others who have enjoyed her cinnamon rolls over the years could come say hello. She was a cook at the school for a long time and also at a restaurant in town. Her doughnuts are the most amazing thing I have ever tasted in my 31 years.

Hitting the century mark is quite an accomplishment and is probably the number one age milestone in my opinion. She has gone two years past that and isn't slowing down a bit. This made me think of what some of the other age milestones are so I did my list of top 10 age milestones and here it is.

#1: 100

To me reaching 100 is the top milestone. So few people hit this mark so by difficulty alone it earns the top spot. When you think about the United States only existing for less than 250 years than being alive for 40 percent of that is pretty impressive.

#2:  16

After 100 there could be some debate for what is the next best milestone but for me it is 16. Cars are such an integral part of our everyday life that I have a hard time imagining what it was like before I turned 16 and could drive. The excitement of finally being legal to get behind the wheel of the car was something I will never forget. Plus it gave MTV a couple of shows to fill their nonsense programming (My Super Sweet 16, 16 and Pregnant).

#3: 21

Many people would put 21 at No. 2 or even No. 1 but I am not an alcoholic so I don't think it was as big of a deal. I enjoy a cold beverage every now and again but I didn't even get drunk when I turned 21. I did the unthinkable and went with my ex-girlfriend to the ESPN Zone in Denver for dinner. Then bought some beer and went back to my apartment. I didn't think getting sick on my birthday sounded like a good time. Silly me! More importantly than being able to drink though is being able to gamble. I do love me some Las Vegas.

#4: 18

Two big things happen when you turn 18 years old. Yes you are more than likely finished or are just finishing high school and starting a new chapter in your life but I am talking about becoming eligible to utilize your right to vote and being able to buy cigarettes. You feel like such a rebel when you can walk in for the first time and purchase something people have been telling you for years aren't good for you. I never have smoked cigarettes but a good cigar with a few buddies is nice every now and again.

#5: 65

After being around my family for awhile now I have moved 65 up the list. What other age do you hit and start receiving a paycheck for it. Once you reach 65 you are eligible to start receiving Social Security checks. Of course you have been paying into the national Social Security fund for 50 years at this point but isn't it nice to get some extra cash flowing in each month. Of course when I turn 65, all the money I have put in will be gone and I will have to drop 65 off my top 10. Also you can start using medicare benefits which can be either a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.

#6: 25

Turning 25 might not seem like a big deal but it has another added benefit to it. You can rent a car when you turn 25. I am not sure how people came to choosing 25 as the limit for renting cars but if you travel a lot this is sure handy.

#7: 40

Any time you creep into a new decade of life it will have meaning. Most people regret having their age start with a new number like going from your 20's to 30's or 30's to 40's. To me 40 has the most meaning of any of these decade transitions because it allows you to do some crazy stuff and call it a mid-life crisis. When I turn 40 I will probably get a drop top convertible, dye my hair blond with highlights and have some 20 year old hanging out with me. The 20 year old will probably be my niece Jordan keeping me company because she is the only one who laughs at my goofiness.

#8: 1

Well sure being one year old is a special time for the parents and grandparents but to you it is a meaningless birthday. You have no idea what is going on at that age. You don't know what presents are and are wondering why someone is putting fire on a stick on your cake you can't even eat yet. It does mean your parents are probably not incompetent to the point where they killed you the first year so that is good.

#9: 2

You still don't understand a ton by your second birthday but two years old is one of the few ages that have garnered their own nickname. When you hit two years old people remark "oh the terrible twos." Sweet 16 is the other one with a nickname I could think of. You don't hear people say you are in the eager elevens or the fly fifteens so that puts No. 2 in my top 10.

#10: 30

For me 30 is my 10th most important age milestone. I don't have any significant reason other than I know my life changed a lot at 30 and my sister freaked out when she reached that age. I moved to Texas on my 30th birthday and nothing has gone right for me since then. Yes I blame it all on Texas because I have not had anything good come from being in that awful state haha. For my sister I am not sure why she hated turning 30 so much but I guess it makes you feel more like an adult and realize your party days may be mostly behind you. 

