I've had a happy day. I had two electronic birthday greetings waiting for me when I checked my email first thing this morning. A third came this afternoon.

I've received several compliments on my "mod" sleeveless top that I bought on Haight Street about a month ago. I hadn't worn it into the office before today because it's a little tight, but I thought to myself this morning, "Hell, I'm 31! I can do what I want!"

Zaugi called me around 10 am to wish me a happy birthday. She reminded me that exactly 31 years ago from today, she was recovering from having me just a few hours prior, at 6:46 am. I'm sure it was traumatic for me, as well (6:46 am?! No wonder I'm not a morning person!).

My coworkers took me out to lunch. Lorena snapped photos of the joyous occasion with her mini instamatic camera. The waiter gave me a complimentary slice of tiramisu. Two coworkers presented me with a gift certificate to Starbuck's. Free lattes for me! :)

Daniel (!) called me at work to wish me a happy birthday. I had no idea he remembered! Plus, I had no idea he knew my work number. Last time I talked with him was last February. He'd left several messages on my answering machine since then but with my schedule, it's downright difficult to return calls. I'm such a bad friend; I'm ashamed. Yet, he wasn't mad at me! We chatted for a few minutes, catching up on each other's lives. I've missed Daniel.

A nice surprise: I got a free pair of shoes today! Last week, a coworker was telling me how she'd outgrown several pairs of her shoes recently and now she has some nice shoes, never worn, that she doesn't know what to do with. She said that maybe she'd bring them in and see if anyone wanted them. Well, she brought them in and I scored a pair! Beautiful black dress shoes! And did I already mention they were free?! They're still in the box, too! (Nordstrom, $66.95)

Tonight: sumptuous beef at the House of Prime Rib. Can't wait! M is picking me up from the BART station so we won't waste any precious celebration time.

I did receive some disturbing news today regarding next week's work training, though. I will need to be at the office at 6:30 am on Tuesday morning to carpool to Lake Tahoe. So here's the thing: I'll be returning into the airport from Seattle on 10:30 pm on Tuesday night... meaning I'll get about 3 or 4 hours of sleep that night. Ugh. I'm already fearing Tuesday.

Today hasn't been a productive day. I had a monster list of things to do at work because, obviously, I'll be out of the office all next week but wouldn't you know it, I've been returning calls all day! It's been one thing after another. One fire after another. One engineer told me that tree wells may be impossible to provide on one project because another project covered the area, unbeknownst to me, with 6 inches of concrete and 20 inches of base material (!). A resident engineer on another project called me to tell me that the Contractor performed our Contract Change Order incorrectly. See what I have to deal with? No fun at all.

Last night, on the eve of my birthday, I balanced my checkbook and had a hard-boiled egg for dinner, along with a diet Sunkist soda and an MGD. Maybe I'll learn to cook when I grow up. I also unpacked my ice cream maker and prepared it for tonight's ice cream extravaganza before taking a hot bath and crawling in to my cozy, down-adorned bed.

Today has been a good day... and it's not over yet! Happy birthday to me!