I don't want to ruin any surprises for anyone, but our "theme weeks" on PTA don't happen randomly. Usually Josh tells us what to write about that week. I like it, because then I don't stew about what I should write that day - I just take the topic and run with it. And stumble with it, and often break an arm with it. But I like these theme weeks, because I like being part of a little train of thought that winds its way through the minds of five different men.
That being said, I thought Josh's choice of "What I am getting Topher for his birthday this year" was a joke, because first of all my birthday is not until July 30. Second of all I just thought he was making fun of me because I always make such a big deal out of my birthday. Last year, when I turned 40, Lisa threw me the best birthday party of all time, and she dressed like Kate Capshaw from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom because I grew up thinking Willie Scott was the sexiest woman of all time.
This year I'll be in London for my birthday. That suits me fine. Of my past seven birthdays, four were spent in London, two were in Paris, and one was in Provo. Truthfully, the Provo one was the best one (Willie Scott!) but they were all memorable and interesting in some kind of Eurotrashy way. For my birthday I like to go eat at Wagamamas, walk around by myself for a little bit, and see a show. This year I'm seeing Daniel Radcliffe in The Cripple of Inishman. Harvey Porter with a little crutch and an Irish accent! I can't wait.
Today at lunch I ate at Spicy Thai, which is a delicious Thai place in Provo where you can watch Thai music videos of people shooting guns and beautiful ladies getting slapped in slow motion by mobsters. I try not to watch that video, but it's strangely hypnotic. Anyway, I opened my fortune cookie and it said "You will be showered with good luck before your next birthday." And I thought to myself: luck - isn't that what I really want?
Don't I really want to drive to and from work and hit every green light? Don't I want to put on some pants I haven't worn in a while and find a $10 bill in the pocket? Don't I want to wake up one morning and have perfect vision and a head full of hair? And in the immortal words of Daft Punk: I'm up all night to the sun, I'm up all night to get some, I'm up all night for good fun, I'm up all night to get lucky! (I guess those lyrics are kind of dirty.)
But luck doesn't just have to be something that happens in some fleeting, unexplained moment. It doesn't have to be coincidence or magic. It certainly doesn't have to be miraculous. It can also be the sense that everything is ok. I have a great life, and I'm lucky. I have a beautiful family, and I'm lucky. I have a job I love and a steady paycheck, and I'm lucky. I'm super handsome, and I'm lucky (my brothers were not so fortunate.)
I don't need anything for my birthday. I'll probably buy a couple of shirts at Primark (made of cotton/paper, guaranteed to last six weeks) on Oxford Street and I'll get some kind of sandwich at a pub, and I'll probably take some pictures of some old buildings and Instagram them, and that will make me pretty much happy. But a general sense of luck? The feeling that things are ok? Nobody can really give me that. So when I have it, and right now I feel like I have it, I'm just going to be super grateful for it. Happy Lucky Birthday!
