I turned 37, 38, and 39 on British soil and 40 and 41 on Italian, so turning 42 today is especially special for me because finally, a birthday in the land of my birth. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with birthdays in those foreign countries, except for one fundamental and catastrophic flaw: they don’t have Taco Bell. (Actually, the UK does have three of them but I would’ve had to take a many-hour train ride to get to any of them and I am 100% positive the food would not have tasted anything like that of the Taco Bells of my homeland.)
My birthday is not right if I can’t have Taco Bell for my private celebratory lunch and this has been the case since I was 16. Tell me I need “help” all you want, I know what I like and what I like is some gosh-damn Taco Bell crunchy beef tacos and a Nachos Supreme. So that’s what I had for lunch today and I feel pretty great about it even if it means there’s something deeply wrong with me.
Meanwhile, I’m being a spaz and checking my email every couple of minutes because I had a job interview last week that went great, and they sent me a test to do on Saturday (it’s an editing/proofreading job that I really want very badly extremely so much), and I’m waiting to hear back from them. I know it’ll probably take a few more days for them to evaluate a 15-page document with hundreds of edits (half of it was unintelligible jibberish that had to be completely rewritten and the other half was highly technical stuff with very subtle errors but plenty of them), but profound impatience is a weakness that dominates my soul so I’m horribly squirmy today. I want this job even more than I want birthday tacos every year AND THAT IS A LOT, MY FRIENDS, A LOT.
So if you have one birthday wish for me, let it be that I get this job or another one like it (I’ve applied to several in the last week). Also please wish me a bounty of tacos for the rest of my life. I really thought that my craving for those crunchy little bastards would diminish as I got older but the opposite is happening and it’s more than a little disconcerting. I mean, objectively, they aren’t that great of a food item, not sweet or salty or savory. They are little but grease and crunch, and full of truly disturbing low-quality ground “beef” product that probably directly causes colon cancer and dementia.
Tough shit, I’ll take my chances. I eat an excellent diet otherwise so I shall not question myself further.
And now some birthday dog performance art. Firefly doesn’t hold still long enough for me to get many good “ABBA” poses of her and Primo together but we’re working on it.
I’m just grateful she lowered her ears enough to allow Primo into the shot. She’s a good girl. And she does the marvelous stair-sit just like Primo, which makes me ha-ha-ha out loud every single time I see either one of them doing it. They don’t merely rest that way for a moment – it goes on for several minutes while they nearly fall asleep and I nearly black out from finding it so terrific.
Have a Taco-riffic Birthday!
Happy birthday and good luck with the job!
Happy Birthday — and welcome home y’all. When you heard your first y’all you knew you were home right?
Well, Happy Birthday to you!
so really now, how was the Taco Bell?
Happy Birthday! Good luck.
Happy Birthday, Rachel.
Indeed, the answer *is* 42
:P
Wow, that first photo is the best picture ever taken or created (Mona who?).
Wonder how many grammar/punctuation/jibberosity errors I can mush into this short “dialogue”? Hope ya have yur red pen handi.
Happy B-Day and Good Luck!!!
@Morris: Took me a second, but I got it–sharp as a dowel (or a towel) I am.
Sounds like you’ve had an awesome birthday. Here’s to a great year and many more. I’m still looking forward to meeting Primo and Firefly.
Happy happy birthday! Have you tried the Taco Bell breakfast yet? Nice to see sweet Firefly again. You’ll have to fill us in on her spasmodic bullcorn, as only you can. Good luck with the job–if they don’t hire you, they’re fools.
Happy birthday! Hope it’s FAB.
[The first time I lived in the UK was pre-McDonalds, believe it or not. After six weeks in Stratford I went to London and nearly killed myself leaping off the bus into the first Pizza Hut I saw. I cannot now throw stones at Taco Bell…]
@Morris, yes: Life, the universe and everything. The answer is 42!
@Morris: @Volgirl004: Fortunately Primo and Firefly should be able to deal with any white mice that might show up.
@RG:
If the white mice show up, methinks they will depart the scene rather quickly..
Happy Birthday! I hope you get the job!
Happy Birthday Ms. Lukis! May all your tacos be greasy and your puppies less stinky than normal!
Happy birthday! Good luck with the job.
I love your dogs.
Congratulations! You have managed not to make a fatal mistake for 42 straight years. It’s really quite remarkable that anyone pulls this off, ever. Just surviving the toddler years, surrounded by automobiles and electric outlets, is a minor miracle.
A very happy birthday to you! And, my ardent wishes that all your wishes may come true.
You and your dog pictures are truly a joy for the rest of the internets and humanity in general. Thank you for moving back so you can blog more.
Happy Birthday! Best wishes on the job front too.
I was promised shotguns, and am very disappointed in you, young lady.
