Today I celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of my popping into the world in Burnley General Hospital's maternity ward. A quarter of a century with me in the world. Well, here's to the next quarter.
Since I had the day off - it's a point of principle of mine that I always take my birthday off work - I thought I'd just relax and enjoy myself. Whether that was by writing or by sitting and reading or just generally lazing around didn't matter, provided that I made the day my own.
In the end I've spent the day watching cricket. Sarah, finally sick of my should-I-shouldn't-I seesawings on the matter, gave me the Ashes 3 disc DVD box set, so I've been reliving last summer. It's been great fun, but not as much of a rollercoaster this time around. Pleasant, though, nevertheless.
I haven't written much today, just a few words that finally put the cap on the tricky bit that I've been banging my head against for days. Now I just need to get through the climax of the story and the denouement, fill in the bits where I've left notes in caps to myself, and I'm done. Not done by when I wanted to be done by (how many times have I put that deadline back now?), but no matter. By the end of the month I reckon I'll have finished the first draft, though I'm all too aware that I need to do lots of revisions. That, though, is half the fun isn't it?
Another of my presents is the Wagamama cookbook. It really is a great little book, with plenty in it to keep me busy. One of the great things about Wagamama's recipes is that they don't need lots of complex ingredients or massive amounts of complex cooking. Many of the recipes just consist of putting the ingredients in the wok in order and stirring them until they're cooked, then serving. Tonight, I think, we're going to have Cha Han (because it's my birthday and I say so).
Before then, though, I think I'll get some more writing done. Cheerio.
