Happy Birthday to Kelly.

Day three of the birthday festivities. Although there are no festivities. What's wrong with us? If only we were celebrities. We would get cute clothes gifted to us, clubs catering to us and gift bags. We would leave the house for that. Because you've gotta love the gift bags. But you would have to get them to love them, I suppose. Which goes back to being celebrities. And I make too many mistakes to have photographers follow me. And I suck as an actress. Another thing to take under consideration. Although I could entertain the photographers, I suppose. I've never spent time with someone who has not been entertained.

So today. It's Kelly's bday. And I'm sick. Can barely move. My allergies and sinuses have incapacitated me. Which happens sometimes. And I hate it. I look bad. Feel bad. And hurt all over. No motrin. No amount of baths can help. Kelly understands because she's a celiac-- which means she's allergic to wheat. And that really sucks, too. The same thing happens to her. Well, kind of. Just with hives and stomach pains. Okay, so it's different. But we both suffer. She does the bath thing, too. So that's the same. Luckily she doesn't feel so bad allergy-wise today. But me? In short, I made for a not so cheerful roommate offering birthday cheer. I tried. But sick people are so rarely cheerful. Perhaps a toe touch would help. Get it? Cheerleader offering cheer? See, this is why sick people should just lie there and be sick.

Anyway, this will inevitably be one of those blog entries I rewrite. Because Kelly deserves a healthy blog. And I'm not. She also deserves a healthy year. A happy year. A stupendous year! Whatever year last year was... I can't remember... crow, dragon, firefly? Well, it didn't work for so many of us. She. Well, it was a lot worse for her than a lot of other people.

First was the robbery in her store, and a rape (at the same time) of one of her employees. The trial was just a few weeks ago and the guy got life for kidnapping, rape and burglary. Still. That kind of thing isn't the kind of thing you just get over with a few massages and a couple of nights out with the girls. It was a big deal. And still is. And it wasn't made easier by the fact that Kelly's partner in the business was nowhere to be found. I guess having a baby will do that to a girl. Well, some girls. But. Still. That's not okay. To do that to a girl who's your partner and is the one holding all the responsibility for a business and a situation. It's not fair. But what is fair? Really?

The thing about Kelly is that all that stuff that was going on was happening in tandem with things in her personal life. With her marriage. And still, she managed to be an amazing friend. So when people bow out for far lesser things, I say call them on their shit. Because you know what? If she can be there and support the people she loves, believe in the people she loves and still deal with her own problems? Then you know... not only is she a remarkable person, but the kind of person, the kind of friend worth aspiring to be. And alot of people don't. Aspire to be much to other people when things are hard in their own lives.

In case you haven't noticed, there is a common denominator in my life. As odd as I may seem, as trying as I may make my life, my friends haven't had it much easier. They're all truly amazing people who have experienced the ups and downs in life as much as I have. In all of its sadness and pain. Suicides, deaths, rapes, burgaries, divorce. There's no one skating here. And the amazing thing? No one is falling down, either.

Look, I know I look like a catastrophe oftentimes. And in some ways I am. But like Romy always says to me, if you saw me on the street, you'd never know it. So I guess, in other ways, I'm not. I don't give up. Ever. I never will. I do learn. Eventually. There's a ton of shit that's happened to me in my life that is not suitable for a blog that has made me this way. And the same goes for 99.9% of the democratic population and 100% of my friends. And I have to process it. To get through it. I would love to be -- as I call it-- "fit for human consumption"-- all the time. But there are lots of times I'm not. And how you're raised is alot of what makes you feel that way. And how you handle it is a big part of the rest of it. There was a lot of stuff I just didn't get. Basic stuff. And it breaks my heart. Because even I see the potential in me. Much like Kelly has.

Living with Kelly has taught me alot. She has a very solid family. And I see what a difference that's made with her. In how she reacts to things. In what she believes. But she hasn't skated, so she gets it. She's never shied away from anyone in pain. She's always been a sincere cheerleader. She's always believed. She's a rock. I know that by knowing her, I am blessed. Because she works it both ways. The bad and the good. She can process all. Handle all.

And for her birthday. For this next year? I wish Kelly no more pain. Just love. Love in the best sense of the word. Prosperity. And no more worry. Because as a good friend has said to both of us, "worry is negative prayer." Happy Birthday, Nutball!