my horoscope has been reading rough and twisty for the past month. an appropriate relation to what's actually gone down. but tides seem to be changing, and right on my birthday.

it's not that my life has been bad, really. the lay off has given me an unexpected freedom and chance to reassess and readjust. i've been quite happily plodding along at nothing. but the world certainly has been shaking around me. the car accident, the unexpected unemployment, the rolly-polly dating life. i absorb the blows as best i can but they still threaten to take their toll.

things seem to be changing, though. i took a quick trip home to Oregon to visit the family and came back to reparations: the car is fixed, the DSL reinstalled, a new cell phone on its way. and my birthday dinner last night was filled to the brim of good friends and good belly laughs to remind me i'm still a lucky guy.

we ate at Buca di Beppo, an incredible family-style italian restaurant in San Francisco. excellent for large groups, it boasts odd pictures and trinkets, huge bowls of food, and lots of noisy entertainment. a perfect place to celebrate.

the group was a good mixture of those who knew each other and those whose only link was me. Dennis became the center of attention as he found that Tina (because she's a clothing designer) and Donna (because she's a hair stylist) were his sisters. (because he's gay.)

Kim brought a doll effigy of me she'd made which was passed around and repeatedly defiled, much to my chagrin. Dennis gave me white Diesel wooden clogs of all things. Donna supplied me with an enormous bottle of champagne. Perry, who couldn't stay for dinner, and Seth both added to my wine cellar with very nice bottles of wine. Angie says she's still working on my present. uh huh. sure.

but it didn't matter what i came home with. the company was present enough. it's really all i asked for. i was just sorry my last minute planning kept more of you from coming. but your birthday wishes were very well appreciated in lieu of your presence.

so it's still as good as it ever was and i think my birthday fortune really said it all: "despite the changes you have experienced, your glorious name endures."

just as i finished writing this, i realized i'd left my car in a spot that turned into a "no stopping" zone at 4:00p. one cab ride, $150 and a whole lot of swear words later, i got my car out of hock. so much for changing tides.