Tomorrow's my birthday. I'm not the least bit excited. Birthdays just mean I'm one year closer to my ultimate demise. That's just the way I see it.
To celebrate the big occasion this year, I have something special planned. I've been looking forward to it for over 6 months. It all started the last time I visited the dentist. After my cleaning, I was checking out at the front desk. At our place, they never let you leave until you've scheduled your next appointment. For years, I've always had my appointments at the end of the work day. God forbid I leave work early or miss an important conference call, right?
This time, when checking out, I decided to treat myself. I'm going to ask for an early morning appoinment, I thought to myself. I figured that would allow me to sleep in, have a nice leisurely breakfast, and brush my teeth for a second time at home before leaving for my dentist appointment. If you have to visit the dentist, you may as well do it on your own terms for once.
So, there I stood at the front desk, looking at the woman who keeps the appointment book. She knew the drill with me and asked if I wanted an appointment at the end of the day again. "Actually, I'd like something first thing in the morning," I responded brightly. She flipped through her appointment book, looked up, and said "I've got 8:30AM on June 5th."
You have got to be kidding me, I thought. June 5th? That's my birthday. But, I was the smart guy who'd asked for the early morning appointment. "OK," I meekly said. "That's fine."
So, here I am. It's the night before my birthday. As if that's not a dreary enough thought, I've got a dentist appointment waiting for me as soon as I wake up in the morning. Next year could be an absolute banner year for me.
