2005-06-17 - 6:19 p.m.

SO IT�S THE DAY AFTER (and HERE�S THE THING about the LIVE BLOGGING that I WANTED TO DO-- YESTERDAY, on MY BIRTHDAY, (while I was supposed to be steeped in solitude and low-key-ness).

The solitude and low-key-ness was not to be.

The BIRTHDAY EXPERIENCE� began Wednesday night, with a pre-planned, but felt like a surpise �almost-kidnapping-like� excursion with our VERY-BEST LADYFRIENDS and another COUPLE of LADYFRIENDS to a secret location for a BIRTHDAY DINNER.

They might as well have blindfolded me and thrown me in the trunk, as I had NO IDEA where we were going. There were twists, and turns and backtracking and obvious attempts at distraction that included a fake argument about which streets to take (okay, maybe that wasn�t faked?) but finally we arrived at a HILLTOP LOS ANGELES LANDMARK Restaurant, where the view is spectacular and couples (perhaps usually man/woman couples) come to create magical memories and propose marriage.

Do you think our little group of SIX LESBIANS stood out at all? Yeah, just a bit. But I figured that all the man/woman couples were so busy looking at the beautiful lights of the city, drinking fancy SAKI and UMBRELLA-EMBELLISHED COCKTAILS and proposing marriage to each other that they wouldn't notice our table full o' lezzies. I think I was MOSTLY right, it's just so SURREAL sometimes, when you�re in the midst of such a gathering of MAINSTREAM MAN/WOMAN-ness�whatev.

The dinner and all its courses and dipping situations and flaming entr�e�s (maybe I made that up) and special deserts with candles and singing and the LIGHTS OF THE CITY and all the memories-in-the-making was SPEC-TAB-U-TASTIC�. And yet, it still took us by suprise when My Amazing Girlfriend/Same-Sex Partner/Lady-Lover/Meal Ticket/Romantic Fool PROPOSED MARRIAGE� to our entire table. WE ALL said YES (just like Katie Holmes). We laughed, toasted and had a wonderful night.

Our DATES/FUTURE PARTNERS-IN-MARRIAGE dropped us off at home and we made our way to the bedroom and�. "the Bedroom Door Closes/Giggles are heard and we..."
FADE TO BLACK�.

Anyway��

The next morning, MY ACTUAL BIRTHDAY MORNING, I was up waaaaaaaaaay too early (couldn�t sleep, blah�blah�blah�) and eventually I was presented with my BIRTHDAY GIFTS by My Amazing Girlfriend/Same-Sex Partner/Lady-Lover/Meal Ticket. Great presents, but at the last minute�she realized SHE DIDN'T HAVE A CARD FOR ME (as if�come on�.) so, she �flashed me her rack� (if you will) and said �HERE�S YOUR CARD�. Nice card, indeed.

She spent the rest of the day asking me, in various locations, ��.wanna see your card????� It made for an exciting day. Believe me.

We spent the day on a mini SHOPPING SPREE(ish)� with our wonderful, dear-dear lovelier-than-lovely friend�. (wait: let me see what her alias is. Be right back. ((time elapsed: 4 minutes as I checked my archives)) WHAT? I haven�t mentioned her� EVER? Wow, I must be overprotective of her or something) ANYWAY�. She.. SHE is our very dear/lovely/BEAUTIFUL 100% Heterosexual Woman Friend and produces our films with us� SO ANYWAY�. She came along with us YESTERDAY on my BIRTHDAY SHOPPING SPREE(ish)� and enjoyed all the antics and participated in the antics, as she bought me MANY GIFTS ((so many that I kept referring to her as the RICHARD GERE character in pretty woman, to my Julia Roberts character�hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold )) and she and My Amazing Girlfriend/Same-Sex Partner/Lady-Lover/Meal Ticket/Flasher mock-argued over WHO would buy me WHAT (ish).

The SHOPPING SPREE(ish)� was followed by a lovely, quiet dinner with the 3 of us and �LUCKY� in a local hipster(ish) diner, which consisted of many laughs and a sprinkling of serious discussion.

During the day, many wonderful friends FILLED MY ANSWERING MACHINE with birthday greetings (humorous, musical, poetic, manic, crazy) and made me feel all gooey and loved, inside and out.

So, I did succeed in taking it all down SEVERAL NOTCHES on the EXTRAVAGANZA RANKINGS (last years HUGE PARTY was too much for my tender soul this year), I still felt the love and joy and good wishes from all the wonderful members of my Lady and Boy-filled Posse of friends.

And� THANK YOU to ALL OF YOU that left notes, emails, etc with birthday wishes. That was super-swell of y�all.

I�m one LUCKY BASTARD-ESS.

Have a great weekend!
Xoxoxo more soon/ME