Today is my 27th birthday. So far, it's been the same as any other day here... except for the fact that being 27 years old bothers me, in a lot of different ways.
I don't feel 27. Gods know I hardly even felt 26. After you turn 21, does anyone ever feel like their age again?
. . . . .
The last birthday I looked forward to was my 21st birthday. I can remember it well... as well as can be expected, for being exceedingly inebriated in celebration.
Just past midnight, on my 21st birthday, it was a Sunday night... 'Sted supplied me with my first 'legal' beer, although it wasn't really legal, considering that we weren't supposed to have any kind of alcohol in the dorms, whether you were 21 or not.
She had just turned 21 the month before, and she happened to have a couple of bottles of Killian's Red in her little dorm sized fridge. So, she gave me one. I sat with her and drank it, while she was typing away to our friends online, telling them it was also my 21st birthday.
The day itself was non-eventful. I didn't go to class, but then again, I didn't go to class much at all that semester. I was missing Wallace, who had gone back to Indiana four days earlier. And, I had to go to our fraternity meeting at 9pm.
'Sted and I used to be in the Phi Sigma Pi honour fraternity, although the chapter at Edinboro seemed wholly social. Although, occasionally we did do things other than get together, and party.
I didn't have a lot of other friends of drinking age at Edinboro, so it was nice that a few of our 'brothers' decided to make a bigger deal out of going out with 'Sted and I to celebrate my birthday.
The other nice thing about having other people come with us was, I didn't have to buy a drink... I don't think I paid for one, the entire night. I've not ever had an occasion for anyone to want to get me drunk as much as these two guys did, that night.
Keeping in mind, in little old Edinboro, there were only three bars... that was the extent of my bar tour. First, the Hotel bar, then the Edinboro bar, and then finally, the Copper Coin... which I stumbled into, from what I remember. I liked the Hotel bar the most, since it was smaller and quieter. It was awfully busy at the Edinboro bar, and the Copper Coin, was quite busy too. We did a lot of laughing and a lot of drinking.
I vaguely remember 'Sted left a bit earlier than I did, since she didn't want to get quite as drunk as I did. And I vaguely remember the trip back to my dorm, as the guy I was riding with thought it was funny that he was knocking down trash cans in the street with his car. And, considering where my dorm was in relation to where the Copper Coin was, I have no clue where we were or what we were doing. Chris had probably had too much to drink too. And, I'm thankful that no one got hurt from his escapades.
'Sted was online when I staggered to her door, and she just kept giggling at me, at my state of incapacitation and at the little bit of buzz she had left. Her friend, Fishby from Australia wanted to call me to wish me happy birthday, so I ran to my room for him to call.
Then, I decided I had to talk to Wallace. I called his dorm room, and there was no answer. I proceeded to call all the rooms down the hall from him, as the dorm numbers where in sequential order, to find him. Finally, I got someone, at 3am, or some other such insane time of night to tell me that he was indeed back in his room.
During that historical phone call, I giggled and regaled my tales of drunken stupor with 'Sted and the boys, and for the grand finale, tried to vomit quietly while still on the phone with a very sober Wallace. It was not my finest moment.
So, that was the last birthday I looked forward to... and remembering how I felt on 22 March, as I was preparing to drive three and a half hours home for Spring Break, I'm glad that I have no grand partying plans for my 27th birthday.
. . . . .
I spoke with Wallace on the phone, and he sang me 'Happy Birthday' from work. Savannah is waking up from her nap, and hoping for my attention. And, I just got a beautiful card from my parents.
I'm happy for the little sweet things in my life, even if I'm not the most thrilled about being 27 years old. I'm much more excited about celebrating Savannah's first birthday, in a little over a week.