Happy Birthday to me! And what's my gift from TDC? Lockdown!
I really can't think of a worse way to spend a birthday than on lockdown in prison. This is definitely the worst I've had. And I get at least four more days in my cell all day long.
On the bright side, I had all day to read and write with the only interruptions coming from having to face away from my cellmate as he used the toilet five feet away and from forcing him to do the same when I took a restroom break. Ah, the joys of lockdown.
The day was much brighter when I received my mail for the day: seven birthday cards! Thank you to everyone who sent a card. That was an incredible show of love and I really appreciate it. And, like I said in my last posting, I will be out next year, which should save y'all some postage. That's worth looking forward to.
Tonight's birthday celebration wasn't as good as last year's - less food, less friends, and self-funded - but it was still alright. I made a cheesecake-ish pie and my "famous" orange chicken and rice. The pie slices were spread to many guys in the dorm while the orange chicken and rice was split with West.I made the pie by mixing powdered milk, powdered whipped topping and orange fruit drink. The crust was crushed vanilla wafers with a layer of chocolate syrup and flattened pieces of candy orange slices. The milk mixture went on top in a gooey consistency and thickened to a kind of dry cheesecake. All the different textures worked very well with each other, and I ate almost half the pie on my own. :-)
The orange chicken and rice was made with my "orange slices in barbecue sauce" recipe and turned out quite well, too. For the first time, West ate his whole serving on his own, but maybe he was just hungry.
The best thing about this birthday, though, is that it will be my last in prison. Even if parole is taken for some reason, my sentence ends in June and there is no way to keep me here any longer. Next year I will be able to celebrate in freedom with family and friends and that's worth celebrating in itself.
Birthdays in prison are usually quite melancholy events. No one around knows or cares, and those that do are the friends and family you can't celebrate with. However, this year I have looked forward to my birthday for several weeks. This year is different because i have two friends here who do care and pulled together a special meal for me.
My day got off to a good start with a visit from my parents. It was the first time in over a month I have seen them and I was ready to see their faces again. My mom even brought a special treat - fizzy Skittles. That was something. I'd never tried. I guess that was the theme for the day: something new.
A couple weeks ago OJ and Omar asked what I wanted to eat for my birthday. Now, commissary doesn't have a very extensive selection, so I said I would just go with a normal prison pizza topped with BBQ beef as the meat. That was something I'd never had before. For dessert, I told them I would make a pie of my own creation. The crust was graham cracker with cocoa and peanut butter mixed in. The bottom of the crust was glazed with chocolate syrup and covered with candy orange slices. Chocolate pudding with peanut butter made the filling and the top was dressed with crushed Chick-o-Stick. It turned out better than I expected, a good mix of flavor.
I was surprised with the handmade cards that had been signed by a few friends in the dorm. That was beyond what I had imagined possible here. On my birthday, I am thankful for the many blessings that God has given me, especially friends who go out of their way to make this day extraordinary.
I had a great visit today from a couple of friends from my parents' church. They came once last year and we have been writing each other the whole time I've been in prison. It was really cool to see them. I don't get to talk with solid people older than me other than my parents. It's so good to just hang out, talking about life and plans even if it is over a phone through a glass wall.
I told them about all the recent trouble I've had in the dorm and how it's pretty much gone now. They were encouraged about my plans for school and parole, although I'm still not sure how it will come together. But, if I've learned one thing in the past month, it's that God looks after His children.
It has been such a blessing to have friends who continue to keep in contact with me. I love hearing how things are going out there. I was humbled by all the love shown to me through letters and cards on my birthday last week and I pray that God returns it all to everyone in blessings of their own.
My sleep this morning was abruptly cut short when one of the sergeants woke me up to tell me to meet him in the hallway. There were only two reasons I could think of for why I was called out and neither of them were likely. The first was that I had a disciplinary case. I couldn't remember doing anything worth a case or being confronted by any guards, so that was probably out. The other was that the mailroom had read letters I had sent out about the dorm situation with the rumors and they were going to move me for my safety - a stupid move because it would look far worse if I moved like that.
I groggily put my clothes on and stumbled into the hallway with blank expectations and a lot of anxiety. The sergeant told me to wait in line with some other guys. He called us into a room one by one. My fears were relieved when the first guy came out and said it was a urine test. Ha! I'm probably the least likely guy to fail a urine test, but whatever. It's easy.
So that was my first and lesser birthday gift of the day. The second was an unexpected visit from my mom. I had some friends who were planning to come but wrote to say they wouldn't make it, so I as expecting a normal weekend. What a blessing to be called out for a visit right as I laid down to go back to sleep! I am so grateful for the friends and family who have made the effort to make my birthday and incarceration more enjoyable.