(Happy birthday!)
Happy Birthday! I can’t tell you how much joy the dog pictures and your commentary bring my life, Rachel.
So Happy Birthday. You should watch the Dr Who episode “42” today. Because 42.
@Morris: dang it! That was going to be MY line. ;-(
What I meant to say was Happy Birthday ( and many happy returns of the day!) I too am looking for work, so best wishes.
@plum:
Plum, I’m just surprised no one beat *me* to it. I mean, it was such an obvious line I couldn’t resist.
Happy Birthday, Rachel! Best of luck, I hope you get that job. I enjoyed your posts from Europe but I’m glad you’re back home
I had to give up on Mexican food, the real thing. I worked in East Los Angeles for many years and I went to the real places and drank Dos Equis Beer with it. Then I looked down at my expanding belly one day and realized I was starting to wear all that Mexican food.
The last time I ate at Taco Bell was ten years ago in, of all places Winnipeg, Canada. It was good, tasted like it does here (as I remembered it.) I had taken pictures of my Grandfathers old home and saw it a couple of blocks west on Portage Avenue. It was funny to think what he would have thought of Mexican food in Winnipeg.
Well, I wouldn’t worry about colon cancer or dementia. Farts, maybe! Anyway , again, Happy Birthday.
Happy Birthday Rachl Lukis!
The thing I love about the top picture, is when is was Sunny and Maggie (PBUThem) in that sort of picture with Sunny in the background, the obvious tagline was SOON. No creep factor whatsoever in this picture with Signore Primo, Esq. and Miss Firefly. Primo is too polite for creep factor.
Rachel, I go offline for a few days and miss your birthday. So belated happiness wishes and all. And it’s good to have you celebrating back in this country.
Word. And if you’re ever in my neck of the woods, I’ll buy you some low-quality ground beef and beer to wash it down. Although that combination does tend to repeat on a brutha and sista, if you catch my meaning.
Thanks, everybody, for all the birthday wishes!!
@Morris: Hahahahahahah. Well played, sir. Well played.
@maya: I know! Primo is incapable of looking menacing. Firefly can definitely look menacing but I can never get her to allow Primo between me and herself because she’s such an attention whore.
Happy Birthday!
@Lucy: I think Rachel may have a job for him in her organization.
Happy Birthday, Rachel! Eat tacos (and anything else you want)!. Glad you’re back in ‘Murrica, eating MExican food, petting your dogs, and married to Rupert (NHRN)! Missed you while you were away on furrin soil!
BTW, we moved to northern Arizona at the end of this previous May, along with 6 cats (one of whom has since wandered off). I took my MT job with me. The a-hole boss abruptly terminated me a few months after moving, and I have finally just gotten hired for a new MT job. Beware of small towns–the job hunting absolutely SUCKS! I wish we’d gone to Phoenix insteadd, and in fact I would eventually lke to move down to the Phoenix area in a couple of years.
‘Murica. Who doesn’t love Taco Hell?
Happy belated birthday! I’m a bad blog reader because I don’t check very often. However, I had a mental of Chuck Norris Action Jeans yesterday after I read a review of some pants that said, “full gusseted crotch.” Here’s hoping you had a great birthday of wearing pants that don’t bind your legs.
Ms, Lucas, I wanted to know about your opinion on aggressive dogs.
As you well, know a HERO CAT, rescued a little boy from a mutt.
Do you hold the owners accountable only?
Or is the dog way too comfortable attacking people and he should be sanctioned somehow?
I am asking because even though you are dog lover, I know that you do not love all dogs EQUALLY.
I actually got into a “debate” about this on Facebook, where I posted the video. What I wrote there and will say here is that the dog should be shot immediately and the owners sued, and that I would expect nothing less if one of my dogs attacked a little boy like that.
I love dogs, but I have no problem eliminating the ones who can maim and kill children. Just like I love people, except for the ones that rape, kill, etc.
(Oh and the reason for the “debate” that ensued was that one of my friends said the dog looked like a pit, and that she hates pits, and other people got defensive about that, and it devolved into a discussion about pits and whether or not they are worse than other dogs. I say they are. Some of my friends say they’re not.)
Well, glad to see you and Supert and hte puppies are bak in ‘Murrica and eating Mexican food again.
Somebody mentioned a job–are you working nowadays and, if so, doing what? the botom has abou allen ou o the meial transcription industry and jobs are pretty hard to come by. So, if you’re not working doing MT any longer and you’re still able to eat, consider yourself lucky. We just applied for food stamps.
@Pam Maltzman
Hang in there…Much better luck to you.
Richard, thanks for your kind words and good wishes. As a matter of fact, I am going to be taking a transcription test tonight.
I did well on the transcription test (I think); will know in a few days whether or not I get hired. I’m still good at medical transcription.