Small Town Car Wave

Here in small town USA a simple movement of a person's hand can make a person feel good inside. This simple movement is a wave of a hand. As you drive along in your family car or farm pickup you wave to passing cars or to people out working in their yard. It is something that doesn't take much thought or effort, but is a common occurrence. It is a friendly gesture to another human being. Whether you like the person or not you wave to be nice. Most of the time you don't even know who is in the other car but you put your hand up to acknowledge their presence. I am surprised they don't include it on the driving test when you turn 16 years old. "That will be a point deduction for failing to wave at oncoming vehicle."

Most of us in small towns have driven a car before we were 10 years old anyway and know all about the hand wave. However, it is a habit that is broken when these patrons leave the friendly confines of the 800-person metropolis. I am just now getting back to it after being away for so long.

As you progress through the years you tend to develop your own type of wave. There are many kinds out there and here is what I refer to them as.

The most common is the simple straight hand wave I call "High Five" or "Indian How".

Another popular choice is to have your hand at the 12 o'clock position and raise your index finger. This one I refer to as "Lazy Bird" or "Solo Point"

"Giant bling not included for most people"

Similar to the last one is the two finger wave from atop the steering wheel known as the "Deuce Hello" or "Boy Scout Salute"

A second two-finger option is the peace sign that I refer to as "Hippie Wave" or "Left-Handed Scissors"

For the exuberant personality you get the fast side to side wave with a big smile known as the "Happy Happy Happy" or "Fool's Gesture"

Of course their is always the rude middle finger gesture but that is a more popular wave in New York City and not used to say hello in small towns.

Those are the most common types of car waves. Some people develop their own wave such as myself. I wanted to put my own stamp on my car wave. What I do is start at the 10 o'clock position and with my index and middle finger on my right hand I do a sweep motion across the top of the steering wheel to the 2 o'clock position.

Now I know people in the city can't even fathom why someone would want to wave to a complete stranger but maybe that is one reason why our world is being flushed down the toilet. People being friendly to one another through a wave of a hand or shout of good morning is how people should treat each other. I once did my car wave in North Carolina and got a stare from the passerby like I was an alien who just rode a meteor from Mars and landed in the street. I believe people should act this way just as they should wave to someone who lets them in front of them during heavy traffic or someone who stops and lets them walk across the street.

Roy to the World

On Saturday at around 4 a.m. my grandfather, Roy Wayne Blevins, passed away in a hospital in Aurora, CO. He was 89 years old.

We knew he was in grave condition in the hours leading up to his death and this was extremely hard for me as I was 1,000 miles away in Texas and had my dad and stepmom with me. It was the night before I was leaving Austin to move back home to Colorado. The main reason - to be able to spend more time with family, especially my grandparents. I never got that extra time I was hoping for with my Grandpa but nonetheless a big part of who I am is because of the kind of man he was. This blog titled "Roy to the World" is about the man he was as a husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, uncle, cousin and friend in the 32 years I was able to be around him. 

I have so many fond memories of my grandfather and it would take forever to describe all of them but hopefully these few short stories will help sum up my feelings. 

On the exterior he could come across rough to people who didn't know him. He had a tendency to speak his mind no matter what the situation. He did not like being around big crowds of people and was not much of a socializer. One of the funniest stories was he was sitting on a bench in the mall and a lady asked him to move because the bench was reserved for the children who were waiting to see Santa Claus. My grandpa abruptly replied "you can kiss my ass!" While that was him being honest in that situation, for most of the time he was as caring as could be. 

There were numerous people throughout the years that he helped out. Despite being in his 60's and 70's he would shovel snow for the elderly neighbors next door, fix things at their house, take care of animals, take them goodies my grandma made and pretty much do anything to help them out. I saw him do this extensively with the Oldhams, Ms. Poole and his brother Bruce who was never in good shape after surviving a plane crash. He never accepted anything in return. He was just doing what he thought was the right thing to do. This is something I have seen a lot from my dad and grandma as well and led me to volunteer my time at Children's Hospitals.

