I was thinking about my birthday, because I’m self centered and have been doing a lot of thinking about me lately, and I thought up my top five favorite birthday moments…

5. 2004 - Me and my brother, Jerry, spent the day getting lunch and then we went to Toys r Us. I was turning 24, and the best gift I got that year was one of those animated dancing stuffed hamsters that sings “We Got the Funk”. I still have it. I remember being at the toy store and MD called me and thought it was funny that I was 24 and shopping in Toys r Us for my birthday gift.

4. 2005 - My gathering at Jack’s last year was one of the best I’ve ever had, I have never felt so loved in my life. About 30 people showed up throughout the evening, and I had the time of my life. So much so that this evening, one of the bartenders said “I can’t believe it’s been a whole year! That night is like a legend!”

3. 2004 - This was the summer that Danish and I were groupies for Near Zero. They had a show in North Versailles, and Billy brought me up on the stage and announced to the whole bar it was my birthday and I had to do a triple shot of Jager in front of the whole crowd. I did it, and they applauded me.

2. 2001 - My 21st was not as eventful as you might think. The evening started out bad (see #1) but when we got back from family dinner, I tried to fade the Corporal’s hair and ended up messing it up so bad that I had to shave it bald.

1. 2001 - My dog died. My family — well, my dad — being what it is, we went to Damon’s for dinner, and my dad asked the waitress “Do you get anything for free if your dog died today?” Then I said “What if your dog died AND it’s your birthday?” Turns out, all I got was free dessert. But we played the trivia game and named out team Wolf, in honor of our dead German Shepard who was waiting in the yard to be buried. That’s sick, but it’s something I’ll never forget.