Several aspects of my birthday made an impact on me. They are ordered by time and not depth of meaning. I don't want anybody to think certain things weren't important, or we're less important. Anyway, here I go.

The first person that day to wish me happy birthday was none other than the girl next door. The sun was rising, and the morning was not very cold. It was just right so I didn't have to bother thumbing around with the broken zipper on the coat I was too sentimental to replace. I was walking out, and she was walking in. The words flashed red against my face, but I managed a muffled thank you. Her smile still chills my blood. It's an aftertaste. The taste of something so sweet.

The second thing was a sleeping man. It seemed there was a man asleep on some tables we had stored near the front of the Libraries 4th floor. How anybody could sleep comfortably there baffles me. I would reason that the alternative was unthinkable, and enough to drive a man to move a three foot wide air circulating fan until it blew on the tables where he slept. He slept well until the cops came. This made me feel bad inside. I wondered if he had any place to go, or if his situation was as bad as it looked at all. Maybe he was just tired I said to myself, trying to push aside the feeling, or maybe it was worse. Much worse. You never can tell.

The third was a young child I didn't know, which is now nameless due to my Swiss-cheesed mind. She went running by an isle in the stacks of the 4th floor. It made me think of my first Rhetoric teacher, Kimber. She opened my mind to a broader world, and brought my writing to new levels. I knew she had a young daughter, but I'd never met her before. I pushed them both out of my mind and continued to straighten up the circulating books. While placing materials on a re-shelving truck, I turned and there was the same small child crouched at the foot of Kimber herself. I had just met her daughter.

The fifth thing was a small envelope with green letters outside that formed my name. It was a birthday card from two good friends, and the only true token I had to show for my birthday at that time. It wasn't a card that made you laugh, or a joke that made you mad. It was just words as usual, except they we're arranged in a way that made me smile.

The sixth and final thing was another envelope. A letter from the college. I thought it was a bill at first, but it turned out to be the exact opposite. Money for nothing. It was six-hundred dollars. I didn't know why I had a six-hundred dollar check, but I did. I verified today that the money is actually mine from an odd sort of grant that took place between now and last year. There is nothing quite like a boost of money that nearly triples the weight of your bank account, except if you only had about two dollars, but you know what I mean.

Right now I'm waiting to go to work. I have two more hours to work tonight before closing time. It won't be so bad at all. This week has been real easy so far. I hope it continues. I need a drink. It reminds me of the Pepsi and Coke battle on the campus. Pepsi won the new bid which means all the Coke products are 86'd from the campus. It will be the Joy of Cola for me for a while I hope. So long. I'm out.