Put Another Candle On My Birthday Cake!
Here it is again... that fateful day. I am turning 49 today. Big Whoop. I don't expect to see a cake. I have a dinner invite for tomorrow in honor of it. That'll work. I already think of myself as a 50 year old man. It sounds old until you get here. At least I don't have to sit in an office with a bunch of young punks anymore.

I'm still making my way as a writer. One of my colleagues says she does "animation scripts for the European market." That sounds pretty good. She also said it was "the literary equivalent of flipping burgers." That's true as well, but we take what comes along. It seems the projects are slowly creeping toward fruition. I've seen snippets of genuine animation, which is fun. It's quite a payoff to hear words you've written coming out of cartoon characters. Unfortunately I can't share any of it publicly, as it doesn't belong to me, but it is happening. Some day you won't be able to avoid them as they become the new craze sweeping your televisions.

I visited the putting green with Mike yesterday. I'm still creeping along in my efforts to actually play a game of golf. There's plenty of time for all of that stuff. Hey, I'm only 49 years old!

Media Notes
I'm beginning to wonder if there's something wrong with me. I have never seen American Idol or Dancing With The Stars! Is such a thing possible? I'm here to say that it can be done. I saw a guy do one song on Idol a few years ago. I was sitting at a bar and it was on. The guy was wearing a cowboy hat. As far as Dancing, I've tried to watch some of it, but every time I switched to the channel, they had everything BUT dancing on. Most of it was talking or advertising.

I usually watch part of Good Morning America, from years of habit. I'm not crazy about the current hosts. I mean, they're ok... Chris Cuomo is kind of bland and sometimes Diane Sawyer's overwrought delivery gets on my nerves. And I hate those interviews with some average folk who are in the spotlight for a few minutes, and Robin Roberts or someone has to try to pry an interesting answer or two out of them. I usually switch over to Curious George until the agony is over. BUT, to hear those folks talk about it... there is nothing more vital or interesting in American culture than Idol or Dancing. Where do they get time to watch all of that crap?

In advertising, there's a new trend that I wish would go away. I've noticed through the years how the ad agencies all start to ape each other. The examples are too numerous, trivial, and fleeting to try to list. However, right now almost all of the breakfast cereals feel the need to have someone talk with a cheekfull of their offerings. Please stop that, it's annoying and I would never buy your cereal.

Spectacles
How do you like my new glasses? Pretty spiffy, eh? My friend got so tired of me not being able to see anything that she offered to get me new glasses for my birthday. It motivated me to get my eyes examined and go through the process. Mike paid for the eye exam for his present. I have my "Driving Glasses" (on top), and my "Crossword Puzzle Glasses." I didn't want bifocals, although I'm a bit curious about them. Maybe next time. At any rate I can see far off things clearly now. The lights don't flare at night and I can read the street signs. It's good.

So on May 29 I will be one year shy of the half-century mark. Amazing thing, considering that I often behave like a child. My dad died at age 52, which gives one pause. He died of cancer, and I seriously doubt that a similar fate will befall me. I'll die of something eventually.

In the meantime I've started doing Yoga again. I spend an hour a day with a CD that my nephew gave me. I used to take a class which was very intensive, and this is a more basic version. It's just what I need though. Keeps me limber, and perhaps a bit more youthful as I count down the years.