Feliz Cumpleanos!

"You said that good friends are hard to come by, I laughed and bought you a beer, it's too corny to cry..." -Indigo Girls

Someone I know is having a sort of milestone birthday today. Because I know that it is possibly a touchy subject, I won't give specifics on the number. However, I will give you a list of my 30 favorite things about my friend Jen.

1. She gave me a second chance even though her initial impression of me was that I was too "peppy." Go figure.

2. She runs away from me (and others for that matter) when excessive drinking has occurred.

3. Like me, she appreciates the fact that our friendship is founded on the likes of "Coke Box Head" and "Steak and Shake girl. And no, that is not a drug reference. Does anyone still have that picture?

4. She is a very talented musician and was good at almost every instrument she had to learn during her pedagogy classes in college. (I won't say which one she was not good at, but it just proves that she is actually human.)

5. She is a gifted marker make-up artist.

6. She has Pantene commercial hair.

7. She has a wicked and warped sense of humor, yet still puts up with my corny jokes.

8. She rules at playing jukebox dj - almost as much as I do.

9. She educated me on classic rock bands and introduced me to Boston.

10. She is an excellent Scrabble player - I won't play with her because she always wins.

11. She and I will never lose the bond of giggling inappropriately at Beth Holmes' horse poop story on freshman Women's Ensemble tour. Giggling inappropriately at recitals. Giggling inappropriately just about everywhere.

12. She is really a secret agent.

13. One summer, she worked in the 80's and kept me laughing with stories about all of the crazy people.

14. We have been known to share a brain.

15. She taught me how to play darts at the Player's Inn when we lived in Nashville.

16. Even though it's not what she's doing now, she is a wonderful teacher.

17. She is a great person to stand next to in choir - for the singing and the commentary.

18. She has the same size feet as Wayne Newton. I have the picture to prove it.

19. She is a woman of 1000 faces. Most of them amusing.

20. She always drives.

21. She is one of the handful of people who can make me laugh until I cry, and who has stood by me when the tears aren't so happy.

22. She's a good little cook.

23. I never once was tired of being her roommate in the 5+ years that we lived in the same place.

24. When the housemates dressed up as Kiss for Halloween, she drew a nose and whiskers on a sheet and came as the ghost of Peter Criss.

25. She has low tolerance for crappy popular music.

26. She has encouraged me to speak my mind when I needed a little courage.

27. She is the wind beneath my wings.

28. She is a good and true friend. Dr. Will Miller said so.

29. She is loyal and caring.

30. She is my dear, forever friend.

Happy Happy Day, Jennifer!