Today is my birthday.  I’m thirty-nine today, drawing ever closer to forty.

Last year I was sick on my birthday.  At the time of writing (around three weeks before my birthday—I’ve really been working ahead) I might be coming down with something again, but if I did get sick, let’s hope it’s cleared up by today.

Also like last year, I am back at work today.  I’m used to that, as I frequently went back to school on my birthday growing up.  Thanks to 2024’s leap year, my fortieth birthday will fall on a Friday, but from looking at my school’s 2024-2025 academic year calendar, I’ll be back at work that Friday, 3 January 2025 for a teacher workday.  I can’t win!

Of course, when you get to my age—I write as though I am ancient—a birthday is just another day.  I’ve never been one of those people who takes a day off for his birthday (although I might next year out of principle), and I’m happy to celebrate it with friends and family at whatever time is convenient.  Indeed, I like it a bit better that way:  I end up getting several weeks of various celebrations.  Mwahahahaha!

Hmmm… perhaps I care more about my birthday than I let on.  Whatever the case, I’m thankful for another year enjoying God’s Creation.

If you’re feeling generous and would like to give me a gift of some kind, consider a subscription to my SubscribeStar page.  Alternatively, purchase one of my many albums.  I also have two books (here and here) that are pretty good.

Seriously, your support in these small ways means a great deal.  One source of my late 2023 doldrums was the sense that I’m out here floundering alone.  Your comments mean a great deal, but comments don’t buy cornflakes.

A year’s subscription to my SubscribeStar page at the lowest tier is just $12—probably a third to a sixth of what folks would spend on a gift—and split up over twelve months.  Sure, groceries are more expensive than ever before, but who reading this blog will notice a single dollar every month?  Skip one canned soda from the drink machine at the office a month and you’ve more than paid for the subscription.

I’m also constantly churning out new music on Bandcamp.  If paying $5 for an album (or $23.39 for my full discography) is too much, you can stream my stuff on Apple Music (or any streaming service of your choice).  The streaming royalties are abysmal, but they add up over time, and they really do make a difference.

If your pennies are really pinched, subscribe (for free) to my YouTube channel.  I need 500 subscribers to monetize partially, and 1000 to do it properly, as well as 3000 and 4000 watch hours, respectively, per annum.  I’m about a tenth of the way there with subs.  I have tons of content there, and will be uploading audio/visual versions of blog posts there soon.  If you have a Gmail account and are logged in, you literally just click the bell under any video (and make sure to turn on notifications if you’re into that kind of thing).

Even e-mailing a link to a friend helps.  If you’ve like something I’ve written or created, share it.

But I digress.  Thank you all for your support, in whatever form it comes.

And here’s wishing me a happy birthday—woooooooooooot!

—TPP