My birthday is on Monday, which isn't exactly unexpected. It'll be the 29th consecutive year that it happens, so I'm getting used to it. It's definitely better than the streak being interrupted!

A few years ago, I started a new tradition for any birthdays that fell on a weekday. On said days, I would take a vacation day so work wouldn't be a concern. Then, I'd settle into a comfy seat and have breakfast, followed shortly thereafter with about eight hours of video gaming (with occasional interruptions to answer birthday calls). Lunch optional. Happy birthday to me indeed!

Well, this year that (relatively new) tradition will be broken, all thanks to my wife. She surprised me by buying us two plane tickets to Miami, FL, for the weekend where I will spend a few warm, sunny days with friends and family instead of these cold, snowy, miserable ones I've experienced non-stop since I returned from Miami in January.

Best. Present. Ever!

It's been nine years since I've been warm on my birthday. How excited am I? Well, I'm going to hug a palm tree and climb an alligator to celebrate. And no, I didn't reverse anything in the previous sentence. That's how I roll. Dangerous and crazy.

Amend that: Dangerous and crazy and warm.

The only problem I can see here is that my wife has now set the birthday present bar pretty high. Maybe for her birthday I'll take her to her hometown. --Oh, wait, we live in her hometown. A nice drive around the Pittsburgh suburbs is the same as flying to Miami, right? Right?

Amend that again: Dangerous and crazy and warm and in search of a nice birthday present.