Things I am excited about in the New Year

Wow, folks. Time is a mysterious dimension. I can’t believe it’s already almost 2009. John Lennon was way right when he said that life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. We've got to make every moment count.

Gavin and I are looking at our 5th wedding anniversary this year, and our 30 birthdays. I’m going to cry about that one, because I’m still so young and hip at heart. Ok, not really, because even when I was genuinely young, I never was hip, but I tried. I feel like I’ve always been kind of hip in a geeky, pun-loving way. Right friends? Right. Well, 30th birthday or not, here are some things I’m really looking forward to in ’09.

1) Erin and Adam’s wedding in Tampa in a couple weeks. FUN! Gavin and I go to an absurd number of weddings, and we love every single one we go to.

This one will be great because we will see all our old law school friends again. I am also especially excited about this wedding because Adam and Erin first got to know each other at our wedding. So basically this wedding is happening all because of me.

In light of that, I’m pretty sure this one has serious “I’m going to get out of control with my old cohorts knowing that I’ll wake up feeling like the cat I ran over last month but not caring because alcohol and nostalgia are involved” potential. So, definitely check back for pictures.

2) Las Vegas in February. The team is in training, getting ready for the big trip.

Imagine a musical montage if you will, (a la “Rocky” or “Team America”). The song is “Eye of the Tiger” and each member of Team Vegas is engaged in various preparatory activities:

• Leah is practicing blackjack (she’s a high stakes player, which intrigues me);
• I am bringing the pain at the gym, trying to get my stamina up for the late nights, sweating on the elliptical, lifting weights, drinking beer instead of Gatorade between reps;
• April is assiduously browsing, purchasing, and reading Las Vegas travel books, taking notes while listening to Elton on the ipod;
• Meg is doing tai chi or yoga;
• Holly is hitting a large punching bag.

3) Vacation with Gavin. We are thinking about doing something low key this year, meaning that we are not going to Europe like we have the past two years. We will prob do a beachy-type relaxing vacation in the spring. Can’t wait!

4) Football season. I’m tentatively adding this as something I’m looking forward to, but let’s face it. It’s going to be difficult for Auburn to show absolutely no improvement over last year. And even if they crash and burn again, I still have tailgating activities to enjoy for FSU and Florida.

5) Visits with friends and family throughout the year. I'm pretty sure the rest of my crazy college pals that aren't making the Vegas trip will plan a get-together at some point this year, and we will make trips to visit family on weekends, as we always do.

I’m sure there are many more things that will happen in 2009 to make the year a great one. I am going to start thinking about resolutions to make the year even better. I will post them when I come up with a healthy list.

Back!

Wow - sorry I was away for so long... the holidays hit me like a blitzing linebacker, along with all the parties and social engagements, then things at work turned to pandemonium at an inconvenient juncture, and then we had to hurry and pack it up and head down to central FL for Christmas, so I haven't had time to blog, but I am back in business.

Ok, first of all, we had a great Christmas in Deland with the rest of the Burgi. Here are some highlights:

1) Going to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. Folks, I love roller coasters. Love them love them, and the more extreme the better. So while we were in the neighborhood, I convinced Gavin, my cousin-in-law Giffin, and Giffin's wife Mari to take me to this awesome theme park. We purchased express passes (worth every penny) that enabled us to skip all the super long lines and I rode all the big rides twice. Here are some pics!


Here's me with Giffin and Mari in front of the Hulk ride. I rode it thrice.

Here's me in Cartoon-land. I often use the fist-in-air move to convey frustration when my own plots are foiled, so this text bubble seemed to be designed just for me.



Here's some pics of me and my Chinchilla; both of us were drenched from the Jurassic Park ride.

2) Playing the Wii with the fam. One of my other cousins-in-law, Erin, was awesome enough to bring over her Wii to share with the rest of us. I love this thing! I got so into the tennis and bowling. It is just a matter of time before I own one. Just a matter of time.

3) The Chia pet. A few weeks ago, Gavin's brother Garrick had a Christmas party complete with Dirty Santa. Everyone had to bring a $20 gift, so I purchased a Chia Pet as our gift (hilarious!) and Gavin's dad ended up with it. My father-in-law joked about how he was going to re-gift it, which prompted me to present him with a challenge: I want to see some serious chia fur by the time I get there for Christmas. Well, this is what awaited me when I arrived. Glorious! I want one now... one of my very own.


