We shall unity, we shall!
Anyways, update time!
So I went out to dinner Friday night to one of my favorite Chinese restaurants (great dumplings there!) and then got to have nice food out for Saturday as well (which I'll explain shortly). I got cards from both grandparents, the promise of a nice set of headphones from my mom and a gift card/card from my dad and family.
Then, for the evening I got to go to a Japanese steak and sushi place. I hadn't been to one in ages, so it was a nice treat. (Got to have my favorite kind of steak, so I was happy!). After my brother told them it was my birthday (which I absolutely deplore...it makes me quite embarrassed in public), I recieved a piece of cheesecake and a genuine pair of chopsticks from Kyoto, which the restaurant presented me with.
...very cool, btw. They were red with rabbits hand-painted on them. ;0
Now, for why so many places out, etc.
My dad and mom are divorced and as such...dad doesn't have mom go out to dinner for birthdays, etc with us. So, in order to still have birthdays with dinner, (which is a normal tradition for us - and now that my dad lives in the same town that we do), we have a dinner with each parent to celebrate.
My dad also normally tends to "show up" my mom by trying to "out-do" whatever she gets us for our birthdays/holidays, so it normally turns out to be a giant "Oh look! We got you a Wii while your mom got you a video game" or something to that effect. (Note, I just made up the example)
But, I normally feel that my mom gives the gifts that mean more and tend to be "more from the heart" then just throwing something expensive at us.
...anyways, I disgress. Two different parents with 2 completely different money situations (aka my dad is a regional sales manager, my mom's a school secretary) tends to lead to messed up philosophies at times.
But, I overall had a great birthday (minus about an hour for a minor panic attack after lunch) and I got to go visit/play with puppies at my old workplace, so it was a great day.
Thanks again to everyone for their well-wishes and I'm so happy that people remembered...you all helped make this birthday one of the best I've had in awhile.