Forty Minus One

 

Monday May the 27th was my 39th birthday.

The family were all busy with work and other things Monday, so my official birthday celebrations started Friday and continued throughout the weekend.

Unofficially, I started things myself on Thursday by pushing my pick-up in the afternoon back by an hour and treating myself to a whistle dog and root beer at A&W downtown after work.

Friday, my mother and I went to see Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Great movie!

Early Saturday afternoon, my Dad and I changed things up a little from the traditional birthday burger and went to Ahora, a small Mexican restaurant in Ottawa's Byward Market that I've been meaning to try for a while. Decent burrito and nachos, and I tried horchata (sweet, rice-based drink) for the first time which was so good. As were their churros for desert!

My birthday dinner was Sunday evening. Lobster rolls, coleslaw, ceviche, and grilled shrimp with a delicious lobster roe butter made by my sister. It took about nine tries to blow out the candle on my brownie cheesecake, and got some nice gifts. 

And finally, Mother Nature paused a torrential downpour literally minutes before I was dropped off early for work yesterday morning, so I moved extra quickly and got myself an almond croissant and iced coffee for a birthday morning breakfast treat. 

A very nice, enjoyable few days. 

Cheers!

Review: The Subtle Art of...

 

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F#$% by Mark Manson was recommended to me last year by the counsellor I was speaking with for help with some mental health issues.

The core message of the book is: "We only have so many f#$%s to give in this life, why waste them on stuff that's not important." The author explains how we're not as important as we think we are sometimes, and relates that to getting one's priorities in order and ultimately, learning how to relax and not stress out as much.

Around the time I bought the book, I was doing a lot of worrying, especially about trivial stuff like the weather and Para Transpo being a little late/early. "Subtle Art" helped a lot with managing that, and the crassness was a welcome bonus. 

Highly recommended for anyone dealing with similar issues.

Cheers!