He was also a very loving husband to my grandma Juanita. The two were just a few weeks from celebrating their 66th anniversary. That is an unreachable number for my generation with so many people rushing into marriage for a variety of different reasons and then divorcing at the slightest sign of trouble. My grandparents loved each other and made it work even though things weren't always perfect. Some examples of this love is my grandpa telling my grandma she was still pretty after all those years in the hospital last week. He set aside some money without her knowing about it in case he passed away first so that she would be taken care of financially. He also taught me manners and how to treat a lady. One time we were walking down the street in a neighboring town of their home and he told me "When you are walking on the sidewalk with your girlfriend or wife you should always walk closest to the street." I asked why and he said "If a car drives by and splashes a puddle then her pretty little dress wouldn't get ruined." I have never to this day heard anybody else talk about doing this but my grandma says he always walked closest to the street in the 65 years they were married.

When I was little and with my grandparents, I always wanted to be with my grandpa no matter what he was doing. He was very smart and really interested in finding out how things worked so he would tear apart fans, clocks and other things to try and fix them if they were broken. I had no clue what was happening but I would stand by him in his shop the entire time and watch him. If he was laying on the carpet taking a nap, I would lay down next to him. When he was working as a locksmith I would go spend an afternoon with him at work and watch him make keys. I am not a cowboy at all but my grandpa loved watching western movies and it made me as happy as can be to this day to sit with him and watch westerns because all I wanted to do was be with him. 

Camping trips were some of my favorite times with my grandpa and dad. We would find sticks and turn them into walking sticks. My grandpa would make toast and jelly on the camping stove which I still love to make at home. He always tried to scare us or probably warn us about bears in the mountains. The best memory I have is when it was just me and my grandma and grandpa and we went to a cabin on a lake. We were sitting outside on the porch steps and he taught me how to play the game mumbley peg. It is a simple game played with a pocket knife but I loved playing it with him and I probably asked him to play that entire trip after he showed me. 

Growing up I loved sports. Most of my family was not really into it very much but my grandpa liked to watch football, especially the Broncos, with me. He would also go in to the backyard and play with me as much as he could. He would throw the football to me and let me make diving catches or hit pop flys with a wiffle ball bat so I could pretend like I was an outfielder. I didn't have any brothers but my grandpa would always come out and play with me in the yard.

With my grandpa passing at this time of year it is especially tough because he loved Christmas. He always told me that the two of us were going to try and catch Santa Claus when he showed up at the house. We slept next to the tree the night before Christmas with cookies as bait. Although sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night and think I heard something we never did catch him but it was something we did for a long time. My grandpa really loved opening gifts too. He would shake and rattle them to try and guess what he was getting. He never really wanted much but he sure did love anything he got. I don't know how Christmas is going to be without him but it just won't be the same that is for sure.

My grandpa enjoyed drinking his coffee, old instrumental music (he did not like music with people singing), reading and watching westerns, having a nice yard, a good chocolate milkshake, building and fixing things in his shop, the local news, my grandma's cooking (like me he loved pancakes) and helping out neighbors and family. For anybody who knew my grandpa like I did, he was one of the sweetest, most caring men there is and will be greatly missed. 

Election Day

In the spirit of election day, our office decided to host an election between our monkey and fish to determine which one would become the official mascot of our office.

The back story to these two is that they really despise each other. The monkey has been around since April while the fish (Sir Chester Wilson Marbles III) only came into existence a couple of months ago. The fish immediately started stealing attention from the message-giving monkey, thus causing an all-out battle between the two. Death threats emerged from the monkey towards the fish, while the fish returned sarcastic laughter at the threats.

Come halloween the two each chose to dress up as the other one.

The monkey dressed up as a dead fish in a fish bowl ...

The fish dressed up as a stupid monkey

That brings us to the present. The campaigns got off to a fast start using social media. Both hit up facebook. The monkey just told people to vote while the fish presented its beliefs and issues in a well thought out ploy. The fish obviously had the better campaign and immediately gained a crucial edge in the online votes. The monkey relied more on its personal connections for its campaign. Having known staff and students a lot longer and putting its face out there more often, the monkey seized this edge to garner a majority of the written votes. Final tallies were ...

Monkey - 15
Fish - 14

The fish held a 10-4 advantage in online votes while the monkey carried a dominating 11-4 in-house vote.

With the win the monkey gains its own twitter account. You can follow it at -     MonkeyvFish

The monkey was ecstatic and here is the acceptance speech I gave for it.

