Atari CakeYes, I'm shameless. It is indeed my birthday today and I'm a whopping 36 years old. And in a last desperate attempt to get some comments out of all you lurkers out there, I'm writing an official birthday post. Heh.

It's funny and it's true... as you get older you seriously do start realizing that it is the thought that counts, rather then the price tag. As a kid, you want the biggest, coolest, most awesome toy ever (like a Star Wars AT-AT). But nowadays, it can be something as simple as a homemade birthday card from your 5-year-old son, a phone call from an old roommate, or a truly touching email from your bestest friend. Call me old. Call me sappy. But life really is about experiences, not how much loot you can collect. Don't worry... this isn't turning into an emotional soliloquy. I just wanted to get that out of the way before diving into a short tale of the worst birthday present I ever got.

I don't recall too many details about my previous birthday parties. Though I do remember having almost all of them at our house, growing up. Mom would make an awesome cake in the shape of something fun (baseball glove and ball, football, rocket ship and my all-time favorite Snoopy), and we'd pretty much just run around our backyard playing games. The only one I really remember is she'd toss peanuts (in their shells) all over the backyard, give every kid a small brown lunch bag with their name on it and then everyone would go collect as many peanuts as they could find. I'm guessing whoever got the most won a prize, but that's as far as my memory goes. I just recall having a LOT of peanuts in the house...

But the one year I most vividly recall, must've been around my 8th birthday or so. We were in our living room opening the presents in front of all the kids. I got to my friend Mike's present and could tell from the shape that it was some sort of action figure. Score! I quickly ripped open the wrapping paper to see that familiar black and white space background and immediately knew it was a Star Wars figure. Double score! And then... I looked at the figure... and... it was Ben Kenobi. I had a Ben Kenobi. And what's worse, nobody likes Obi-Wan. He's like the lamest figure ever. He's like having an action figure of your grandfather. But I was brought up with manners and stuff so I pretended to be excited and thanked Mike. Except, either Mike knew it was lame or he saw it in my eyes, because he immediately started crying and saying I hated his present and it's such a lame gift and I had it already and, etc. I agreed that I had a Ben Kenobi figure already, but this one was different, I reassured him. This one was "grey bearded" version of the character. So it was different. Somehow that worked and calmed him down. And I didn't lie. It was slightly different.

But yeah, I was still left with a lame figure. A lame figure, only grayer. (Sorry, Mike wherever you are!)

COUPON TIME:

Okay, whether you're having a birthday party or throwing a luau or something, here's a few party store type coupons, along with some unique personalized gifts stores:

20% off online orders over $50 at Personal Creations
Use promotional code AF0817.
Valid through: June 8, 2008
Cannot be combined with other coupons.

15% off any order at Personalization Mall
Use coupon code PM3201.
Valid through: December 31, 2008

10% off online orders over $100 at ShindigZ.com
Use promotion code SZCJC8 at checkout.