4) Hanging with friends and family. Friday night we got to hang out with our old friends Gareth and Vanessa, along with their families, and a bunch of Gavin's other old friends from high school. We also got to visit with family and just relax and have fun. It was such a great week.

So tomorrow it's back to the old grind, but at least we have the new year to look forward to. I am thinking about New Years Resolutions, so check back!

Completely random thoughts

I'm going to be all over the place with this post.

1) First things first: my third round of rabies shots is Wednesday, thanks everyone for your support. Still no symptoms, so I daresay I did not CATch rabies, at least not this this go-round. My dogs have been clingier lately, like they sense we have more in common these days. I can also confirm that I have no supercatpowers. That dream is officially over. Probably for the best, as it would be annoying to be allergic to myself.

2) Auburn made a head-scratching decision for coach, but he's cute and fiery and I'm getting behind him. Nothing else to do. I've agonized over the firesignation of Tommy Tuberville enough and it's time to move on. Go get 'em Mean Gene!

3) With all the cat murder and rabies scare drama going on, I failed to blog about my one-year bloggiversary. It was last Wednesday! Shout-out to all my muses, including but not limited to: Taco, Stinky, Maddie and Sugs, my crazy college friends, my family members, and of course, my sweet chinchilla Gavin.

I've blogged 128 times over a year, so that's about one post every 2.8 days. I'm proud of myself for staying with it. A lot of bloggers bail by now. I look at it as a nice little hobby. Looking back over the past year, so much has happened on this blog: Maddie's snout tumor, agility class pupdates, brilliant political analysis, my obsession with Taco, trips, weddings, catricide... I've compiled a list of some highlights.

Young, eager med student, at your cervix.
Springsteen and Streisand
Posts about Taco and my obsession with him
I could bearly believe it
Team Vegas
Chicago Review
Posts about Stinky
Posts about Maddie's agility classes

Anyway, lots going on this week: book club meeting, Gavin's office Christmas party, and hopefully some weekend relaxation is just around the corner. Ta for now, be seeing you.

Third day post-bite, and I'm feline pretty good.

Total number of rabies shots endured so far: 4 (3 Wednesday, 1 today)

Total number of rabies shots to go: 3

Superpower cat characteristics exhibited: 0 (I woke up Thursday morning desiring milk which made me hopeful, but that took me nowhere except cerealtown.)

Regular cat characteristics exhibited: 1. Irritation with humans (particularly those running Auburn) check.

I'm not kitten around.

So listen to what happened to me today. I moseyed on out to my car at lunch to go run some errands. I got in, cranked her up, pulled forward, and... bump. I turned around. There was DEFINITELY a little tiny furry kitten writhing around on the ground where my tire was just an instant before. I was horrified.

So I pulled into a nearby space and ran over to the scene of the accident. Kitten breathing. Kitten moving around. Kitten in distress. What do I do??!! The kitten wasn't bleeding, so I picked it up, cradled it, and ran inside the building to ask someone else what to do and of course make my problem all of a sudden everyone else’s too. Do I take it to the vet? Does someone know cat CPR? Is it too late?

I was lucky to encounter the downstairs receptionist, Lisa, who grew up on a farm. She took the cat from me, took a look, and let me down easy that the kitten was definitely dying and there was probably nothing the vet could do. A few seconds later the kitten stopped moving. No pulse. Lisa wrapped it up and gave it to a runner to put in the dumpster.

At this point, tears were flowing, but I went to the bathroom to wash up and got back in my car. I was feeling terrible at this point, thinking, not only am I a cat murderer, but I also had to involve practically the whole law firm and disrupt commerce.

So as I’m driving away, I remember that the kitten bit me on the arm as I was taking him inside. I barely noticed at the time, because, you know, tiny teeth, adrenaline. But I started thinking about it and decided to call the doctor because, you never know. Fast forward 10 minutes and I’m in the special vaccination clinic waiting for a rabies vaccine, thinking, wow... things sure got out of control fast. Three shots and a prescription for stiff antibiotics later, (and four more periodically administered shots to go) here I sit, recounting my tale of catricide.

It’s pretty funny when you think about it, provided I’m not rabid and minus the dead kitten part. But there’s a bright side no matter what. Maybe rabies will make me cooler and more popular, kind of like Michael J. Fox in TeenWolf. Maybe I’ll take on cat qualities. You know.... sleep under cars, become cold and aloof, appear on Broadway for nine years straight. Perhaps some good will come of all this.

In the meantime, I’ll keep you all posted on my condition.

