So it's that time of year again, and as usual, it's nothing special. I've been 29 (again) for 5 hours now, and eh... The two people (women) I enjoy spending time with are both out of town, and will remain there for several weeks yet, so in a way, my b-day will take place in late July and early August, when I get to do a couple of celebration events with Malaya and the IG. (Those will be separate events, needless to say.) Also, I was treated to several excellent meals and social events a few weeks ago, when my parents were in town for my graduation weekend, and that kind of felt like an early birthday.
Still, it would have been fun to do something birthday-esque on my actual birthday. Instead the day was like most others, if a bit hotter. In fact, it's finally cooling down nicely now, @ 5am, and I've had 2 fans going since it got dark/cool around 9pm.
I worked some during the day, and ran various errands, and never really gave a thought to the next day (today) being my birthday. That date did enter more into my consideration as midnight approached, and I weighed doing more work vs. having a few drinks and watching a movie. The movie won out, and it was an odd experience since I dug out an old video tape to watch my favorite Anime ever,
Ninja Scroll. I've had a rapturous review/evaluation 2/3 finished for like, 4 years. I'll finish it and post it someday. Or maybe not. I've seen the film far too many times to remain objective; I don't want to review it -- I want to convince other people to watch it. You might as well ask an evangelist to "review" the Bible.
Watching it while sipping the mostly frozen second half of my peach pleasure Jamba Juice, which I'd well-mixed with Absolut, I enjoyed it as much as ever. Once I remembered how to run the VCR. I hadn't actually used that device since oh... September? Maybe December; I had Malaya tape some football playoff games for me last year (I've not had/wanted cable since the fall, and don't care enough to just go buy a rabbit ears antenna) and though I never got around to watching the NFC/AFC Championships or the Super Bowl, I think I FF'ed through some of the first and second round action in late December or early January.
Those memories didn't serve me very well tonight though, since I've got some rather complicated wiring on my "entertainment center," and it took some doing to figure out how to get sound to accompany the VCR picture. My TV is very old and possesses just 1 set of video/audio out (and no in) plugs, and the DVD half of my VCR/DVD combo machine is broken. So to play DVDs I have an old DVD player, but it's hooked into the VCR/DVD combo as if it were a video camera, and there's only sound for it through the tuner, where it's connected in the phono slot. (I do not have a record player, thankfully.) The sound for the VCR comes through the tuner too, on the TV input, but only if I first unplug the DVD (from the video camera input). Yes, this was a lot of fun to trial and error my way through while sipping a vodka slushy.
It's been more fun to write about, though probably not to read, since I'm now enjoying my nightcap; a glass of exceptional port. It's ruby port (sort of) which is a shame since I can't enjoy the walnuts and chocolate that pair so well with tawny port. But it's such a good wine that I can't complain. My dad brought up two cases of wine when he came for graduation, and since I like ports he emptied his extensive cellar (almost all of which he gets for free as a professional wine judge) and brought me 4 or 5 bottles. This is the first I've opened, and it's the best ruby port I've ever had (as well as the most expensive).
Read about it here, if you want wine words.
A blend of Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Syrah with flavors of blackberry, cassis and blueberries complemented with notes of dark milk chocolate, this is sweet and viscous in the mouth, blanketing the palate with a fine, velvety tannin.
What he said. It's an amazing drinking experience, thanks to the mixture of wines. Port is a dessert wine with very high sugar, but this one has high alcohol content too. It's 20%, and no, you don't see a lot of 40 proof wine. That's actually impossible in most vintages, since sugar that high kills the yeast that causes the fermentation that turns grape juice into wine. They do cold pressing and other tricks with port to give it kick while keeping it sweet, and the mixture of grapes in this one is amazing. It's got the usual smooth and sweet port taste, and then there's a kick of an almost Cab-esque tannins, and yet it's still got that fruity Zin in the palette, with a chocolaty finish. It's unusual for ruby port in that it does go well with dark chocolate, if not quite as perfectly as a tawny.
I'll have to get some good sharp cheddar and a baguette tomorrow, to have more apt food to pair with it. I'm allowed to splurge; it's my birffday!
As for other birthday plans... dunno. Probably nothing. I've been sporadically chatting with an interesting female, but she's too busy and too spotty on her email replies and lives too far away to make any plans for RL encounters with. I'd consider a movie, but there's nothing worth seeing in the theaters for at least another week. I don't think I'll be motivated to go out and eat by myself, and I don't really do dessert (other than dessert wine) unless I've got someone to split a sundae with. Plus, there's the weather. I know my birthday is the hottest day of the year; but must that be taken literally?
97!? I'll sleep as late as the temperature allows, stick close to the a/c during the endless hot afternoon, snack on the bread/cheese/wine, try to get some work done, and then splurge on a pizza in the evening when it cools down enough to eat hot food. Want to get me a birthday present? Make it be winter again already.
Perhaps next year I'll be more fulfillingly involved with an interesting female, and with her assistance I can engage in the more traditional dinner/movie/blowjob trifecta. June 20 falls on a Saturday in 2009, so I'd better start planning early. Happy birthday to me!
Labels: personal, wine
