Here are the photos I took when I was up in Vancouver…
I only took a couple when I was up there…
I lucked out, according to several people…
It had been raining on the weekends and sunny during the work week…
But it ended up flip flopping when I got there…
Beautiful weekend…
The rest of the week was a bit damp…
But I didn’t sweat it at all…
I liked the chilled out feel of it…
Helped me get myself together and take it easy…
Which is exactly what I wanted to do

I’ll do a couple more blog posts about the VC trip soon…
The great people I met and got to hang out with…
The food…
And of course the drinking…

Got to do it soon too, while it’s all pretty fresh in my mind.

Well…
Back from vacation…
And it was well needed.

I’ll update you guys on it later…
Took some photos, but not lots…
I’ll post some of them up here as well.

But for now…
I’m back to the grind tonight.
And I’m thinking…

Hmmm…
A nap would be nice.

Okay…
I don’t normally post links from Xtube…
(What? Oh pleeeze…
like you guys haven’t searched on there for
“cub”, “furry” or “hidden locker room” before.)
But I was… um… “doing some research” on there recently…
And found this, semi NSFW clip.
(No it’s not CBT or that “eggplant” clip.)
But let’s just say…
I knew I liked them Duke boys…
But when they sang in the opening credits…
“Just them good ole’ boys… never doin’ no harm.”
It sure looks like one of them good ole’ boys could hurt someone with THAT.
Oh, Loretta Lynn was in that clip?
I didn’t notice…

A couple of shots of Jack…
With a Coke chaser…
Does cut the edge off now, doesn’t it?

–Mike P. via Sidekick 3

Please get me out of this city…
I feel like I’m ready to explode…
From the inside out.

–Mike P. via Sidekick 3

When I’m sixty-four?”

Well… today I turn 29…

What?

Okay… Okaaaay.

Today I turn 33.

But I could pass for 29, right?
In the right lighting…
Right???

Anyways I ended up having a birthday party last Friday…

Many people from different parts of my life
Were there in one room…

People from my bar…
People from my blogger/podcast world…
People from my music world…
Even my Brother showed up.

And it felt good.

The cake I got was a big hit…
Ended up ordering a red velvet cake…
And it was ridiculously good.
(The cream cheese frosting was freakin’ tasty as hell.)
I ordered it from Make My Cake…
Up in Harlem…
I found them…
Like the geek I am…
After a Google search for Red Velvet Cake…
They were written up in the New York Times…
And, boy were the critics right on the money with this one.

(BTW remind me to arrange transportation next time I order a cake…
I had to lug a 14″ round 2 layer cake
On a downtown bus…
Cause the walk to the subway would have killed me.
The thing was huge!
And must have weighed like 10lbs….
I had no idea…LOL)

But yeah…
The party was great…
Good food…
Great people…
And I got to DJ a little…
(God, I haven’t done that in so long… I missed it.)

I have a confession to make BTW…
I haven’t had a birthday party since I was like 14 or something…

The last birthday party that was thrown for me…
Was thrown by my family…
But…
Because I was in full teenage angst mode…
And was “Too big for a silly kid’s birthday party.”
I ditched the party and ended up showing up late…
After everyone had left.
I think they got the point…
Never saw a party since.

Since then…
I never had the gumption to throw a party…

Till now.

I realized…
I’m in a pretty decent place in my life right now.
And my friends are a big part of that.

So in the back of my mind…
This was my way of giving back to them.

Basically…
I wouldn’t be who I am without these guys.
So this birthday party was really about them.
And sharing this day with them.

So… thank you guys.
You made that day real special for me.

Now excuse me…
I have a huge chunk of leftover red velvet cake…
Calling for me from the fridge…
And its kinda hard to type with one hand holding a plate…
And the other hand shoveling moist cake goodness into my pie hole…
Umm… cake hole…
Nevermind…
I gots me some chowing to do.