"I've got this thing and it's [expletive] golden, and ...... I'm just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing"

No, it's not Britney Spears talking about her virginity circa 1998. I thought that at first, too. No no, it's an actual quote (alleged I should say, from an FBI wiretap) from the governor of Illinois, talking about how best to go about profiting financially from his responsibility to appoint Obama's successor in the U.S. Senate.

This is really staggering news, folks. WOW. There's so much to say about this. How about I offer my commentary and a little Monday-morning quarterbacking advice for the gov.

Dear Bad News Blagojevich:

1. What is up with the hair? I can't tell if you live at the governor's mansion or down at the Pike house. How about a biyearly trim? You could learn a thing or two from another wayward politician in your party, John Edwards. He always looks fizzzine.

No.

Hey there.... what's your name...

2. What's with the language? I mean, it's one thing to flagrantly pimp out a U.S. Senate seat for your own personal financial and political gain, but all the bleepity bleeping.... that's just poor form.

3. How did you think you could plot and scheme like this so openly with people and not get busted? I mean, reading these quotes makes it clear to me that you are a total a-hole, and guess what, people aren't always rarin' to go down with the a-hole ship. No one likes you. You have a 13% approval rating in a completely blue state! This was out-and-out, full-blown, unmitigated narcissism. Fascinating!

4. Let me take another look at you. Yes. You look a little like Rudy to me. That's weird. Well, you will be riding the bench for awhile.....
























Anyway, if you haven't read up on this character, please check out the articles. It's astounding to me that someone could be so arrogant as to think he has ownership of a United States Senate seat, rather than the people of Illinois, and can sell it to the highest bidder! Make fun of him on your blogs - consider it your civic duty.

Team Vegas Recruitment Update

Friends, I am happy to report that our recruitment efforts have yielded an exciting addition to Team Vegas. Meet the new recruit!


Holly:
Age: 27
Occupation: Executive Assistant
Interests: Auburn football, Atlanta, reality television, dogs, reading, office supplies shaped like animals, pumpkin spice lattes
Activities: Wine consumption, boot camp, physical altercations with strangers who pick on her friends, blogging, being a Republican, mooning (sure to be lots of fun in Vegas - we are excited about this recruit - quite the coup.)

We also want to give a shout out to the husbands who gave us the green light to head to Vegas to have fun with the girls and spend the hard-earned family money while they each stay home with two dogs apiece. Thanks guys!!

Gavin!
Brett!
Matt!

Thanks guys! There is definitely a t-shirt in it for each of you.

Team Vegas

Well, since I don’t have enough going on, and I really don't feel like I do enough traveling, a few of my peeps and I have decided to cast caution to the wind and go to Las Vegas!

We are heading out there in February and I am pumped. We are going to see Elton John at Caesar’s Palace and otherwise just engage in various forms of tomfoolery, diablerie, high jinx, roguery, balderdash, nonsense, piffle… whatever comes our way.

Meet the team!

Me
Age: 29
Occupation: Attorney
Interests: Auburn football, books, internet, husband, beer, NY, dogs.
Activities: Schadenfreude, being sarcastic, whatever, you people know this.

Meg:
Age: 29
Occupation: Regional property manager
Interests: Auburn football, the proper care, feeding, and fashion trends of Dachshunds, pop culture literature, Netflix, Showtime programming, margaritas, decks and/or porches.
Activities: Blogging, reading, movie viewing, margarita consumption, avoiding pickles, cantaloupe, and grapefruit.

April:
Age: 27
Occupation: Psychologist
Interests: Auburn football, psychology, the art of sleeping comfortably, cable, beer, wine, communism.
Activities: Shopping, avoiding other people’s pets, acrimonious political debate, tripping over things, being hilarious.

Leah:
Age: 28 (but soooo close to being 29)
Occupation: Attorney
Interests: Auburn football, German engineering, beer, red wine, stuffed horses, Europe stuff.
Activities: People watching, beer/wine consumption, gardening, blog stalking, general smart-person stuff, being sophisticated and cultural.

You might note some glaring holes in the roster (Kristin, Lindsey, Holly, Sudan, Katherine, Katie). Indeed, we are in the process of recruiting more team members. However, in the meantime, I leave you with the words of Gene Hackman from one of my all time favorite movies, Hoosiers (with some adjustments as appropriate):

“I would hope you’d support who we are, not who we are not. These six (four) individuals have made the choice to work (party), the choice to sacrifice (buy plane tickets), to put themselves on the line twenty three nights (three nights) for the next four months (in the next two months) to represent you, this high school (themselves, for fun). This is your team.”

