Blush… :hat:

Actually, it was about as unbirthdaylike as a day can be.  After getting in last night following my meeting in Baltimore, I crashed out. 

Slept fitfully, though, due to the pinched nerve/sore neck/whatever that continues unrelieved since it appeared a couple of weeks ago (yes, prior to my trip).  Ibuprofen just ain’t cuttin’ it. 

Rolled out of bed and into the fast-day that is Yom Kippur ... nothing eaten all day. Went to take a shower and the spring in the shower curtain bar snapped, sending curtain and liner crashing to the ground.

Broke the fast at my sister’s house, but not with a special meal or a birthday cake.  No, I was keeping an eye on my nephew while sister and b-i-l went to the theater, and the kid and I shared a pizza.

Birthday, schmirthday.

Well that’s kinda sucky. I hope your sis and b-i-l make amends today.  If it helps, I was thinking big birthday cake with yummy icing and lots of candles. ;)

Sorry to hear about your neck. You didn’t say anything about it while you were here. I could have nuked some wash cloth compresses and it might have temporarily helped. All that luggage lugging and the unnatural seating arrangements on airplanes probably didn’t help you any. I hope it gets better soon. Maybe see a doc?

Oh yeah, all that stuff has undoubtedly contributed to the extended timeframe of discomfort.  That’s why I’m not yet thinking seriously about seeing a doc—I’m hoping that a week or so without the added insults of travel, unfamiliar beds, and lugging around a laptop will settle it down.

I didn’t complain because it’s not at a sufficiently severe level to really, really affect things.  The pain is just there much of the time, without ever getting THERE to seriously limit me.  I can tolerate this level of discomfort without a huge effect, at least for a while. 

I don’t know whether warm cloths or cold compresses or whatever would have helped much, but if I’d been really suffering instead of tolerating it, I would have thrown myself at your mercy.

Maybe my pain threshold is higher than others.

Happy Birthday, guy.  I’ve had that pain; in my case it’s a nerve whose channel is temporarily pinched under the shoulder blade, the docs tell me.  It recurs every few years, and exercise (just rotating the shoulder) seems to make it go away eventually.