With every elected official there is a chance of assassination but in this ongoing battle to the death there was that chance long ago. Stay tuned to what happens next in the classic tale of monkey vs. fish.

The Monkey's Tale part one

Back in early April, morale was down around the office after one of the worst weeks of the year as far as number of hours worked for everybody. I alone worked 100 hours that week and our student workers put in a ton of time as well with every sport in season hosting 1-4 days of events over a four-day span it seemed. I knew the best way to get them through the week was the promise of a party when it was all said and done. I talked up this party pretty good all week so when the next Monday rolled around I knew I had to do something good. I took a few hours off of work and hit up my personal stash of party items from Oriental Trading Company and made a trip to Party City to arrange some fun.

Enter the Monkey

Part of the plan was to have a pinata and the best one I found was a monkey holding a banana. This was the time for the Monkey to shine. It was its destiny to be beaten until broken. It is what it was raised to be and now it was time to fulfill that dream.

Hung by a string from the upstairs balcony it floated in midair awaiting crunch time. It was full of joy and candy as a mixed bag from the grocery store was emptied out into its insides. One hour went by, two hours went by, three hours went by and then finally a flock of students came around the corner with a plastic bat in hand.

The first hit drew no candy and the monkey laughed and taunted the students as if it were mocking them for not getting him on the first attempt. The next student the same and then again nothing. Finally the whacks took their toll and candy exploded from a hole opened up beneath the back of the head. Alas with candy in hand the students withdrew from inflicting pain and went on to discuss where they were going to go for the after party party.

The Monkey survived but was it a good thing? Over the next few months the Monkey sat in the student work area, each day reliving the torture and being mocked by not fulfilling its destiny of dying a good death as every pinata should. Just like Lieutenant Dan in Forest Gump, pain swelled up for not continuing the family legacy which for the Monkey was perishing at a party. The Monkey's mother, father, brother and sister had all suffered an end to its existence but not the Monkey.

Seconds lasted minutes, minutes lasted hours, hours lasted days and days lasted weeks as time stood still for the Monkey. At the end of June he looked around and something was happening. Things were changing and items from the room disappearing. Then all of a sudden the Monkey was whisked away from its spot on top of a bookshelf, thrown in a box, hauled to another building and placed in an area that looked like a conference room.

After noticing glaring looks from passerbys, a feeling of being disliked was added to the feeling of shame. His time in the room was shortlived, however, as he was soon moved into a room next door.

Deciding to make the most of his time and stop feeling sorry for himself, the Monkey chose to pass on wisdom to people walking by with short messages such as chinese proverbs or intelligent sayings.

Things were going great for the Monkey as he became fond of his three best friends in the video office. He started to see all of them wearing headphones a lot and so to fit in decided to put headphones on himself. The messages were well received and the Monkey turned his sad, despressed lifestyle into one with joy.

Then one day a new member of the office was introduced and things turned again for the Monkey. A Beta fish named Sir Chester Wilson Marbles III came and started getting all the attention. Instagram photos were now being taken of the fish instead of the Monkey, days would go by without messages being posted and the fish was being fed. The Monkey never received food.

The fish laughed at the Monkey for all the attention it had taken away from him. Every day the fish would swim back and forth laughing away. This drove the Monkey crazy and hatred swelled up. The Monkey knew that the only way to make things right again was to kill Sir Chester Wilson Marbles III. As seen by the fish chalk outline the Monkey's message is getting across.

This story to be continued .....
   

What is up with my 30's birthdays?

So far I have experienced two birthdays in my 30's and neither has been all that great. Yet at the same time both have been special in their own way.

For many years in my 20's I chose to not only celebrate Sept. 18 on my real birthday but I chose to celebrate for seven total days in what I called a birthday week. I wanted to go to dinner, to a movie, bowling or just hang out with friends at home with a few cold beers each day for seven days. Why celebrate for just one day? That was my thought but long gone are the birthday weeks and I have paid the price for the dismissal of the week-long celebration.