Amen.

Stinky strikes again.

I mean really. Yet another nemesis I cannot defeat.

Friends, just the other night, I once again found myself fighting the olfactory battle I thought I had lost for the last time, with Stinky, pouncing on the machine right next to mine in gym Siberia. Like a rat on a cheeto.

Stinks, I know not your reasons for eschewing artificial (and/or natural) body odor control altogether. The truth is, I respect that life decision, and I try to live with it. I try to locate you upon entering the gym so I can isolate you, but sometimes you get to the gym after me. I feel like maybe in another, more fragrant life we could be friends. As it stands, we need time apart. Far apart.

There is no solution. I take that back. Deodorant is the solution. Oh well.


Later.

Thanksgiving... check.

Aaaaaand we're back. I'm sitting in front of the TV, surfing the net, bloggin'. I had a great long weekend at the parents' place in Pensacola, so fun, so relaxing, so eaty. Yes, I stuffed my pie hole, thanks for asking. I got to see most of the siblings, and Mom put on a great party, as usual. Thanks for the hospitality, Mom! Here's some pics.



Dad.....



Deda.....

Nikki and Maria....

Regarding the football issue.. the elephant in the room, so to speak: I congratulate those teams that won, and I'll be a good sport. After all, it is just a game. But come on. I mean, let's not beat around the bush. All my nemeses are emerging victorious this year and I needs a hug.

Honestly, I can handle losing but I just wish we weren't so disastrously, off-the-rails bad this year. I'm going to pretend it didn't happen. (Also, please be advised that masturbatory comments by Bama fans are subject to instant deletion if I can't think of a snappy comeback fast enough... which, lets face it, means they are subject to instant deletion. Resist the urge anyway; it's bad football karma. You know who you are.)

I'm taking it better than Maddie. Maddie's a big Auburn fan. She's been to Auburn twice actually, and in her lifetime she has never seen an Iron Bowl that Auburn didn't win. I snapped a pic of her watching the game. This says it all.

Aww, Maddie. There's always next year.

But you know what. It's still great to be an Auburn Tiger. Just the other day, a lawyer friend and I were discussing colleges. This friend attended a smaller private college and she remarked that if she could do it all over again it might have been fun to go somewhere bigger, in a bigger city, with more people, maybe New York, Boston, etc. I replied that if I could do it over a million times I would go to Auburn every single time, and I totally meant it. War Eagle! We'll be back!

What else, what else..... looking ahead, moving on. December is a fun month. Gav and I are going to get our Christmas tree this week! That's always a fun outing, getting our Christmas on. I'll keep you advised. Have a great week everyone!

More fun stuff.

So back to the wedding reception. This fun thing happened while I was there. See if you can picture it, ok? So I'm rustling over to the bathroom and I run into my friends Leah, Katie, and Katherine. Here's how that conversation went:

Me: Hey girls!
L, K, and K: Hey! What up!
Me: Just making a pit stop. Oh, by the way, I'm smacking asses and high fiving tonight, just thought I'd let you know. I just victimized Holly's mom so apparently no one is safe. Heads up.
Leah: Thanks.
Katherine: Ask Bets!
Me: Talk to me.
Leah: There's a big stuffed horse here and I want a picture with it and the museum guy won't let us back there. We thought maybe you could talk him into it.
Me: (not finding this odd in the least) Ladies, I will give it a shot. Where is he?!


(So I rustle on over to the guy behind the desk...rustle rustle).

Me: (flashing smile). Hey there.... Betsy Burgess, nice to see ya. Listen, it has come to my attention that there is a stunning stuffed horse on the premises. We would really love to take a super duper quick picture with said horse. Are you sure there isn't a way we could sneak back there?

30 seconds later...... And then this.

Woo hoo! Fun times. What? We were just horsin' around.

More random thoughts: So there's this thing about me that I don't get. I don't discover fun music until months or even years after everyone else has been enjoying it. This happened with Yeah, In Da Club, anything else by 50 Cent, those Kanye West songs, Ignition, and a bunch of other songs over the years that I don't hear until I get a cd from a friend or I find myself on a dance floor somewhere. This could be because I only listen to soft rock, broadway, or talk radio. Hmmm... I may have solved my own mystery.

