XXV.

Quarter-century. Wow.


Can't BELIEVE the birthday has already come and gone, but it was a great one, and I feel like I definitely brought 25 in on a positive note.

Started the day early because I had to take my car to the VW shop to get a few things fixed. Even though I'd stayed up late the night before, it felt good getting up when I did because there's always some air of excitement surrounding your birthday. You know what I'm talking about, right? Sleep and fatigue are erased by that good feeling of it being the day you were brought into this crazy world. Of course, I could look at it differently as I get older, but I'd like to think I'll always feel this way!

Anyway, rolled over in bed, turned on my light, and hooked my iPod into my speakers so I could start 25 off with my song, "Clarity". Turned it up right in my ears and eased outta bed with a smile on my face. I knew it was gonna be a great day, and got up feeling like 25 is gonna be a great age.

Had my coffee, took my car in, and stopped by Walgreen's on my way home to pick up a new razor. Walked in the store with my mom, and BAM, the snare-drum kickoff of "Bigger than my Body" started blaring through the store speakers! Of course I got hype, because it was playing on my b'day, and I like to interpret events like these as happening for a reason, as big or small as they may be. However you look at it, it made me happy for about four minutes.

The razor-buying end of the store experience also made me smile, because the one I wanted was locked in a cabinet, so I had to push a button for customer service. As soon as I pushed it, the loudspeaker stated, "Customer service needed in the shave aisle. Customer service needed in the shave aisle. Thank you." Now, there's really nothing funny about that, but what if they had these buttons in every section of the store. The drug store. Where people go to buy personal items they don't necessarily want the staff and patrons to know about. Can you picture it? Haha, NOW it's funny, even though these buttons don't exist (I'm 12 at heart). Ah well...

After customer service unlocked my new Shick Hydro 5 Blade Men's Razor (tm), I walked to the register with my mom and pulled out my wallet to pay, but she beat me to it, and said "I'll get it." That was very cool, of course, but I hadn't shaved in a while, so I probably looked like some pubescent kid getting his first razor with his mom for his first shave. Cute, eh?

Came home, showered, and shaved after Walgreens, and I must say that my Hydro-shave experience was DELIGHTFUL. No irritation. Then Amanda came over and we ate un petit dejeuner (breakfast in French...gotta be cultured at 25) of cereal before I had to go to work at 10:30. She brought a baller personalized balloon for me and a button saying "Birthday Boy" she wanted me to wear for the day, so, of course, I put it on.

I definitely didn't mind heading to work on my birthday, because it was a short lunch shift, and sadly one day I'll have to work a full day when I have a big-boy job and it falls during the week. Got there and it was a pretty relaxed day, but I was distracted. It probably wasn't my BEST day of serving, but I had fun with it, because it was my BIRTHDAY, and it went by really fast. Got a few "Happy Birthday" wishes, but the button didn't really help my tips. Ah well, haha.

Amanda came over again after work and we went to McCoul's for a late lunch. Sat outside in the beautiful afternoon sun and enjoyed lunch in a bustling downtown Greensboro where we witnessed a marching band heading down the street and saw a protest in front of the Police station. Gotta love Cinco de Mayo.

From here we went on to pick up coffee and head to a local park where she practiced for a final performance she had the next day. It was really nice relaxing in the sun for a bit, and catching up for the night ahead.

As always, time flew, and faster than normal since it was my birthday. We realized it was time for dinner, so we head on back home where Mom and Dad were cooking it UP!

Since I'm still staying away from meat, I had Dad grill up some Jerk Salmon. I'm also a HUGE fan of classic, cheap, yellow Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, so I had Mom make some of that, as well as some home-made fried okra. Amanda chipped in and made one of her sweet "Amanda salads" as well, and dinner was GREAT! We ate on the porch and it was really nice getting to sit and talk about life and birthdays and the world for a while.




They brought a cake out after dinner and were about to sing when Carra called from Richmond. I picked up really quick and put her on speaker and told her to sing with everyone since she couldn't be here. It was really cool having the 'rents, the girlfriend, AND the sister (from afar) there at that moment. Missed ya, Carra, but was glad to talk for a few!

We went inside when we were done and I opened gifts with a toast of champagne. Got the new USA World Cup jersey from my parents, as well as a reminder that they're helping fuel my Mayer concert experience this summer, which is awesome, and a really cool mixture of movies and music from Amanda! She also made me my first-ever tribute video, which was a REALLY cool surprise! Check it out:


Let me know if ya learned something! I know I did, haha.

Anyway, time kept flying, and Amanda and I head on to Sticks and Stones for b'day celebration with friends. Several folks were already waiting to celebrate when we got there, and a few others showed up for what turned out to be an AMAZING night!

We stayed at Sticks 'til it closed, and just hung on the patio. It was beautiful out! The stars were shining and the weather was RIGHT. It was nice just HANGIN' with my work friends OUTSIDE of work, and cool that Brooke, Tommy, and Plumlee showed up as well.








From there we went on to Wahoo's where we owned the back corner for the evening and continued to chill. My friends played Mayer for me on the jukebox, as well as Bobby Brown's "On Our Own", the theme from Ghostbusters 2, which will ALWAYS be a classic in my heart, haha.




I got to visit with everyone for a bit, and really appreciated everyone coming out that night. If any of you read this, thanks again for everything!

Closing time came too quick, but Amanda and I met Brooke and Tommy at Herbie's to end the night. It was poppin' in there, but we got a table and I dug into an egg and cheese biscuit with a side of fries. It was delicious.

We finally parted ways close to four, and Amanda took me home to crash. It was a GREAT birthday, and I couldn't be more thankful for my friends (near and far), my family (near and far), and my girlfriend (who puts up with me on celebration nights, and dang, every night).

We're set to do a little more celebrating this weekend, but I must say that I have a REALLY good feeling about the age of 25. I'm looking forward to everything I can accomplish at this level, and to everything I'll learn in my NEXT quarter-life, as far away as that is right now...

(or is it?)

Drew.