Neil enters the thirtysomethings…

In all honesty, Neil’s 30th birthday was actually last Saturday, but since we were floating on the river to celebrate, I didn’t get a chance to write him a proper birthday post. So here is my pictorial ode to Neil, replete with some random things you may not know about him.

Neil was in a band in high school. They weren’t around long enough to have a name, but I’m pretty sure Nirvana was their biggest inspiration — in both music and appearance. PS – He’s growing his hair out!

Neil has been working in IT since he was 15! While most of us were slinging burgers and fries or manning the cash register, he was already working for a bonafide IT department with people twice his age.

Neil grew up mostly vegetarian. His mom was health conscious before it was the cool thing to do. They had livestock, including goats, and produced nearly all their own food. He literally did not taste chocolate or red meat until he was in his teens. The result? He loves red meat, but hates chocolate. If you were ever wondering why there aren’t a lot of sweets or decadent chocolate desserts on this blog, it’s because Neil won’t eat them. Want to ruin his birthday? Bake him a chocolate cake. Lesson learned.

Neil often says that if he owned a restaurant, it would serve nothing but deviled eggs and hot wings. He insists it’s a solid business model — I’m not so sure.

And finally, Neil is obsessed with memes. He latches on to these little bits of pop culture far before they hit the mainstream. He is constantly on Reddit and every night even though we are sitting right next to one another, he messages them to me like he did when we were dating long distance. Speaking of which…

Can you believe it’s been two years!? I definitely married my best friend and partner in everything. I can’t wait to spend our thirties together!