This wasn't what I meant..

 



When I asked for my birthday off, perhaps I should have been specific. I didn't need all the extra eternity afterwards. Also, did I mention the day I got laid off was my deceased father's birthday? (Thanks Mr. Burns. My dad's birthday and mine will now be forever linked to your business feud and the first time I lost a job. Way to go! You can now go home, rub your hands together with a well earned"EX-celllll-ent.")

Given the events of last week, I wasn't really in much of a celebratory mood. The only thing that would have made me feel even more old and loserish would have been if I had been fired instead of laid off. Sadly, my inner hermit comes out at the times when it would be most healthy to be around people, so I was completely ready to just skip the birthday revelry altogether this year. My big plans for the day included trying not to worry about job search stuff, wearing an ass groove in the couch while watching movies (hopefully in my pajamas), and possibly eating Chinese food.

In the end, the day turned out much different when my mom convinced me to at least go to a matinee with her. Since I was already going out, I invited my friends Jen and Leslie, who are also flexible of schedule to go see Oz the Great and Powerful. It was the perfect getaway movie, not least of which because the denizens of Oz are a well dressed bunch (great costumes!) and the irrefutable fact that James Franco's crinkly-eyed smile is ADORABLE. I'm already looking forward to the sequels you know Disney will make, if this does well.

Later in the day, there was dinner at Tapalaya, which involved live jazz and amazing oyster po' boys with sweet potato fries and a mixed drink whose name I keep forgetting, but that was basically a lemondrop, if lemondrops were made with delicious strawberry lemonade. Next time, I am definitely trying the julep, for I love mint and would marry it if the church sanctioned human-herb weddings (but please don't tell chili, since I promised to marry it last week). I knew when I saw their logo was a craw de lys that Tapalaya and I would be friends, because how can anyone not appreciate a crawdad/fleur de lys hybrid? More than that, though, the oysters were PERFECT (crispy on the outside and well cooked inside without being rubbery) and I am not just saying that because I have personal knowledge that the chef is awesome either!

And, finally, because I know how to party, I capped off the evening with a haircut. It involved cutting about 4-5" off my hair and dying it bright auburn, but it was somehow liberating to have control over one drastic change at this point in my life. Once I stop scaring myself when I pass by a mirror (who IS that woman with the ridiculously cute chin length, garnet bob? Oh, it's ME!), I think it will be great. If I have to start over, I'd might as well do it right.

Here's to a good new year!