A lot of people dread turning 30 years old. I for one welcomed the opportunity as I considered a leap into the grown up world finally. I thought with a new decade of years would come a growth in my career, mind and overall life. In some regards that has happened I guess. On my 30th birthday I was driving six hours in my blue truck to complete my move from North Carolina to Texas. I was starting a new job at UT with hopes of taking a step forward in my career. I was totally wrong on that looking back over the last year but I won't get into that much. This past year has tested me in many ways and I have failed in some but the experiences has made me feel more grown up. I no longer party like I used to and certainly think more about my health and finances than ever before. I miss the old me but felt these changes were necessary.

Back to my actual 30th birthday. Moving and driving to an unknown place with so many questions rushing through your head is not an easy thing to do. I was not only changing jobs but packing up and moving halfway across the U.S. to a new city, new state, new timezone and a place I knew nobody all after having just a few days to make a decision to move or not. Add on to that I was leaving a place where I had developed some really great friendships and had a great job. It was not easy to do but felt like I could move up in the business by doing it. Leaving my friends was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The two days prior to leaving weighed heavy on my heart and made me depressed. It would last for several months which was a sign I shouldn't have left in my mind. This made my birthday even tougher as I had planned a reverse surprise birthday party which was my way of giving back to all my friends as my own birthday present. Canceling the party and not spending my b-day with them was rough.

A few things really turned my birthday around however. As I was having breakfast in a  hotel in Longwood, Texas, I received a call from my friend Ashley, one of those friends I had left behind in N.C. I answered and it was her aunt singing me happy birthday. I had gotten to know her aunt and other members of her family through their generosity of having me to their house for Thanksgiving and a summer weekend at the lake. This turned a frown upside down in a hurry and made the environment in old blue for the six hour drive look more like a unicorn prancing on a rainbow than a ship lost at sea on a drury, rainy afternoon. Before I had left I discovered I had family in Austin and planned to meet them for dinner when I arrived. This cheered me up even more as they came to a place down the road from my hotel, bought me dinner and even brought birthday treats. Family always makes things better no matter how well you know them and for me family is the most important thing in my world. So what wasn't the best birthday I ever had turned into a pretty good one with those two things and the numerous texts/calls/emails I received as well.

One year later I am more settled in and not moving when I turn 31. Things were a lot different from a year prior but I was adjusting to life in the 30's no matter how different it was from my glory days in 20-29. Par for the course I got called in for an early meeting at work. Whenever I get called into a meeting it is never a good thing so I knew that was bad for starters but I also missed out on my chance at stopping for a chicken biscuit, one of the few pleasures I look forward to anymore.

Things picked up after the meeting as Margaret, our administrative assistant, had hung a happy birthday banner on the outside of our office. I quickly forgot about the meeting and moved forward with my day. Many calls and texts later had me walking on sunshine. After work I went with some friends to a local establishment for some trivia. Just prior to leaving I had a sharp pain in my chest but I thought it was because I was still at work at 6 p.m. on my birthday. I dismissed the pain and went to have a few beers and hang out with office mates.

Two beers, 15 missed questions and three hours later the pain in my chest had increased and became more frequent. I complained vocally and must have caused worry from my friends. They insisted I get it checked out and since it was by my heart I didn't fight the idea. We ended up finding a hospital nearby and both Michael (Tomko) and Mary went with me to the ER. I felt guilty going to the ER when I was certain it was probably nothing. However, you shouldn't mess around with pain near the heart of all places. Over one hour in we were still making fun of my hospital gown as I sat in the lobby. Then I finally got called into the hospital exam area. At this time Tomko took Mary home but I really appreciated the concern and worry she expressed for me for the two hours she kept me company. As I went through more tests Tomko returned and met me in the exam room. An exhausting four more hours went by before I was dismissed just before 4 a.m. Tomko was by my side the entire time and luckily good news came from the tests as it turned out to be a weird muscular injury where muscle broke down and seeped into my blood. Not the best way to end my birthday. Usually you would think being drunk as a skunk would put you in the ER if anything would on your birthday but not this time. It was still a decent birthday, however, because of the support of friends during a time where I was pretty freaked out. Thanks so much Tomko and Mary!!!

I hope the remaining birthdays in my 30's are a lot better but no matter what happens on them I will walk away with a smile as long as I have friends and family doing the little things to make them special.