2006-12-01 - 9:05 p.m.

this year's birthday celebrations seemed even more like turning a corner than usual. in the last year i've met two friends with my same birthday. e went to paris, but m showed up drunk at my shindig with two mutual friends at approximately 2a. he was good enough to share a beer with me and put several madonna songs on the jukebox before the bar closed.

but i'm getting ahead of myself. the anniversary of my birth was actually on thanksgiving this year and most of the usual suspects were predictably preoccupied. i had a get-together at a filthy underground bar in my new neighborhood and had a surprisingly good time. some new friends and some old dropped by. k brought an excellent gift, some delicious vinyl and some cold bubbly and a huge fattie. and i followed s and his girlfriend e back to their loft for one last one under a rainy new moon and walked home between the raindrops just before sunrise.

and now its a stormy weekend. i'm watching The OC on video and drinking austrian wine and nibbling on chocolate. lighting candles and charging my iPod and scribbling in a new sketchbook. waiting for winter.