Yesterday after conquering an application >> currency issue (base 1 v base 2 v purchase currency) I shot an email to a few of my team members concluding “All your base are belong to us!”.

It was lost on my audience, and after polling my entire team I found that less than 20% knew what I was talking about.

How is this possible? Where the hell have you people been? Maybe it only confirms that I am, in fact, the long lost Dork Princess. Whatever.

Educate yourselves, folks, this is key information: All your base are belong to us

Oh yeah, and happy solstice, ya freakin’ hippie. Kissy boo!

Tonight: Narnia

Today: Narnia rap

Leading into Saturday I was only told there was a detailed agenda, that The Girls would come to pick me up at 1p, and that I should dress comfortably. There were no hints until late Thursday when Heather told me that there would be a surprise guest for Event #1.

When the girls arrived to scoop me up, Yolanda handed me a purple tiara with “Happy Birthday” on it and started to ask “hey, how to get to…” when Heather interrupted and said they’d figure it out. They did. We pulled into midtown and I thought maybe the surprise was picking Kim up (who had to work a game) but we rolled past her building and when we stopped in traffic in front of the Fox, Yolanda told us to get out of the car. We did, and I thought perhaps we were having lunch at Baradona. I followed Heather to the will call window to discover we were going to the Nutcracker (which I’ve never seen) and started hopping up and down. Right about then the surprise guest attempted to sneak up on me and was jostled slightly by all my hopping. It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you who it was, now would it?

Following the play and nearly punching a talker in the back of the head, we pointed towards Manuel’s (no surprise) for a snack, a beverage, and a meet up with Sarah before Event #2. BTW, my favorite part? The sheep in the second half – they had me at the first butt wiggle.

Next we found ourselves at Wired and Fired where you paint your own pre-thrown pottery. Another something the girls have known I’ve wanted to do for ages, an idea that could only be improved upon by allowing us to bring a bottle of wine with us. Sarah forgot? No worries, there’s a gas station across the street where you can pick up a bottle of vino that looks like shampoo. Fortunately, it wasn’t bad at all and we wrapped our projects in no time. See also: Heather seems sweet but has dark thoughts.

On the way to Event #3 (dinner) we bumped into these guys near the Brewhouse.

Still sans Kim, we had a nice dinner at Harry & Sons where Yo tried saki for the first time and we discovered again that the four of us can’t leave the house without running into someone we know.

On the way back to Heathers, she suggested we stop at Mulligans, which is the home of the Ham Dog and the deep fried Twinkie. Oh yeah, and kinky clown porn. I’m not kidding…about any of it. It was also amateur musician / artist night and I found the lights too bright for the clientele. Just the same, a great time…how can I be with them and *not* have a great time? C’mon.

So we eventually landed back at the house which we had to ourselves for the night since Heather’s husband abandoned us in fear of what might happen to him if he stayed.

Now changed into jammies, we raided the fridge and prepared to get our drink on.

The Thrashers game eventually ended and Kim was able to join us in time for cake. Mmmmmmmmmm cake. Why are there two? I’m the only one in the crowd who likes German Chocolate, so the girls picked up tiramisu for themselves. Frank looked pretty interested in my cake.

Yo brought Dance Dance Revolution perhaps in hopes of watching one of us bust ass and almost got her wish. It kicked my butt even though Riley tried to help me out, and Kim dominated it. The woman wouldn’t rest until she got an “A” on Like a Virgin, which may or may not have worsened her cold and seen to it that she didn’t sleep, but instead sat in a chair in the living room all night and watched me sleep. Somewhere during her competition I leaned over and dozed off.

The sun was up in offensive form and I rose with it. Sunday morning commitments aren’t shunned just because I was up until two AM. The girls were impressed by my morning hair and I couldn’t help but channel the Beastie Boys and their “I recognized your girlie by the back of her head” as we poured ourselves out the front door for Kim to drive me home.

Those are the facts of the birthday extravaganza, but not the emotions. All I can say is this – I’m blessed. These girls have come into my life with a roar and created room for themselves in my heart where I didn’t know there was any to be had…and I like having them there.

Kissy boo, babies!

I’m still recovering from my birthday extravaganza/slumber party with The Girls. Pictures and details later in the day when I’ve napped…

It was a good day.

I stepped out of my nest into the chilly air yesterday morning and smiled at the sight of a row of tiny icicles on the Jeep. It’s nearly Christmas, it should be cold.

Pausing from the routine banter with Dave as he prepped my beverage, I snapped a shot or two of the wee trees along N Highland in their icy state. I can’t put it into words, but the sight brought me calm and my closed mouth / pursed lips / eyes sparkling smile crept across my face.

The morning and early afternoon clicked by, and a relatively productive day at the office was met around 3 by a call from the main receptionist on campus saying he had something for me. Still donning my uber festive furry antlers, I wandered over to find these…

My cube smells like roses, and that isn’t a euphemism. I love my girls.

My evening - though far more private - was exceedingly/excessively magical. I will tell you this: I continue to be a huge fan of Zifty. On the one hand, I don’t know what it says about me that I order a salad to be delivered at 10:00 on a Thursday night (lazy American) and on the other hand, how great is it that I can order a salad to be delivered at 10:00 on a Thursday night (God bless America)?

I like to believe everyone has something that sets their soul free. Something to look forward to, to pour yourself into, to ignite a passion.

For me it’s either running or writing or walking in the woods, for my brother and some of my dearest friends it’s sitting on two wheels and pedaling until it hurts. For my girl Mary Jac, it’s horses, and last night she shared it with me.

I never imagined anyone being capable of glowing like that while mucking a stall, but it was easy enough to understand the love as I watched her and giggled. When we walked to the field to collect the four legged wonder and she clicked (you know, the giddy up noise?), I was amazed to see the big white beast start towards us in the darkness. As she opened the gate, the horse picked up its stride and ran past me with truly thundering steps, proceeding directly to her stall where dinner was waiting.

Seeing tiny MJ with these massive animals was near magical, as she described the personality of each that shared a barn with the one we were there to see her eyes twinkled and her grin widened. Seeing her light up was contagious, and I was reminded what it’s all about. Life. Happiness. Filling your days with the things that bring a sparkle to your soul and a lightness to your heart.

I like to believe you have something that sets your soul free.