Awesomeness and other Mundaneness

It would appear by the calendar on the wall that I have successfully survived another birthday. I chose not to get crazy about it. It was as low key as a birthday can get. I did nothing. I am nursing a cold.

I got some e-cards, a few snail mail cards, etc but the coolest thing I got was a call from my friend Cindy. Cindy lives in Plano, Texas. Plano, Texas has been a part of my life for many years. Plano Texas is the home of the Plano Molding Company. Fishermen and Artists all over know this. Plano Molding Company makes tackleboxes, which are great for art supplies.

Where did I meet Cindy? I met Cindy in the late 80's in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She was in the same program at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Originally from New Jersey, Cindy was one of the best people I ever met in Florida. People from NYC and New Jersey have this really cool way of pronouncing my name. Most people say "Gary" so that it rhymes with "Airy". Cindy says it so that "A" is flatter and longer like in the word "Splat" or "Cat". I had an art teacher in Junior High who pronounced it that way. I like it. It's hot.

Anyway, I haven't spoken with Cindy in a long time. She gave me a call at work Friday. We laughed and caught up a little. It was really great hearing from her. She told me she reads this blog, and she didn't like the avatar I had up. She said it looked sad. It really did. So, Cindy and the rest of you... I have changed my avatar pic. Hope you like it. It's not really happier, but it sure isn't a miserable looking as the last one.

The Ladies Hombre

Does your Mexican Restaurant have one of these? There's a wall of Polaroid® photos in the foyer of our local Mexican Restaurant. You know... pictures of people who got surprised on their birthdays. They bring out a big goofy sombrero and plop it on your head while the entire staff sings "Happy Birthday" to you in Spanish.

I spend sometime in that foyer, and inevitably I find myself enthralled by these pictures. I'm not even looking for people I know. I'm just genuinely interested in the expressions. It's pretty funny.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I noticed one picture in particular and on a subsequent visit, snagged a picture of it to share with you.

This kid has it going on.