Happy Birthday to Me!

Okay, so for a boy who although not raised in Texas, still considers himself FROM Texas last night was an incredible birthday meal. You see, its been almost 16 years since I've been back to my parent's house and I haven't had decent Texas fare since then. Sooooo, when Amy decided to take me out for dinner and I found myself at one of the best BBQ places on the Island I was ecstatic. If you've never been there - you need to go. Although the spicy sauce could have been spicier, the brisket and sausage were out of this world - so tender, so juicy, so flavorful, so - excuse me, I need to go wipe the drool off my chin!

I'm back! For your own edification, check out their menu - http://www.smokinals.com/ordereze/Menu/MenuItems.aspx. Good stuff, Maynard! Unfortunately, my insides were still acting up from the MyLax concoction so I couldn't completely savor it all. That's okay, there was so much left over I had it again on my actual birthday - WOOHOOO!

Today I want to thank all my students who wished me well - especially all of you my facebook friends! It made me feel really special - especially since I haven't been feeling that way for a while now - BECAUSE NONE OF YOU HAVE OFFICIALLY SIGNED UP TO FOLLOW MY BLOG (Yeah, you Jason Lederman and all the others who say you read my blog!)! So there.

No, actually I've been feeling pretty much as if I'm just coasting through life right now and despite all the wonderful things my students said on Saturday night (and trust me, the tears I shed at your words were SOOOOOO genuine - I was completely blown away by some of your words) I still don't feel like I've done much with my life. Yes, I know Amy would argue with me over that but its not really a question of someone telling me, its what I feel - I don't FEEL like I've done enough to help my fellow human beings, I don't really FEEL like I'm all that good of a person. But I guess that's just in my makeup - I'm probably never going to think I'm good enough and I don't really know how to resolve that.

But enough of the pity party for one. This blog is really about the fact that I am so grateful for my family - both immediate, distant and "adoptive". You really have supported me through so much this year, heck these last two months and I know I couldn't have gotten through without you.

So, I got a great birthday present in that my admin classes are over for a month, my family gave me a gift certificate for a one-hour message and I got to eat some REALLY good barbeque! Life really does have its ups! Tomorrow we go to the Ducks game and sing the "Star Spangled Banner" - wish us luck!

Stay well, y'all!