a pirate looks at twenty-six…

So I haven’t really had much time to write for a while – we’ve pretty much just been going non-stop since we got back from Michigan, but at least things are calming down a little now. In fact, I’m actually supposed to be making breakfast right now, but I’m “waiting for the pan to warm up” while I write this… 😛

Yeah, so I turned 26 on Friday. It was just a very good day, which was nice because I haven’t had a birthday that someone had put that much thought into probably since I turned 21 and Mom decorated the front lawn with pink flamingos. It’s nice to feel so loved and needed because it’s pretty much the polar opposite of where I was a year ago today. Anyone who helped me through that knew that I was in pretty bad shape last year – depressed, angry and disappointed in myself, and without a hope in the world except that some day I would wake up and magically everything would be back the way it was before that horrible Friday in May when she left. But of course, life doesn’t exactly work that way and I spent nearly a year of my life wondering how I’d ever be the same again.

The fact of the matter is I never will be the same again, and hindsight, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Like it or not, those experiences helped to make me who I am today and I don’t really think I would’ve done much differently because I know that I did the best that I could. And as much as I didn’t want to believe everyone around me who preached that life would eventually go on, it did. Despite the turmoil that I just so happened to be in, the Earth kept turning as it tends to do and life moved on. Fortunately for the present, I eventually caught up…

So fast-forward to one year later and the celebration of my 26th birthday. I got a present before I even got out of bed in the morning, flowers / candy / balloons delivered to me at work, and a homemade cake waiting for me when I got home. Sara was awesome and spoiled me rotten for the first time that a girlfriend has ever done so on my birthday, and I loved every minute of it, partially because who doesn’t like being spoiled, but also because I could tell from that smile that she was genuinely loving every minute of it, too. It made my day all the more special because aside from all of the greatness that was showed down upon me, it also was just a great reminder that the world most certainly didn’t end like I thought it would last year. Life went on, and I’m definitely grateful for that.

…

Ok, so sentimental stuff aside, the rest of the weekend has certainly been a rollercoaster in and of itself, which is actually kind of ironic, as you will learn in just a moment! Friday night we went and watched Snakes on a Plane, and although I am planning on writing something up on it later, I can say that for the most part we enjoyed it because we left the theater laughing and that’s always a good thing. Quite gruesome, I’ll admit, and neither of us really know how we got through the night without nightmares, but it was a neat film and will certainly be added to the collection when it comes out on DVD. Yesterday one of Sara’s cousins flew into town as a stepping stone before the Navy sends him to Iraq, so we tried to go out and show him a good time – note “tried” because it didn’t actually end up working out as we’d hoped. We went down to the Improv in Ybor – first time I’ve ever been to Ybor City, actually – to see Tommy Davidson, and sadly all I can say about the show is that he reminded me just why I never really cared for In Living Colour. He had some lines that were funny, but nowhere near enough to cover the entire show, at least for us. Unfortunately I guess some comics just sort of cater to certain people and he did have the majority of the crowd rolling – black people, mind you…if I can say that without sounding too racist – but such is life. He did have one heckler who finally shouted out what the three of us were thinking, which was entertaining until security came up and asked her to leave about thirty seconds after her outburst. I swear I don’t think Tommy even realized after going off on her for the next five minutes that she’d already left the building! Anyways, at least the opening comics were funny so that helped to salvage the evening. By then it was only 9:30pm, but Sara’s cousin had had a long day so we decided to cut our losses and call it a night…

Her and I came back for some cake and ice cream and tried to watch a movie, but The Producers didn’t seem nearly as funny in the full length as the twenty minute clip from Curb Your Enthusiasm did. So we chucked that idea, switched over to House and did manage to get a few laughs in before going to bed early. Plenty of sleep, and now today we’re all going to Busch Gardens for the afternoon to turn my guts inside out. I’ve lived here for three years and never been, so I guess the trip’s long overdue – I just don’t know how I’m going to fare on all of the rides because Disney coasters are usually as “crazy” as I can get into. I did tell Sara that I’d do my best to stick it out as long as I can, though, because she loves those crazy rides and I figure if nothing else, it’ll give me something interesting to write about later on tonight. “How My Girlfriend Nearly Killed Me for My Birthday…” – I can’t wait!

Well, this ended up being a really long post, but I’ve been overdue for a while anyways. Apparently I don’t have to make breakfast anymore because Sara got tired of waiting and is now doing it herself – oops! 🙁 Anyways, to sum up my position on life at this moment in time – confusing and extraordinarily busy because I’m more ambitious than I have time in the day for, fast-paced and hectic, but still trying to back things off to a “more sensible Floridian pace,” and also very happy and loved by those whom I choose to surround myself with these days. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday – here’s to hoping that I’m able to enjoy many more in the same way… 🙂