Thanks to my wife "Laurie" for allowing my birthday dreams to come true ... essentially two straight days of prolific boozing, appetizers and hors d' eurves for ever meal, plus unlimited access to the television set for a private holocaust of slasher action and AMOS AND ANDY reruns. I kissed the square world goodbye and made my pad the only culturally/spiritually pure spot in North America for 48 hours. I mean, we already do all right, Lori and me, we're pretty righteous in our day-to-day but once in a while you really gotta toss off the shackles of The Man and fuck it up Lansing style ... Manhattans before noon, gluten-free cake and an endless supply of crackers, cheese, cold cuts, coffee and cashews, with an emergency supply of cranberry juice for when you need a quick system flush.

This is how I marked my latest year, one I have no problem celebrating (as opposed to eulogizing, which I'm more familiar with). Thanks to everyone who came by to humor me, particularly those who supplied me with over-abundant gifts of stimulant. My man Tyson made it possible (no, more like mandatory) for me to watch THE LAST SLUMBER PARTY over and over again in search of elusive clues, and not only did Kate cop important supplies like Red Bull, ginger ale, toilet paper and vermouth for me, she also laid a couple sacks of orange candy on me as well (if you know what I mean). Kate brought her friend Pete along, and he seems like a fine, upstanding young man ... I'm so embarrassed now, but I was drunk when he came in and I thought for sure she introduced him as "Peach," so all fucking afternoon I'm calling this cat "Peach," you know? I mean, I figured it was some kinda nickname like "Champ" or "Tex." Well, either he didn't notice or he's just that cool of a customer ... anyhow, his name is Pete, not "Peach," so don't make the same mistake I did if you meet him.

What? No, I didn't see Meg there, either. Well, she was super drunk the night before at Kate's house, so I can only assume she was too hungover to make it. Yeah, I know.

There's more photos of my friends having the time of their lives here.