Anyway, I am currently obsessed with the song "Low" by Flo Rida, that I heard for the first time ever at K's wedding reception. WTF? You should have seen me. I was like, what...... what is this awesome song? I mean, listen to these lyrics! Ahem:

Shorty had apple bottom jeans (jeans!)
Boots with the fur (with the fur!)
The whole club was looking at her
She hit the floor (she hit the floor!)
Next thing you know
Shorty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low
The baggy sweat pants
And the Reeboks with the straps (with the straps!)
She turned around and gave that big booty a smack (hey! )
She hit the floor (she hit the floor!)
Next thing you know
Shorty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low

GENIUS. And I love the word Shorty. Seriously, I try to use it all the time. So, if you aren't part of the 90% of the population that has been jamming to this song for a while now, check it out!

Wild Weekend in Mobile!

Friends, it was another weekend of world record breaking fun, brought to me in Mobile, AL by my besty from the old days at AU, KRice.

Kristin got married this weekend and well folks, we threw it down. Now, I want you all to know that I personally did not hold back. You should be really proud. It was like I was riding a glorious adrenaline wave of collegiate stamina the whole weekend that violently crashed into the cold wet shore of 29 year-old-ness in the Vibe on the way back east on I-10. I am exhausted. I mean, where do I get off engaging in such tomfoolery at 29 years of age? Cheese and crackers.

Here's me, Sher-bear, Nancy, and Mary at the Rehearsal Dinner, about two hours before things got completely out of control that night. Oww! Hmm... anyhoo....

The following day we spent the whole day getting ready in K's suite. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was getting my hair and makeup done professionally. Holy shat, I love getting pampered like that. My hair actually stayed curly all night long. I’m telling you, people were amazed by the staying power of my curly bouncy hair.

I also enjoyed learning about all the new innovations in the field of hair and makeup artistry. For example, they used this spray-on foundation stuff, and lip gloss and blush that goes on clear and then adjusts to the appropriate color for your face. It’s amazing and a little scary, like it’s artificially intelligent makeup. They also have special new shears that they use to produce layers. Now that’s cutting edge.

Our bridesmaid’s dresses were beautiful and shiny. We are all so shiny in these pics. Also, the fabric of our dresses was kind of noisy when we walked, like that Seinfeld episode where George buys the "loud suit." You could also hear us coming from about 50 yards away, like a herd of beautiful brown shiny cattle. Rustle rustle rustle. (Russell! Shout out, Meg).

At the reception, me, Linds, Holls, and KT:

Holly: WTF Bets, I'm trying to eat. Lindsey: Yeah, really, Bets, she's trying to eat. April: Something's fun over here to my right.

I saw my pal Jeremy; he loves me! This was taken when we were out at our last stop of the evening before passing out. You can't tell, right?

Great weekend! I’m a little distraught that there’s not a planned event in the works for us all to get together again soon, so we’ll have to work on that. I'm feeling the Vegas suggestion, ladies. Let's keep that dialogue going. Miss you, girls!!

In other news, I am loving the "Messin with Sasquatch" commercials. Oh, and I love food and probably should get control of that before Thanksgiving rolls around. Ok, I'm done.

Football and Fair

It was another great weekend for the Burgii! On Saturday, my sis Maria brought her fam over to attend the FSU football game! We had such a great time! Here are some pics:

Me and Maria with the kiddies.......

Anna Grace and Sugarbear.... they have a special blond. Alan and Lori came to the game with us too. Look, I'm Benazhir Bhutto!

ALSO: Gavin and I FINALLY made it to the North Florida Fair after several years of trying to go but always being foiled by previous engagements. This year we went on the very last day. It was fun! We saw real live carnies (small hands, smell like cabbage), ate some fried dough (remind me to author a separate post about obesity in America), and rode some rides. The BEST part, though, was the animals. Pretty much everyone knows I love farm animals. So when Gavin saw the sign that said Petting Zoo, he said, "This can't miss." Right on, baby.

An Alpaca! Goats!
The swings! That's me in the middle, red mittens. Note that I'm clearly the oldest person on the ride.
The whole time I had the song "Have I stayed too long at the fair" stuck in my head. See if you can guess who sings it..... that's right! Barbra. We know me so well.

So this weekend we're headed to Mobile to get KRice married off.... wild times ahead, folks. Stay tuned....

Back from NY!

I'm back from NY! I heart that place. So fun! So many adventures. And of course, one can't go to a big city without encountering a colorful cast of characters. This trip was no exception.

1) New York Nick. Mom struck up a conversation with this character on the plane. He was meeting his girlfriend in NY for the weekend, but was quick to inform us that he had no plans to propose, and in fact, never intended to propose to this woman or any other woman unless she has a good enough job to support him so he can stay home all day instead of working. Charming. And too much information. He talked to my mom the entire flight while she was clearly trying to read her historical romance novel.

