I’ve never really had a real birthday party before. I mean, I had a bunch when I was a little kid. The usual deal. Chuck-E-Cheese, Sports World, rollerskating, etc. But once you hit a certain age, your parents stop taking you and your friends to fancy, exotic places like Bowcraft, and start substituting Dunkin Donuts munchkins or cupcakes for your class. Then, that starts to disappear, and birthdays slowly become just like any other day, with the exception of the occasional awesome present.

When I turned 21, I had a serious throw down at my buddy Joel’s apartment near Philadelphia on his b’day, October 24th, with plans to party late into the next day. On the way to partying on the 25th, the car broke down, and we spent my 21st birthday at a Pep Boys. The night before was at least awesome though.

This year, living in a city on my own, I decided to do things differently, especially since I was hitting the big, scary two-five.

Lots of my friends came in for some serious partying from all over. I spent the greater part of Friday getting things ready and spending time with my girlfriend, who surprised me by making some amazing monster cupcakes with my roommate Tess.

They were insanely delicious. More photos soon.

When the night hit on Saturday, lots of great friends from home and college, a few new ones from Philadelphia, my rockin’ roommates, and my lovely girlfriend all came out to dress up in costumes, eat lots of snacks, and drink all of my Arbor Mist. The original plan was to bar hop around Old City, but as more people poured into the apartment, everyone was just way too comfortable. And that was just fine with me.

I was heavily dedicated to my costume as Thorny from Super Troopers. So much so that my roommate and I downed half a bottle of maple syrup, just to see who was, in the almighty words of Thorny, “all that is man.” The answer? My roommate. Man that stuff was gross.

The Halloween costume contest was won, hands down, by my friends Darlene and Cristina. They dressed as Naomi Campbell (Cristina on the right) beating up her executive assistant (Darlene on the left) with her cell phone. We captured an action shot, and Darlene had a fabulous black eye painted on. Good job guys!

A lot of my friends were telling me that this is the golden birthday and therefore, the golden year, since I turned 25 on the 25th. So, here is to making this an amazing year. I already know I’ll be finished with my MFA and my second book, so lets see what else can get added to that list.

Life is good.

Here’s to another good year.

Want to see more? Take a look at the Flickr account, and prepare to smile.