A Pirate Looks A Forty

Last week I turned 40.
I wasn't all "I'm having a mid-life crisis" about it, but still.... 40 years old.
That's twice as old as 20 and in some ways I don't feel any wiser than I did back then, only older.

Anyway, to mark the occasion, I wanted to have a "pirate-themed" birthday party at the Comic Stop with all my friends to celebrate.

(I was listening to Jimmy Buffet's song "A Pirate Looks At Forty" and thought that was kind of appropriate for me considering my penchant for acquiring music and such. *wink wink*)

My buddy Imperfect also has his birthday on the same day as mine, so we went to IXTAPA in town and had lunch together.

He mentioned to the restaurant owner that it was my birthday, to which I added that it was also his. The owner asked which of us was the younger, and we told him it was me.

So, after we were finished with our meals (which were muy bueno, by the way), he came over to us with two sombreros and two bowls of fried ice-cream for us, while he and a few of the waitstaff sang us "Happy Birthday".

Here we are, as the goofballs we tend to be:

Anyway, back to the party....

Hotness was busy with work and getting stuff ready for the wedding, so she delegated the party responsibilities to other capable hands.

It was supposed to be a surprise party, but since it was originally my idea and I'd only been talking about it all year, it wasn't much of a "surprise". Especially since I had to carry a cooler into the comic store that night of my birthday. (Hmmm... suspicious?)

Still, I was greeted with a loud "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" when I walked into the back and they turned on the lights.

The party was fun and it was a nice way to turn "middle-aged", even if I did look like a dork for the duration.

Here are some pics for ya:

I really didn't expect gifts, as it wasn't my intention for having a birthday get-together, but I got some pretty nifty swag nevertheless.

I got a few gift cards for iTunes and Target. A got a limited edition Mighty Mugg of Peter Parker with his "Spidey senses" going off. (Way cool!)

And I got a book that I had on my Christmas list (but Hotness wasn't able to find) called "The Supergirls".

The party didn't last too terribly long, but it was fun while it lasted.

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On Saturday we met up with Dr. Zoltar and his lovely assistant to see their baby. (I'd actually gotten to see her a couple weeks earlier, but Hotness hadn't yet)

Then that evening we went to help celebrate 2.0's girlfriend's birthday. (She doesn't have a 'nickname', so I'll call her GF2.0)

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Sunday was our second opera for this season and it promised to be a doozy!

It was "Il Trovatore", and it had just about everything you could want in an opera.

There was fighting, murder, love, kidnapping, curses, vengeance, gypsies and the popular "Anvil Chorus".

We were joined by GF2.0, who wasn't able to make it in time to get her seat for the first act, so she had to watch it in the lobby on the screens.

During intermission we caught up with her and we all got our seats for the second act.

Then, she left to head back home while Hotness and I went to... where else?... Pomodoro for dinner after the show.

Yum-yum-yummy, as always!

Overall it was a great birthday weekend and made turning 40 into a "not-so-bad" event.

And Here Are Those Pictures I Promised

Well, I may not be speedy, but I do deliver.... eventually.

I meant to get some pictures up about a week ago but I let it slide and look where we are now.

Anyway, here a few pictures from things I've been doing lately. Enjoy.

In between job searches I been filling my time up with babysitting for my niece and nephew.

A few nights back I had the chance to watch them for the evening while their parents went out looking for a new vehicle (read: bigger kid-transport).

My niece put these fangs on and tried to scare me:

It worked 'really well' as I was certainly terrified and couldn't sleep at all after being frightened by that cute face. (*wink wink*)

On a different day, I watched her brother in the morning.

He hadn't yet had breakfast, so I thought I'd make cinnamon toast for him and see if he liked it.

Trying it out

Seems to be a success!

Other than babysitting, I've also been doing some organizing at a friend's place.

He's been behind in getting his comic books filed and asked if I could come lend a hand while I'm available.

In trade for some of the work, he gave me his older 5.1 surround sound DVD player, since he'd recently upgraded to a newer system. (More on this later)

Also, I get to hang out with his kitties all day while I'm there.

See what rough working conditions I have to deal with?

Wednesday last week, I was running some errands and ended up in Lynnwood.

I stopped by the Comic Stop and later treated myself to some sushi at Sushi Misoya next door to the shop.

This place is tiny, but what they lack in size, they more than make up for in excellent food.

On this trip I had the 'paradise roll' and the 'tarantula roll'.

Absolutely wonderful and the people who run the place are fantastic!

If you like sushi and find yourself in Lynnwood one day, I highly recommend going there to eat.

Their prices are reasonable and their food if well worth it. (They also have non-sushi items on the menu as well, if that's not your "thing")

On Sunday, Hotness and I went to our first opera of the season.

Well, technically it wasn't the "first of the season" but it as OUR first one this season.

We went and saw "La Traviata". (Click the link to find out the synopsis)

It was wonderful. A very tragic opera with a suitably sad ending.

I'm not ashamed to say that I was bit sniffly at the end, but Hotness was definitely teary-eyed.

It was a good thing we'd brought tissues with us!

Here's a shot of the traffic afterwards as everybody was leaving the parking garage.

I took it from the Skybridge.

After that we went to Pomodoro for a bit to eat.

The two of us haven't been there together since I'd proposed to Hotness... 7 months ago!

Oh, it was so good and we'd missed coming there. The food was splendid (as usual) and we got to see our favorite waitress (who missed seeing us as well!).

We had our usual: calamari, halibut ceviche, as well as the Penne alla Vodka which we shared.

(Mmmm... calamari!)

I am so looking forward to our next opera, "Il Trovatore". It has treachery, deceit, political intrigue, attempted murder, kidnapping... and gypsies!

It also happens to be right around my birthday, so it's a double treat. (Guess we'll have to celebrate at Pomodoro again!)

That's most of what's been happening lately.

I probably forgot a few things, but I can't give away EVERYTHING.

I'll try to get back to this again soon, so stay tuned.

Something New To Look Forward To

Hey There!
How ya'll been?

I've been away from blogging 'cause there hasn't been anything to really talk about other than my "deck garden" than I'm slowing getting together.
This cool Spring weather is really making things difficult for my 'warm-weather' plants.
Ah well, I'll just keep plugging along and hope for the best.

Hotness and I have one more ballet to attend for this season and then we're finished for this year. (Well, the 2008-2009 season anyway)
We're looking into getting tix for next season, but it's still kind of up in the air right now.

However, I did get tickets for the 2009-2010 season of the Seattle Opera.
They have a big year planned, what with the "Ring" cycle taking place as well this season.
Unfortunately I couldn't afford to include those performances with our subscription, but we are going to see three classics of Italian opera: La Traviata, Il Trovatore, and Falstaff.

I'm looking forward to all three, but especially Il Trovatore.
This one has most of the music that even the non-opera goers are familiar with, including the "Anvil Chorus". Plus our tickets for the weekend of my birthday!

So you can look forward to reading my opera reviews as well as my ones from the ballet.
I know you all will be excited about that.

In other news......
This trailer has been making the rounds on the interwebs:


It looks cheesy as all get-out but you know I'm going to be picking that badboy up.
It came out just yesterday on DVD and had already sold out when I looked on Amazon.com for it.

I'm already hoping there will be a sequel.
Where the octopus is a ninja and wields eight swords while fighting a shark with frickin' lasers on it's head.
That'd be so cool!