Of the Most Epic Party in the History of Partification we shall not speak at this time.

Mostly because we can’t remember much of it.

But my going-away party had to double as my birthday party, and that was just fine with me, as providing transportation for all my Vancouver friends to and from my new place would be a little difficult, what with it being a four-day drive and all. At the party I got, besides all the yummy food everyone brought, a bottle of Plymouth Gin (which has been hard to get since last year), a bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin, a bottle of Vermouth, a gift box of a half-bottle of Bombay Sapphire with two rocks glasses (are we sensing a theme here?), a hand-blown glass perfume bottle, a bottle of Chilean wine, and Hmm. Hmm. Other stuff which I can’t remember. Which isn’t too bad for a party where I said No Presents Please.

And when I walked into my new place in Yellowknife the woman I’m house-sitting for had left an airline-sized bottle of Bombay Sapphire on the kitchen counter, with “Welcome to da Knife” on a post-it. That’s what I call welcoming!

In case you didn’t know, I found my new job via Facebook, from someone I’d met on Twitter. I found my new apartment via the comments section at Crasstalk. So don’t ever think social media is a waste of time; it’s like sex. It can be a waste of time if you’re doing it wrong. But I do it really, really well.

Ahem.

Today, as nobody in Yellowknife knows it’s my birthday and everyone elsewhere is too far to walk, I have only digital presents, but they are lovely. What did I get?

My friends have a wonderful ability to prioritize

from JustJennifer

A birthday post dedicated to me from Hummingbird604:

The truth of the matter is that the Raincoaster persona is not exactly the same person as my good friend Lorraine Murphy. Lorraine happens to be actually a very nice person with a brain and broad range of experiences that rivals that of many modern times’ intellectuals … she’s done some amazing work, especially for the Fearless City project, empowering folks in the Downtown East Side (where she used to live) and enabling them to tell stories through blogs and other social media outlets.

Normally, I would have taken Lorraine for drinks for her birthday but since she’s up North, a blog post will have to do. Lorraine, I’m very proud of how far you’ve gone, and as I told you once – you rock, and you WILL continue to rock, long time. Have fun up North, change people’s lives, show them the way and then assimilate them into the Cthulhu :)

Raul, you can count on me!

If I had a blog

Yeah, thanks there, Kye Grace. If you need blogging lessons, I can hook you up, ya know.

She's got legs! And Cake!

From Suzy Cakes on Facebook

and last but certainly not least (because I’m sure I’ve forgotten some, some are not compatible with WordPress.com, and besides, I have this particular object on mail order, and Nancy better not forget it!):

Julian Sez Happy Birthday!

from Guacira Naves