Today. Is. Birthday. DRAWING!

Does anyone remember that really bad movie Nicole Kidman did back in 2001 called "Birthday Girl"? The one where she played the Russian mail-order bride, which was really a cover for being a fake kidnap victim as part of an on-going con? I never saw; though I love Kidman I could tell from the previews it was just going to be terrible. But the trailer had this one scene in it where Kidman, playing Nadia, says in her fake heavily Russian accented broken English, "Today. Is. Birthday." and this scene has been stuck in my head for the last fracking decade. Yep. It's my birthday, and when I woke up the first thing I heard in my head was "Today. Is. Birthday." <sigh>

I'm thirty-two today. Up until ten this morning, I thought I was thirty-three. No kidding. I have been telling people for several weeks now that I was going to be 33 soon. And don't ask me why David didn't correct me, because he's one of those people who has to ask me how old he is. Then I got this spam mail that was like "Happy 32nd birthday!" and I was like, "LOLZ, they cannot do mathes," and then I realized NO, I AM THE ONE WHO CANNOT DO MATHES. And apparently, I have some secret, underlying, deep subconscious psychological shame/sadness about being 33 (this is no joke; I actually have PTSD and have memory loss from my DV experiences as a child) but anyways, I was all crazy maudlin last night at midnight in a woe-is-me way that I couldn't really describe and was obsessively thinking about my estranged mom and dead dad and a whole host of crazy crap that clearly means I need to call my therapist this week, and then I woke up and checked my email and BAM! I was only 32 and suddenly in much better spirits.

So that's weird.

Today is not only my birthday, though, it's also International Women's Day and, more locally, here at LC it is Tuition Freedom Day, the day in the academic year where tuition runs out and all subsequent learnin' is funded by gifts from alumni, staff, faculty, and parents. It's a day where we stop to write thank you notes to donors to say, "Thanks for the fancy-pantsy education, without you I'd be working at Walmart and still thinking that Sunflowers was perfumey haute couture." At least, that's something like what I wrote on my thank you card. It's a new event this year, but I like it and hope Alumni and Parent programs keep doing it. I think it's important to remember that those lucky few of us who manage to get such a fancy education do so because there are a lot of folks helping us along the way and that it is not some God given birthright that we get to spend four years here, just spending tons of money making ourselves better. I also hope it's a moment of clarity for at least a few students that, in exchange, they owe something to the world for the privilege they're getting. Taking from life and never giving back is a poor way to live, both in a communal sense and in a personal sense. But I digress...

This week is also Gender Symposium week, my most favorite campus week of any year. I know I keep talking about it, but it is rare that one can count on a specific event to annually blow one's mind hole and teach them crazy new things worth learning, but the Gender Symposium never fails to deliver. For those of you who keep asking for the fruits of mine and Angela's presentation efforts, I'm not holding out on you. We're still working on it, and probably will be up to the last minute, so I'll give you power point and note access after we actually get through the thing.


Also, I just want to say that the highlights of my birthday so far include getting an E-Card from my high school Latin teacher and seeing this UNBELIEVABLE CUTE VIDEO (Seriously, possible the cutest thing ever if you like kids, follow the link) which in my mind is proof that the Internet is not destroying society, but making it way better.

I was going to try to review Ten Party today, but David and I are going to sushi dinner and then a drive out to the closest Sonic for Fountain Sodas (because I love a cherry lime coke like little else in the world). Ten Party will come this week though, and for now, I'm going to leave you with this.

First three people to post are getting a copy of my birthday mix as well as 2-3 samples from my grab bag of previous reviewed stuff. I have no idea what you'll be getting but, you'll get something, so just post away. Few will enter, possibly all will win, so post. <g> In my thirty-two years of youth over here, I'm feeling generous.

And now for my very favorite birthday song...

"Well, outside in the hall there's a catfight.
It's well after midnight.
I guess I'll be alright.
I'm laid out on the floor,
drunk and poor.
How much longer? How much more?
Rock me to sleep,
strong & deep.
The screaming cats, they give me the creeps,
but aside from all that I feel no pain
staring up at the ceiling stains.
Neon in the window.
Sirens far away.
News on the radio.
Happy birthday.
Happy birthday.
Happy birthday."
- "Happy Birthday," Concrete Blonde (You can listen to the song here)