In recent years, getting older really got me down. Roll in the proximity of December 15 to the winter holidays and the severe lack of sunlight and things got worse. I once walked away from a cake and candles at my mother’s house.

Two years ago I escaped to Walt Disney World for my birthday week. Figured I’d never been sad in Disney World, save for the time my sister Laura vomited in the lobby of the Kodak theater at the Journey into Imagination pavilion. I’d waited months, saw every preview, knew everything about 3D technology and was ready to see Captain E-O. And she just yakked all over the lobby, when we would have been in the next show group.

I digress. I got to see the flick a few days later, and really enjoyed it. So always happy in Disney World. And as I spent my birthday at the now defunct Explorers Club watching some amazing shows (holiday themed, as Christmas was so close) sipping Bacardi and Diet Coke, I was quite happy.

Of course, this set me up for disappointment. I can’t afford to fly to Florida and live in a theme park for a week every December.

Last year, Amy and I spent our first December together. Her birthday falls three days prior to mine. We skipped down to a nearly deserted South Padre Island for a few days away. It was pretty good.

We had to split the day before my birthday though. I’d won tickets to see the Toadies, and we had to get back to Austin. The Toadies were great, but the venue and the rest of the crowd were horrible.

Already a bumpy start.

Later, we went to Dave and Busters for lunch and gorged on sushi for dinner. Turned out to be an okay night, but the birthday doldrums had already kicked in.

This year, things felt quite a bit better. We didn’t go away, we went for sushi and shopping on her birthday, and out for cooked seafood on mine. We kept it simple as she was still in exams and I’m hoarding paid time off for when we can go away.

Amy noticed that I wasn’t feeling as down. And I realized that I was feeling better about this time of year because I have someone to share it with, something I failed to realize last year. That’s a tough feeling to beat.

The week has trudged on, with work being as annoying as usual. I’ve put in for a promotion to technical lead. We’ll see how that goes as well.

That’s the one thing about having another birthday that bugs me. Four years on after leaving school, I’m still answering phones for a living. I still wait for people to reboot. I still answer stupid questions, both from client and coworkers. At 28, I no longer want this.

I’ll keep everyone posted on the new job if it comes to be.

Look for me to post again as the holidays wear on. I’m liking the new WordPress interface, which is good, as MarsEdit doesn’t appear to have tagging support for WordPress, unless I’m just not finding it. I’ll check again later.

See you all real soon.