From the Inside Out

Since my birthday is the unfortunate victim of a Monday, we decided to have the birthday celebrations this weekend. I also got to pick up my birthday gift early…whoohoo!

When I was in Maui, I rented a Cannondale carbon fiber road bike and promptly fell in love with it. So, after doing some research last weekend, I was ready to make a purchase. I had narrowed it down to two options, but wanted to test them out before making the final decision.

On Saturday, we went to our local cycling store, Plano Cycling and Fitness, for the test drives. The shop took my measurements using their nifty computerized system and then used that information to set up the bike to match my specific proportions — pretty cool, huh? I rode both bikes and ultimately purchased a 2011 Cannondale Synapse Carbon Fem 4. It’s a beautiful thing and a great ride! I can’t wait to get more miles on it!

After picking up my new bike, Gary took me out for a birthday evening on the town. First, we had a fantastic dinner at Jorge’s Mexican Restaurant in the Dallas Arts District, and then we walked over to the new AT&T Performing Arts Center to see the Blue Man Group. I’ve seen them perform in Vegas, and I love their show. It’s entertaining, humorous, and lots of fun! It was the perfect cap to a great night with my favorite person in the world!

Dinner at Jorge’s

Outside of the AT&T PAC

Waiting to see the show!

A look inside the PAC

The chandelier, which completely retracts into the ceiling when it’s time for the performance to start.

Side view of the theatre before the show.

On Sunday evening, the birthday celebration continued with a family party at my parent’s house. My nephew surprised me with a custom cookie cake that he made for me. It was cool and yummy! We put candles on it, and even though I’m terribly old now (hehe!), I was still able to blow them out. I got gifts and cards, but the most precious part was being able to spend time with my family. I love them and am thankful that God allowed me to be born into a loving, happy, God-fearing home. I am truly blessed.

Family, food, fun, and fireworks — those are the earmarks of a great birthday party, and Independence Day has to be the biggest one of the year. Where else can you see 306 million people joining together to celebrate one birthday?

Yes…yes, I know. We aren’t celebrating a human birth, but I don’t think that makes the celebration any less important. This birthday bash happens to be the one day each year where we set aside our political and moral differences. We proudly come together as one to celebrate the birth of our magnificent nation and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. We also pause to remember those brave men and women who fought for the freedom and liberties we so richly enjoy today.

I’ve always loved Independence Day. Maybe it’s what the day represents — freedom. Maybe it’s because I usually spend the day in the pool or on the lake — two of my favorite pastimes. Maybe it’s because of the fireworks. No matter what age you are, those never get old. Maybe it’s all of those things.

I’m getting excited just thinking about it. We’ll be “parading” in the morning, swimming in the afternoon, and meeting up with family to shoot off fireworks at night. It’s going to be a blast — no pun intended…okay, maybe it was a tiny bit intentional.

Regardless of how you choose to celebrate the birth of our country, don’t forget to thank God for allowing you to be a part of this great nation. And while you are at it, say a few prayers for the people who are still fighting to preserve our liberty. May God keep them safe and continue to bless the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Gary turned a year older today so I surprised him with a trip to Pocket Sandwich Theater this evening. Pocket Sandwich Theater provides professional quality theatrical shows along with food and a friendly, casual atmosphere. They offer a wide variety of plays (comedies, melodramas, musicals, and an occasional drama), but our favorites are the popcorn-throwing melodramas. Those are a blast.

The melodramas are very campy, and they typically spoof your favorite heroes, villains, and monsters. During the performance, you are instructed to “cheer” the hero, “awww” at the romantic moments, and “boo hiss” the villain. You can even throw popcorn at the villains (or anyone else in the theater).

Tonight’s performance was “Zombie Dearest or the Caper of the Living Dead.” It was a mix between a zombie play and a 40s style private detective story — very funny!

We had a great time watching the performance and throwing popcorn at the actors and fellow patrons. Our seats were in the middle section so we frequently found ourselves caught in the cross-fire of popcorn fights. I can’t tell you how many times I got pegged, but it’s all in good fun. Of course, I was doing my fair share of hitting people too!

Eating dinner before the show

The birthday boy — 37 big ones

Our “ammunition”

The performers and target of our popcorn attacks

The floor covered with popcorn — wonder how long it takes to clean up all of that mess?

Posing with Greg Potts’ picture — hey, we know him!

This was the last day of my 36th year on earth. It wasn’t notable, just another day filled with work issues that I don’t want to re-live in this blog. Thankfully, it was a Friday which makes me happy even though I will have to work some this weekend. We are preparing for the biggest launch my team has ever done. The US events will be held in San Diego where we have over 600 analysts, customers, consultants, and partners converging next week. Thousands more will participate via live Webcast and TelePresence. Other events will be held simultaneously in 20 cities across the globe. I’ll be glad when it’s over.

Last year, I was working in San Jose on my birthday. This year, I’ll be attending a wedding for a member of Gary’s family that I barely know. What is up with people scheduling things I don’t want to do on my birthday? Oh well, maybe I’ll have better luck next year.

The bright spot in my day was dinner with Gary this evening. Since we’ll be at the wedding tomorrow, he took me out tonight. We dined at Nicola’s Ristorante located in the Shops at Legacy area in Plano. The restaurant has a great atmosphere. They serve Northern Italian cuisine and boast that all pasta is hand made on-premise, using traditional shapes not commonly seen in American restaurants. There are no freezers in the restaurant, and groceries are delivered twice a day to insure only market-fresh ingredients are prepared.

It was a nice end to a challenging year. I’m looking forward to better things with number 37.

My birthday is coming up next month, and there’s a part of me that’s dreading it. Seriously, I can’t be this old. I still feel like I’m in my 20s. When I was younger, I thought I’d have everything figured out by this age — what a myth. The only thing you can be sure of when you get older is that you will be acutely aware of how much you don’t know.

Instead of dreading the future and all the uncertainty it holds, I’ve decided to embrace it. After all, there are some benefits to growing older. For example, every year that passes means I’m closer to retirement. You may laugh at that statement because I’m still relatively young, but I plan to retire early — 50 isn’t that far away. Before I know it the day will arrive, and it’s something to anticipate, not dread.

I received an email this week from a friend who retired a few years ago. She’s having the time of her life. She spent a month in Australia earlier this year and is planning to be in South Africa for almost 2 months in the Fall. Wow, isn’t that awesome? If I plan it right, that’s what the future has in store for me.

So, I’m changing my perspective and celebrating the digits being added to my age. Growing older simply means that I’m getting closer to achieving my career goals and moving to the next stage where I have the freedom to pursue my passions. What’s so bad about that?