39

So I turned 39 yesterday and I gotta tell you... it's not so bad, or at the very least, it could be a lot worse. 38 was pretty good to me. Running the Rockford half marathon was probably the highlight. I ran 13 miles in 1 hr and 49 minutes, which was a once in a lifetime pace for me. Peshtigo white water rafting was a close second. Both were firsts that made me feel like I might actually be capable of surviving a catastrophe.

Here's me running like I'm chased by zombies

If I lump anything that's happened in the last week into 'My Extended Birthday,' then it's been a fantastic party. It started Friday night with karaoke in Belvidere, where I met up with Becky from work and her friends, who never fail to entertain. One of them is an amazing, room-goes-quiet, instant fan-club, singer. Under normal circumstances, that is awesome... however not so much when you have to follow her all night in the singing rotation. Then it kinda sucks and just becomes a big joke. Hey look at me! I'm the guy who is singing after the person you actually wanted to hear just finished! That's exactly why opening bands don't follow the headliners...
Saturday morning I got up and ran (thank you Fri night caffeine) and then went to sing at The Brick Cafe. It's interesting to hear what a night of my karaoke voice does to my coffee house voice the next morning. Sometimes it's great and adds some gravel, other times it destroys my upper range. It could go either way. Then Saturday night I ended up in Elgin at an OpenMike night with the old U46 bunch. Singing there was unusual because I think I sang 9 songs that night. 45 min at an open mike even after doing a set with Joan Jett, Brittany Spears, and Culture Club? Ridiculous. Did you not just hear me sing Culture Club?
Two days later I had lunch with Nez. Yesterday, Chris called me "El Jefe" (the chief) all morning, gave me a birthday wedgie (to make me feel like I was in grade school again? thx lol), then took me out for Thai. At work, Becky put a 90lb bag of Peanut M&M's on my desk and said, "Happy Birthday. That ought to keep you for a while." I'm not exactly sure what that means, but from what I can tell, it means I don't have to share. Then after soccer practice, I took the kids to DQ just to make sure they'd be sugared up and crabby when they got home.
Along with all this I somehow managed to finish up Season 1 of "Game of Thrones" which is worth watching, though I don't recommend it for everyone.

So I guess what really made 39 special (I know, it should be 38 Special shouldn't it?) is that I got to sing a lot and hang out with a bunch of old friends, new friends, and family. It was just a great mix.
I don't want to wait a year to have a another week like this.

9/5/2011 addendum
To make it even better, this weekend, I jammed with Marty Friday night, then Chris and I went to the wedding of an old U46 friend and got to sit at a table with other district people I haven't seen in a year. Then Sunday I played guitar at Wesley and hung out with the family in Elgin. It's really been the perfect week of friends and music.