Melissakainen Offline

What a birthday!

It started this morning when Megan brought me my presents and wanted me to open them early. Make-up, a dress, capris...hmm, some sort of onesy-shorts with a wrap-around skirt outfit? Well, they can't all be gems...

After dressing up in my new dress (see today's dressing room pics), we went to the store to return the odd one and the capris because they were too baggy, bought still more makeup, and some comfortable gym shoes.

By now, we were already starving for lunch and the restaurant I picked was 30 minutes away! Later, we were rewarded for our patience with an exquisite lunch at Junk Ditch in Fort Wayne, where I had celebrated my very first birthday in Indiana last year.

Then it was back to Huntington, where I paid my dues for the Friends of the Library at the library and saw some of my favorite ex-coworkers. Then to the Bear & Beak Bakery where my free birthday cupcake was waiting for me (delicious!). Then to Corn Coast Comics to see about ordering some issues of Juniper from Scout Comics (check it out!), and wound up picking up some Batman: The Adventures Continues; Season 2 issues instead.

By now it was getting too late for my original plan of driving all the way to the Hard Rock Casino, so we went to the closer Harrah's Casino & Race Track. There were so many people smoking in there - it was like stepping out of a time machine back to the 1980s when everyone still smoked indoors! I might have lung cancer just from the second hand smoke now, but I played five hands of blackjack, won two, and lost three. That was all the money I brought to spend (Megan went through her $30 on slots and won nothing), so then we watched a horse race, which was fun.

Unimpressed with the food options at Harrah's, we went elsewhere, but there were few dinner options in the vicinity, so we settled on Waffle House, where we'd never eaten before. They had a jukebox and I paid to play The Beatles' "Birthday" song on it, my third time listening to it today.

On the way home, Megan drove and I hopped on my Switch to play Animal Crossing with my oldest Wireclub friend, from years back (and my first incarnation here). Between all this stuff, I got to talk to some of my current Wireclub friends. I got 52 happy birthday messages on Facebook, and texts from all my immediate family. Five total strangers stopped me in public to compliment my dress or my outfit, and one of my ex-coworkers told me I was beautiful (not my crush, though).

This was my first birthday as Melissa, and I don't think it could have gone better. It was a great day!