Well, thanks to all who have wished me Happy Birthday - we couldn't have done it without myspace! Seriously though, I know you all had it written down and were just chomping at the bit to send me birthday wishes.

Some random thoughts for  you:
- WOW what a suprise on Friday night - Kat told me we were going to La Pinata to have dinner with my folks, sister, and brother-in-law; nice low key dinner in a tequila bar, right? WRONG! I was surprised by all of my firends who were already there, balloons, gifts, cards, ... just wow. I was overwhelmed. How did my fiancee get so dang sneaky? I had been asking about inviting other people all week, and she's all, "No, they're out of town" or "No, it'll just be family dinner, you can invite them next time" .... well I was fooled. It was a great time, everybody seemed to enjoy themselves, and the only odd thing that happened.... no one ordered any tequila! If I wasn't already a bit tipsy from drinks with co-workers earlier in the day, maybe we woulda - but no one did. Will have to compensate for that mistake !

- Down Home Music in El Cerrito, visited for the first time and quite liked the place. Bought a buncha clearance vinyl records and have been listening, mostly to Dave Brubeck with Joe Morello, but some other nice records and compilations as well.

- we had a yard sale at my parents' block on Saturday that was particularly fruitful. Not only did we get rid of some things that needed getting rid of, I found out that my folks' new neighbor is one of my favorite local drummers - Scott Amendola! He's been there for about two  years and I just "met" him yesterday (we had met before, but I dont think he remembered). I hope to see his studio space and maybe even woodshed with him sometime, that would be killer.

- Gerry's Grill in Hayward was great, we had dinner there Saturday, and as always, it never disappoints. I had the grilled salmon, but the tuna sashimi-style salad was the big hit - really refreshing on a hot day like Saturday was. The only shitty thing was that someone vandalized my car! Can you believe someone wrote the number "19" on the hood, then "East Olkaland" on the side, with some blue paint splattered all over it - fortunately it all came off with a bit of rubbing alcohol so I was only "bent out of shape" rather than supremely pissed. Freekin' kids these days. I'm guessing the paint was a thrown paintball. I have photos too, in case I decide to press charges.

- A's swept by the Mets in Shea Stadium. Particularly timely, as the A's hadn't been swept in a three game series in over a year, and it happened right after they DFA'd their #3 hitter in Milton Bradley. tsk tsk tsk! It's too bad, but it looks like next year is more important to Billy Beane than this one. Don't get me wrong, I'm not counting us out, but that was clearly a "futures" move. We could have used his bat in the lineup (see Mets' series line for the A's: 0.192 BA for the series, etc)

Welp, I got a lot of new music to listen to these days. A pile of records and a few new cds. I got a new knife in my pocket. Found some nice shorts at Marshalls. Ate and drank like crazy all weekend. STILL have a fridge full of beer.

Life is good! Bring on the next year!