I shoulda wrote this earlier... but it's been busy. My computer is now back up and in fairly decent working order. I took apart the CPU cooling unit, cleaned the fan up some more(there was some hair in the bearings) and I also noticed my processor's thermal goop was all dried and caked. I slapped some new goop on there and now my PC is running much cooler.

I took Monday off to have my car looked at(as well as get a well-needed break) and it turns out I need a $200 fuel-air control unit replaced. The guys at the shop said they would be able to put it in in less than an hour so the repair cost itself would be cheap but the part itself was $200. Oh well, yet another expense to look forward to.

I did find out that my dental insurance covered most of my last visit, and it's only going to cost me some $20. Woot.

My birthday part was awesome. I got up early with my dad to do some fishing on Saturday. It was a gorgeous morning. The sun was peeking out of the clouds, we had a cool breeze, and it was nice and quiet. However, the fish just weren't sticking to the bait. I felt some bites here and there but no takers. If we fished for sunnies or bluegill we would have fish but it usually takes 20 or 30 to make a meal out of those. After a morning of fishing we headed back home. I got to meet my stepsister's new kitten, Peaches, or as I like to call her, Mangler the tooth-and-claw-filled Furball. She had a habit of attacking anything that moved, including my knee. I have the scars to prove it.

The party itself was great. A cornucopia of food that didn't put a hole in my parents pocket was available and I could not resist chocolate-on-chocolate cake or the moosetracks ice cream. :9 My aunt and uncle came too and I learned that my step-mom's father and his wife are HUGE misguided liberals, which made for some interesting and loud conversations at our table. They were stubborn old folk too and were hard-pressed to change the subject.

I wasn't expecting much in gifts(we're all tight for money these days) but I did get a couple bucks for my birthday and my brother gave me the coolest gift ever: It's a knitted winter cap that is shaped like the dome of R2D2. Kick ass! All in all, it was a very satisfying birthday, and I hope all birthdays could be like that. Food, friends and family for the win.