I'm officially older today. I know, we're all older every day, but one day a year the calendar recognizes that and today was that day. It was also an extra-special day for my sister-in-law Amanda, who reached a milestone today. I hesitate to say this too loud but (whispering) she turned 40. It's not so bad, said the person who's been over 40 for three years now.
Most of the time, I end up working on my birthday. If I'm not in the office (which I usually am), I'm at a game or another activity. That's OK. It keeps me from thinking about getting older. And, since I'm old now, the warranty has run out and I'm beginning to fall apart.
Yes, I did "work" today. I was in the office this morning for meetings. A coworker took me to lunch (thank you, Kay) and then I took the afternoon off. I had a Barnes and Noble gift card (thanks, Andrew) that was burning a hole in my wallet, so I had to take care of that. I'd been in B&N last week and knew they were having a buy two get one free sale in their movie/music department. I walked through the department looking at titles then but chose to wait to purchase anything until today. It's my birthday and I'll buy if I want to. I think that's how the song goes.
After that stop, I visited one of the used book stores in Lincoln. I hadn't been there for awhile, and there was a parking space right in front. I figured it was destiny. I spent a pleasant half hour wandering the store, looking at titles, wondering who would read that and finally found a Patrick O'Brian book I didn't have. At least one of the Bernard Cornwell titles on the shelf is absent from mine, but I couldn't remember which ones I already had. So rather than risk duplication (which I have done) I passed on that one - for now. I need to update my cheat card.
I carry a business-card sized list of books I have by certain authors - writers I have a LOT of. That way, hopefully, I don't buy the same book every time I'm in a bookstore. But I need to update my list because I think I'm missing a couple. Some authors are very hard to find in used book stores, which is good, I think, because that means people like them. Other authors fill whole sections. That means that, while people are interested enough to buy the books to start with, they perhaps weren't good enough to become part of private libraries.
For some authors/titles, I'd rather check out the book from the library to decide if I like that writer. If they rank high enough on my arbitrary scale, I'll probably go ahead and buy the book. If they're high but not that high, I'll probably read more by that author, just not purchase the books. It's one of many reasons libraries are some of the most awesome places on the planet.
But I digress.
Anyway, I'd decided a couple days ago I was going to make treats to take to work to celebrate my birthday. I just hadn't had the energy or time to make them. So after supper tonight, I made popcorn cake. I think I have a few too many M&Ms in it, but that's not a bad thing. Right? I hope my coworkers like it. If they don't, oh well. More for me.
