Four years already
Since the day we exchanged vows
At Waterloo Park.

Four years already
Since the night I fell asleep
At Star Wars viewing.

Four years already
Since you wore that batik shirt
Does it still fit, Troy? ;)

Four years already
I still have not lost my ring
They’re still not engraved.

Four years already
May we have many more years
To love and explore!

(These cheesy haikus are brought to you by the letter X and the number 0.)

If you ever wonder about what a blogger’s birthday was like in the year 2000 or year 4 B.F. (before Facebook), you’ve got to read the entries I posted between April 6 to April 8, 2000. That was the best birthday I ever had in the Bloggerville (that was before it became a Blogosphere). I really wish I still had all those voicemail messages. They were awesome!

My birthday in 2001 doesn’t sound like a very good one, though. But hey, the day after my birthday that year, I created a crappy PHP chatroom I called Quack-O-Matic, where Troy and I “talked” to each other for the very first time! Who knew that 4 years later we’d be husband and wife.

I guess my mum knew that she didn’t have much time left in this world because she really tried to make my birthday in 2002 the best one ever. She had a caterer cook all my favourite birthday food and made me feel so loved that even my dad couldn’t ruin the day for me.

You’ve gotta check out my birthday post from 2003! It’s got a picture of me and my mum when I was a baby! I forgot I had that one. Such an awesome picture. It also has a picture of me in 2003. I looked so tired. I probably was. My mum was already very sick by then. Bedridden and all. It wasn’t a very happy birthday. 2003 was such a horrible year. Oh, if you read the post and want to know the answer to the “what’s in the monkey’s mouth” question, it is in this entry.

I wrote a long birthday post conveying a wide range of emotions — from happy to sad, from hopeless to hopeful — in 2004. I wrote that “life might get better.” And it did! I’m a frickin’ clairvoyant! ;) The trip I was talking about was the trip to England, and then Canada, and then back to England, and then Indonesia. Troy and I met in person for the first time in May 28, 2004 at the airport in Toronto. I left Canada in September 2004 only to go back a month later.

I’ve always had a good birthday ever since I moved to Canada but man, my birthday posts from Canada are sooo boring! In 2005, I only talked about some stupid dream I had the night before my birthday. And it was my first Canadian birthday! It was also the day we told Troy’s parents that we were getting married in a month! I should’ve put more effort into it.

My birthday post from 2006 is a little better. I cared enough to write about the circumstances of my birth. My birthday in 2007 was probably the most eventful birthday I ever had in Canada. I even got a real birthday cake with my name on it! But I didn’t blog about it until, like, four days after my birthday. Slacker.

Worse still, in 2008, not only did I wait four days before posting about my birthday, I only wrote two paragraphs in the post, only one of which was about my birthday and it didn’t say anything other than the fact that it was a good one! Blasphemy! Now I really don’t remember what I got for my birthday last year! All I remember is that I had a whole birthday weekend plus Monday full of presents and culinary experience (read: dining out). It was an awesome birthday, dammit!

My birthday this year (i.e., today) has been pretty low-key. Troy wished me a happy birthday and gave me a couple of presents before he left for work in the morning: a book on soft toy-making and accessories for my current favourite board game, Agricola (so I’m a board game geek, sue me). I’m also supposed to be getting a bike from him but I still haven’t found a bike that I like. After checking out a bike store downtown, we went to a Chinese restaurant for my birthday dinner and after that, we bought a lottery ticket because I was feeling lucky. :) I wouldn’t mind winning 9 million dollars.

Oh, one thing that I would want to remember in the coming years is that this is my first white birthday! The ground is covered with snow and it’s still snowing! I like snow and stuff but I don’t think I like it when it’s falling like crazy in April. It’s just not right!

Addendum: I started my attempt to germinate three avocado seeds today: two in water, one in soil. Will let you know if any of them sprouts. The avocado plant I started from seed two years ago is still alive but it could use a friend!

Ever since I decided that I want a bicycle for my birthday, I’ve been really obsessed with it. I’ve done quite an extensive research that if you asked me about Canadian bicycle industry, I’d probably be able to give you an executive summary. But I don’t think that would interest you much.

Bottom line is, good quality bikes are not cheap. Good quality bikes with European design can only be had with top dollars, which is a shame because that’s the kind of bike that I would like to ride. Since I don’t want to put a strain on our bank account, I guess I’m going to have to compromise. I might have to be happy with a good quality bike with a so-so design (read: North American design). I wish I weren’t such a design snob.

To illustrate the above paragraph, I want one of these bikes but I might have to settle with one of these. But if I ended up with the latter, at least I’d be supporting a Canadian industry. Sure I’m going to have to buy it from Wally World a.k.a. evil Walmart since Walmart is the sole distributor of that particular manufacturer but eh, what can you do. Though if I’m really, really lucky, I might be able to get this sweet cruiser for a good price, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Anyway, I just thought I’d keep you updated on my latest obsession. Will let you know which bike I end up getting for my birthday, hopefully by Sunday, because I know you really, really want to know. ;) My birthday is not until Tuesday, though.

We went to the north shore of Lake Erie this past Saturday, to Port Bruce (quiet and quaint) and then Port Stanley (delightfully tacky). Lake Erie isn’t that far from where we live. In fact, we live only an hour away from two of the Great Lakes of North America. An hour west will get you Lake Huron and an hour south (well, maybe a little more than an hour) will bring you to Lake Erie. I guess that’s the reason this town always gets a boatload of snow in the winter, more than most other areas in Southwestern Ontario.

Oh, and we saw hundreds of tundra swans! They were on their way to their summer playground in northern Canada after spending the winter down in Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Awesomely beautiful creatures, they are.

And now, 5 links (I’m all about 5s these days):

• Scientists: Less ice on Great Lakes during winter. That’s too bad. I love it when the lakes freeze over.
• Great Lakes Storm of 1913. “[It] killed more than 250 people, destroyed 19 ships, and stranded 19 others.”
• Lighthouses of the Great Lakes. I have been to a few of them and hope to visit many more. I love lighthouses.
• Lake Erie’s ghost ship. Interesting story with a touch of mystery and Port Stanley is part of the story.
• Great Lake Swimmers. One of my favourite Canadian bands. Their new album will be released the end of this month. Yay!