jianantonic | Best birthday ever

I've had some really fantastic birthdays in my life (18 & 20 were particularly awesome), but this was, in fact, my best ever. Z and I spent nine hours with Rod Picott and Slaid Cleaves today at Gruene Hall, about 30 minutes outside of Austin. The town was absolutely gorgeous, and we had a really lovely time. Rod spent a lot of time chatting with us between sets, and we got some face time with Slaid before taking off at the end of the night, too. Z and I really connect at live shows, and I always leave them feeling like my love for him has just multiplied exponentially. It's so great to know he's enjoying the shows as much as I am, and he's not just there because it's his duty as my mate to accompany me on outings that are important to me. So even though my friends and family weren't around for my birthday this year, I felt incredibly loved, which is the best gift I could hope for. I also got singing phone messages from my brother & niece and McKenzie's mom, which was sweet.

I'm sad we aren't spending more time in Texas, because it's actually quite a bit nicer than I'd expected it to be and there's a lot I want to do here. I'll save it for another trip, though, because I'm also totally excited to return to Oregon. Our itinerary for the next week is pretty great: 2 days with family in Salem, 2 days with friends at a resort in Klamath Falls and a day trip to Crater Lake, then the weekend at the Medford regional.

Hopefully my allergies will chill the fuck out soon, because they're driving me nuts now. I've been taking some meds, and they are helping some, but for the half hour that I wait for them to kick in after taking them in the morning, I'm pretty miserable. And also I really hate taking medicine, and wish I didn't have so much in my system all the time these days. But I prefer medication to intense pain and constantly itchy, swollen eyes. Meh.

Well, it's 11:55pm -- the best birthday ever is just about over. The day after my birthday is always a little bit of a bummer, but something tells me Z's mom won't let the day pass without more celebration, so I'll try not to mope about it.

Peace.