Thanks.

In recent years, I've made it a point to be low-key about birthdays. It makes me uncomfortable to be the center of attention for an entire day, especially when it's just for being born (which is simultaneously totally cool and kinda unremarkable), and not for something boss like how stupefyingly good I am at high school level algebra and geometry. I have successfully hidden my birthday from coworkers a few times, even.

But Amy threw me a surprise party this year. She tricked me (really had to twist my arm) into going into one of my favorite bars to wait for a fancy dinner reservation, and a bunch of my friends were there. They were all waiting in the back for me, and I'm sure they (and Amy) imagined me walking back there and freaking out when everyone yelled "Surprise!" all at once. I foiled that plan by making a beeline to the bar as soon as I got inside, so instead of a big surprise, I was the jackass thinking, as the first of them revealed himself, "Oh, crazy, what a coincidence that Jeremy's here." Slowly, though, it dawned on me that more than mere happenstance was at work, and what was already shaping up to be a very nice night evolved into one of the best nights I can remember having in a very long time.

As if that wasn't enough, a few of my Facebook savvy students found me out too, and for the past 2 nights I've been touched by some very thoughtful and unexpected gestures that, honestly, caught me completely off-guard. And then, today, the steady stream of calls, cards, texts, emails, and Facebook messages was really nice. I heard from a bunch of people I hadn't heard from in a long time.

Anyway, this is mushier than I usually get, especially in the tubes, so I should wrap it up before I lose my nerve. I sat down to write this tonight to thank everyone that made me feel like my 27th birthday was something worth celebrating. So, thank you. I'm lucky to have such good friends.