may the lines sag heavy and deep tonight...

On the day that I turned 33 last year, I was in Ecuador and spent several hours walking to the top of Mt Yanaurcu de Pinyan - a height of some 4535m. On the way back down I saw my first Condor, and later on that evening I was treated to some fantastic birthday french fries (whipped up on a camping stove and still absolutely delicious), some birthday cake and a bottle of wine that had been stashed away in our (teetotal) guide's bag for this very occasion. It was a really, really special and probably unique day.

Turning 34 was, of course, a very different experience to that. I had the day off work, but the sum total of excitement in the morning consisted of a bit of a lie in and the short walk up to the optician for a check-up and to have some stuff put in my eyes that dilated my pupils for a couple of hours and made walking around in the spring sunshine almost unbearable. Not the stuff that birthday dreams are made of just yet, but that was followed by a trip into town for a spot of shopping and some gifts from C. - a nice pair of jeans, a belt, some fancy pants (too much detail?), the third series of the Mighty Boosh on DVD... that kind of thing. Then just time for a quick run before some friends popped round for some champagne, some more prezzies and the short trip into town for a tasty meal (albeit the bar staff in the restaurant have no idea at all how to make a mojito). Then back to LB and Hen's for some of C's delicious homemade birthday cake and a few rounds of singstar.

So a very different day to last year, for sure, but a fantastic day in its own right nonetheless. It's good to spend time with your friends, and I'm grateful to them all for celebrating my birthday with me.

A good day.