older

another birthday has come and gone, and i have entered a new age bracket. or an older age bracket. something. kara and i had dinner out, with drinks afterwards, and it was good. then she buckled down and wrote her midterm paper. and i bought beer in a store yesterday and was carded. the check-out woman actually did a double-take from my id to me. so i don't mind that so much.

star is a no-go this year. we have made a decision on the matter. the max factor is part of it, of course, but another not-insignificant part is kara's aforementioned schooling. she's close to the end of her first class and it's been stressful. star island would interrupt her school schedule dramatically and we're thinking maintaining and improving her scholastic momentum is more important right now.

i'm sad about missing star, but there is always next year. if max is still hanging on in 12 months, we're calling guinness.