The best birthday ever!

I had the most awesomest birthday day ever!

It actually started the day before my birthday, when I walked into work to find my desk decorated with a banner and some caution tape (yellow and black) with a sign that read: "Old man coming through". (Pictures to follow soon.) I work with some younger people. There were also cookies and Tim bits and beers after work. Excellent team, I love working with these peeps.

The next morning, on my birthday, I slept in. I then sat in my backyard, next to my herb garden and read the paper and drank coffee. This was all I really wanted. The day could not get any better, I thought. But it did.

A and I headed downtown to the Eaton Centre, and following even more coffee, we shopped for some clothing. I bought some T-shirts, undershirts, shorts, and summer shirts. We also shopped for shoes, but didn't buy any. Then we had a late lunch and went to see a movie.

We ate at Milestones at Dundas Square (Toronto's Time's Square), which afforded us the chance to try one of the new diagonal intersection pedestrian crossings, and then sit on a patio four stories up. We had an amazing view of downtown Toronto while I had a Guinness and A had a Mimosa and we enjoyed a breakfast brunch meal at 3 in the afternoon.

We then went up a few more floors and saw "Up". Just another Disney animated flick. Only it was also 3-D (which was amazing). And we didn't realize it before hand, but found out that it was not really a kids' movie, but a sentimental journey. Very touching, very cute, very moving, very emotional, lovely film.

After the film we got another coffee and were walking downtown, first past the church where we were married, and then further east, en route to who-knows-where? (since A wouldn't tell me what her plans were for the evening...) When suddenly I got a call from our friend A (not to be mistaken with A). He had miraculously got his hands on TFC tickets, so now we were off to BMO field to meet up with friends to see the game. TFC beat New York 2 to 1, we had great seats, we knew a bunch of different people at the game and had fantastic time.

When the game was over and the expensive beer was drunk, we hopped in a cab, got a good old Islamic interrogation from the driver, and then all met up at the troob (Troubadour, my local in the junction). We hooked up with the owner of the bar while "The Worst Pop Band Ever" played smooth jazz and mixed up with record scratching. The owner tells that she just got back from the TFC game! Shots all around. Then I say it's my birthday! Shots all around. Then she says it's her birthday tomorrow! Shots all around. Then she shows us her tattoos! Shots all around. Then we have more beers, and I'm really drunk and I'm having the best day ever, and I love my wife, and my friends, and it's summer and I'm 36 and then I walk home and the day is gone.

I water the plants in the garden and I type this blog post and I take off my contact lenses and I go to bed, because I'm an old man now. Cheers.

*****Addendum*******
Woke up this morning - the morning after - and some of yesterday started coming back to me... I forgot to mention that while we were in a clothing store on the main floor of the Eaton's Centre, and we had made our way to the street side of the store, we suddenly saw a lot of bicycles going by, like in the 100s of bikes. So we, amongst much of the store, rushed outside to see 300 to 400 bicyclists ride up Yonge street...naked. The naked ride! In their birthday suits! On my birthday! We cheered and laughed. It put everyone in good spirits.

The other thing that I realized is that A and J didn't let me pay at the bar last night. I owe them a big thanks. Cheers you guys. I'll get you both back next month when it's your birthdays. Thanks to everyone who made it a special day/weekend/week/month/year/decade/life/moment for me. :)