Happy Birthday!

And it is. A very happy birthday.

I gifted myself an absence from class this morning and slept in for a bit until the next-door neighbor decided to start playing with his power tools.

Because God favors me personally, my birthday featured excellent weather (the weather is controlled by God) and I started the day with a hearty run through a nearby park, around a lake, and out to the city's arboretum. It was beautiful.

I had lunch with some friends before attending my school's annual Chinese lecture competition. I was first up, and rocked 'em like I planned: I took first place and won a DVD player and a spot in the city-wide competition next week. Booya.

Now I've got an hour or so to kick back and rest before meeting my posse for a barbeque dinner: it's going to be a birthday full of roast lamb and grilled squid!


If anyone wants to give me a gift my birthday... you can't, because I'm in China and shipping is way expensive. But you can do this: visit the American Cancer Society's website and learn how to donate your time, money, and/or effort to fight cancer.

Recently, many people I love and care about have been affected by cancer... it's a very unfair illness that hurts people that don't deserve to be hurt, and I want it to stop. While I generally prefer magic over science, I think this one needs to be tackled from both sides, so I'm asking people to offer their prayers and money to help beat cancer. If the ACS seems a little big, a little impersonal, then I recommend donations to Cancer Sucks, an alternative but still very serious anti-cancer non-profit.

Thank you.