oh the pressure

so... the great Amalah has decided to send some of her ginormous site traffic to little ol' me via a link in her post about her SXSW experience... and now i am too intimidated to post anything. also busy at work and lazy due to the gray rainy weather, but it's more about the intimidation thing.

um. hi Amalah readers! i am a total fraud! a bad blogger who is only used to having six loyal readers, so the sudden influx of site traffic is very strange!

alas and alack. well, in the spirit of keepin it real (because that's how things get down around here), i will just post what i would have posted, Amalah-induced site traffic or no...

...which is... wait for it... WAAAAIT for it...

a review of my birthday festivities!

(woo hoo! can you feel the excitement?! the bold and italics totally add a note of panache, no?)

for a variety of reasons that are totally not worth going into right now, the day actually started off on a rather shit-tastic note. however, since i am good and resourceful and try to control my own happiness, i decided to take matters in my own hands and turn my day around for once and for all.

i'd like to take a moment to present you with Jen Messes With Texas's Three-Step Plan to Improving An Otherwise Shit-Tastic Day:

1. leave work in the middle of the day. go home to your apartment and put on a comfy t-shirt. shut your blinds so that pesky sun doesn't stream into your room. put your blackberry and your cell phone near your pillow (am a model employee)... and then take a restful, rejuvenating nap. ahh.
   
2. wake up 45 minutes later feeling much happier only to discover that wait! it gets better! your leasing company has left birthday balloons and freshly baked cookies on your door! eat cookies while you check your blackberry and rejoice.
   
3. decide that maybe you should go back to work already. stop by freebirds, pick up delicious chicken burrito with fresh jalapenos and an iced tea with splenda, and then head back to the office.

ta-da! happiness restored! works like a charm, i tell ya. just don't let any silly "meetings" or "conference calls" or "colleagues wondering where you are" get in your way.

anyway. so after work, the birthday festivies commenced, and my oh my, they did not disappoint. it was a three-phase operation, which i will describe below in pictures because someone once told me that a picture is worth a thousand words (whoda thunkit?):

PHASE #1: NORMAL HAPPY HOUR
(scene: molotov lounge, west 6th)















(featuring my fantastic friend Robert.)

ingredients: a rooftop bar, a sunny afternoon, a bunch of cocktails, a motley crew of friends...

result: good times all around.

PHASE #2: BRING ON THE KARAOKE
(scene: austin karaoke, north austin. this place is leGIT, people. i busted out my korean and everything.)















um... i think this is a misguided attempt to "drop it like it's hot" whilst singing karaoke. notice the look of "WTF?" on my friend Taylor's face.

PHASE #3: WE GO DANCING
(scene: cedar street lounge. outdoor bar, live music, lots of mexican martinis.)

misguided attempt #2, this time in response to my friend Sara's directive to "look hot." it turned out more along the lines of "look drunk," but what can you do? note the cameo role being played by my friend Paula's leg in the background.

all in all, an excellent birthday.