my new year

turned 41 yesterday. meh. i enjoyed it quietly, hanging out with glaucon and superannuated1l (aka "L"). we had brunch at the B&O espresso, where i savored what is definitely the best waffle in town (with fresh raspberry sauce, hold the whipped cream), side of bacon, coffee, and OJ. then i went to the fiber gallery with L and bought yarn for a couple of projects that will be for others: a cardigan i'm going to make for my mother, and a pair of felted slippers for a newer friend, patrice. after a yummy and cheap dinner of red mill burgers, we went to west seattle to get L's dog, picked up a little cake at the metropolitan market (chocolate with creamy white frosting, plus a lemon mini-bundt cake), and watched rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead, a movie i have heartily enjoyed in the past but which was slightly too...slow...last night. LOL. i probably would have preferred to watch the next disc of buffy the vampire slayer--C and i are 1 disc into the third season. this is my first time watching it. yes, i'm addicted to it--the last time we watched some, i was embarrassed to actually be shouting at buffy's mom for trying to lay on a guilt trip for buffy's disappearance at the end of season 2. bitche kicked her out, man! what was she supposed to do? and don't even get me started on xander's shitheadedness. hehe. yeah, that's my obsession with narrative showing through. i can't believe i've never watched this show before, though--i mean, i've seen a couple of episodes here and there, and i went to see the musical when they screened it at the egyptian, but i've never gone back and systematically watched the whole thing. so i guess you can add that to the DVD's of TV series i have going right now--buffy, the sopranos, and battlestar galactica (that last one in fits and starts). i will no doubt move on to angel at the appropriate time, too. and yes, i'll read the comics too.

today i have been investing time in organizing and sprucing up my bedroom, which also includes my workspace. so far i have gone through all of my old bills, receipts, and other paperwork, burning much of it; culled some more clothing (i did a major culling a month or two ago); put away the clothing that was sitting around; organized my credenza, where i keep all of my office supplies, photocopied essays/articles, and financial files; and cleaned off my desk. oh, and i spent some time putting a few pictures and other memorabilia on a small bulletin board that's been hanging empty on my wall for awhile, and also hung up my old star charts on the walls above my desk. i enjoy looking at them during idle moments while i'm writing, refreshing my memory about what's up there in the night sky. i bought these charts for my astronomy class at grand rapids junior college, in 1988.

still to come: organizing and shelving loose books (some consulted during one writing session or another, some newly acquired); folding and putting away a load of clean laundry; organizing and putting into storage my yarn stash; dusting my bookshelves, nightstand, and dresser; putting away any loose odds and ends; and finally vacuuming the floor.

this is how i normally prefer to spend my birthday, ever since i turned 32 or 33. i like to take stock, organize things, get rid of things, think about and plan for the year ahead, and generally reflect on where i've been in the previous year, what things i've learned, what things i've struggled with, etc. you know, the basic stuff that most people do on new year's. i guess that's an artifact of having a birthday that falls so close to the new year holiday. i also don't really like to advertise to a bunch of people that it's my birthday; don't like to have big parties or go out drinking...i mean, i've done all of that on my birthday over the last couple of years, but it always feels weird somehow. i prefer to keep it quiet and low key.

i have to say, on balance, this past year is one that i'll be happy to leave in my dust.

now let's just get through tuesday with a clean bill of health, OK? (this is me talking to myself.)