Yeah, it's that time of year. It kind of snuck up on me again. For most of my life I've been used to it being over 100℉ when it's time to light the candles on my cake, and living in Denver—or even in San Francisco for that matter—I never got the usual seasonal clues.
I've reached the age where birthdays aren't as big a thing as they once were; they're more a realization that I've simply managed to survive another trip around the sun and that I'm one year closer to retirement.
That being said, this year will be a memorable one. After I initially located it (may the FSM bless the internets with his noodly appendages!), Ben managed to acquire the one gift I've been wanting for many, many months: the German language soundtrack of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Ever since I first stumbled across the This is Halloween on YouTube years ago (that I regularly repost here on the holiday) I was hooked and wanted more, more, MOAR!
I had three years of German in high school and an additional two in college. At that point I was relatively fluent, but over the years it's faded. Back in 2007 or so I dived back in, getting out all my old textbooks and realized I hadn't forgotten as much as I'd feared. At one point I even connected with a nurse at the hospital I where I was working at the time who was a native speaker, but just when my skills were getting decent—or at least passable—again, she left for parts unknown.
Even though my auditory vocabulary is once again failing me and at best I can only glean bits and pieces of spoken (reading is slow, but as long as I have a dictionary at hand I can manage) German now, that doesn't mean I still don't love the sound of the language, and discovering that there actually was an entire German language soundtrack available to one of my favorite movies literally made me squeal.
And for the occasion of this birthday, we also chose to support a local restaurant, The Creek Seafood Grill. Delicious is an understatement. I had the Cioppino, and Ben had the scallops. Both dishes were incredible. We'll definitely be returning. Afterward we stopped by Milk&Cake, where I got as much of a birthday cake as I wanted or needed:
May this next year be the best one yet!
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag aus Los Angeles!
Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag aus San Francisco!
Happy Birthday! Or should I say Alles Gute zum Geburtstag?
I took 3 years of German in high school but never achieved anywhere near the fluency you did. I would gave thane it in college if they offered it. I wish I had been able to continue studying it and obtained some level of even rudimentary fluency.
Happy birthday mate! Just remember: Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Happy Birthday! Well b-day's stop being meaningful for a while then they start becoming days of doom and gloom and too significant.
Glad you had such a nice day and Ben to share it with.