Birthday Wishes

Wow! I am now 26 years old! Another reminder that I am not as old as I once was. :) And, as if one reminder were not enough, I recently had a bout with some low back pain. I had flashbacks to the times that I'd tease my Dad as he would walk about stiffly after straining his back.

I narrowed down the source of the back pain to one of three sources: 1) The squats that I did on Wednesday, 2) the office chair that I was sitting in, or 3) how I was sleeping. After a not-so-rigorous investigation, culminating with a sample of chairs in my office, I concluded that it was my chair! You see, I have temporarily moved into the office next door to collaborate with others in the DNA group. I am sitting at the desk of a colleague who is traveling. It turns out that her chair was doing a number on my back. Phew! Perhaps I do have a few more good years left!

On a more serious note, I very much appreciate the birthday wishes that I received from many of my friends. It was touching to know that they remembered me and esteemed me enough to wish me a happy birthday. I truly value their friendship. I regret having tried to hide my birthday from others in the past. I feel that that has kept me from constructing friendships. I sadly lament those friendships "that might have been."