Why thank you! That's awfully nice of you. Actually it's just about midnight on the 17th here, so it is and has been a great birthday. Ate Domino's pizza, which is a really rare treat for me, and spent time with good friends. I was in the States in August visiting my parents in Seattle, but I only got to spend about a day in Minneapolis on my way to visit relatives in Fargo, so I didn't get to see anybody. Are you still working the night shift?

Yup, still on the night shift, although they've switched me to Sunday through Thursday instead of Monday through Friday. It's only been a few weeks now, but I find this to be a definite improvement. I might even start dropping by shul on the occasional Friday evening, now that I don't have to hurry in to work afterward!