So,the ORIGINAL plan was to revisit Arbuckle Wilderness or the Big Cat preserve near there. However, as the weather constantly changes in Oklahoma, so too can plans. With the snow a comin down, we decided to stay warm and safe hear at the hacienda. Guh. Enough of that.

Anyway, Friday night I went and watched Tron with my friends Chris, Rhys, Indi, Nikki, and Mike. Hanging out at Rhys and Indi’s was fun. After Tron was over, we watched Twilight with Rifftrax on. Rifftrax barely contained my rage over this movie. I still burst out in fits once in a while, much to Indi and Nikki’s delight.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLadies.

When I got there, Rhys had said that he had a gift for me. Naturally, I couldn’t wait to see it as Rhys is nothing if not creative. He presented me with a box of Oatmeal Squares. Now, for a moment, I thought the box was going to explode, or be filled with Metamucil, or something. Rhys assured me that it was indeed JUST Oatmeal Squares. I thanked him and before I could ask why he bought that, he showed me.

Yes,  he took a nice photo of the box in some lovely greenery. I couldn’t have been more appreciative. I haven’t figured out where I’m going to hang it, butfor now, it rests on my shelf of awesomeness.

I got home that night around 1:00a, and went straight to bed. The next morning it was my birthday proper. All day long I received a LOT of birthday messages from people, and it was very touching. My friends Chris and Cory had stayed the night, and we ate breakfast and had a quiet morning. My wife was impatient, and wanted to get the gift giving a going, and really, who am I to refuse?

Now, some of you will remember this photo of me taken outside Eureka Springs, Arkansas at some outlet store. It was me “fighting the power”.

Cute, I know. Still, it was a fun memory from a fun trip with my wife, and the aforementioned Chris and Cory. 

Well, Cory was amazing. She took this photo which was lovingly dubbed by her and my wife as me hulking out, and drew this.

Yes, she drew me a freehand piece of art. One of me actually hulking out. It too sits on my shelf of awesomeness. Abs shown to scale, BTW.

Chris gave me his present next. 

Friends, this is one of the most gawdawful piece of crap games I have ever played. Mind you, not one of the worst games ever, but one of the worst I’VE ever played. It’s especially disappointing because it has such a neat premise. Chris got this for me largely as a gag, because he followed it up with this.

He told me the specs on it, but all I heard was blah, blah, blah GAS FUCKING MASK blah. I can’t tell you how excited I was for this. For YEARS I’ve wanted a gas mask. Largely because I’m a fan of masks, but also because I’m crazy. I immediately put it on, and almost suffocated. I had to pull the cap off to breathe in it, you see. Details.

My wife’s present had not arrived yet, but it was also incredibly thoughtful.

These aren’t actual tickets, but they are coming, and I’m going to see LES CLAYPOOL. Well, me and one guest. I can’t decide if I want to take the wife or not. She isn’t really a Claypool fan, and I don’t think she would appreciate it as much as some of my other friends would. I have to think on this decision. 

Other than that, we spent a majority of the time playing Super Mario Bros. for the Wii. I bought that for myself though, so it doesn’t deserve a picture. I will say that if you have a Wii, you have to own this game. It is gorgeous, and plays just like an old school Mario game should. The addition of 4 players at once was challenging, though. Too many people on a teeny platform had me feeling claustrophobic at times.

This weekend definitely goes down as a win, in my book. Sure I didn’t get to play with a baby lion again, or pet a bear cub like last year, but this was an awesome weekend.

Oh, and because I’m sure someone would have asked for it.

Sweet dreams, all.