I mean really. How is she supposed to concentrate on complex plots involving ripped bodices and dashing men in waistcoats with that inane chatter going on? He also used lots of interesting and unusual hand gestures. Wow. To the Never-to-be-Mrs. New York Nick: this Bud’s for you.

2) Edward the Blue Shuttlebus Driver. Edward drove us to the hotel from the airport. Throughout the whole ride he had this calypso/jazz/love music going really loud, and sang along for everyone in the cab. I still have the song "Rendezvous in Rio" stuck in my head. The music was so ridiculous that I had to google it to see if it wasn't just Edward's weekend band getting free publicity. I discovered that it is real music by a real person. Wow. People will listen to some crap.

3) Emily. One of my roomies from college! She is a real live New Yorker now, and she took Nikki and me OUT on the town while mom dug into her hotel room bed with a pot of tea and candy and called it a night. We had dinner in Times Square and then found ourselves at Vlada's, a trendy “Russian vodka bar” that is home to the hottest gay men in Manhattan. If you know me, you know that a visit to a big city male gay bar is a rare and exotic treat. Guilt-free attention from fun, good-looking guys! This venue is where I made most of my friends on this trip. We were out past two!

Me with Josh. This "one arm straight up" move is quickly becoming my signature. When did that happen?

4) The aforementioned hottest gay men in Manhattan. Shout out!

We also did a lot of fun, touristy stuff. We went to FAO Schwarz to get some toys for Nikki's kids (and saw Bernadette Peters there, singing a capella to the kiddies), we shopped at street vendors and at Tiffany's, we hit Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and we saw Wicked. I am now officially re-obsessed with showtunes.

Here is Nikki and I with a NYPD horse in Times Square.

Here we are growling like Kung Fu Tigers.

This is mom in Central Park.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the trip:

Nikki: They don't have the Ben-10 toys at FAO Schwarz so we have to go to the Toys R'Us in Times Square.

Mom: They have a Toys R'Us in Times Square?
Nikki: Yes; it's a big deal. It's like the "Home of Geoffrey the Giraffe" or something.
Mom: Really? Is he walking around in there?
Nikki: Well, he's not a real giraffe.

Mom: I am SO drunk.

Mom: A $69 minibar charge? I only took a candy bar and a pack of cookies.

Mom: No one is allowed to drop the F-bomb on this trip.

Nikki: You have violated your own rule at least twice.

Mom: Only for clarification purposes.

Nikki: Flipping the bird counts as the F-bomb.

Mom: I brought them because I thought they looked New Yorky. (referring to calf-length leopard-skin boots)

And the best:

Mom: How did you know it was a gay bar?

HA!

Love these girls. So..... who wants to help me plot my return?

Twenty-fine.

That is correct. Today represents the 29th anniversary of my reverse luge into this world, and since this is my first birthday with a blog, I thought I might do a little commemorative post with some fun facts.

1) Lots of things are younger than me that really seem old.

For example, this little number. An Atari, circa 1980. Ancient, just like me.

Or IBM Computers like this one, built in 1979, just like me.

2) 1979 produced lots of pop hits that are now clearly "oldies." For example:

Da Ya Think I'm Sexy, Rod Stewart; Reunited (and it feels so good), Peaches and Herb; I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor; Y.M.C.A., Village People; Ring My Bell, Anita Ward; The Gambler, Kenny Rogers.

And my personal timeless favorite: You Don't Bring Me Flowers, Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond.

3) Yay for 1979. It was a great and interesting year for global affairs. The Islamic Revolution in Iran, the implementation of the One Child Policy in China, vicious IRA attacks in Great Britain, and right here at home, President Carter was attacked by a swamp bunny.

Per Wikipedia, Carter had gone fishing in Georgia when the rabbit approached his boat "hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared and making straight for the president," trying desperately to enter the boat, causing Carter to defend himself with oars.

How hilarious. If anyone was wondering what species I might have been in a former life, I think I have an idea. I did not even know swimming swamp bunnies existed. This one seemed ferocious, with the "nostrils flared" and everything... I wonder if it was rabit.

4) When I popped out, people were walking around in smashing outfits like this. I appreciate that the both the jumpsuit and the leisure suit were available in lime green, mustard, and sky blue.

Wow. We've come a loooong way, folks. Thanks for all the happy birthday wishes!