the greatest week of the year!

There are three different events that make this (in my humble opinion) the greatest week of the year:

1. St. Patrick's Day - you don't need to be Irish to enjoy and celebrate one of our best holidays. Really, what's not to like about St. Patty's Day, other than the overly-crowded bars and too many drunk drivers on our roads.   I look forward to celebrating St. Patrick's Day by eating some corned beef hash and drinking an ice cold beer at Clancy's Irish Pub in Wheat Ridge, CO.  If I were still living in St. Paul, I would most likely be celebrating at O'Gara's Bar and Grill.  Irish Drinking Toast: Here's to our wives and girlfriends...may they never meet!   
2. My birthday - I don't selfishly look forward to my birthday every year for the presents, recognition and all, but rather for the simple fact that I get to celebrate another year of living....another year of being so blessed with great health, a wonderful wife, loving pets, a stable and steady career, a fabulous family and super friends.  In this crazy world, I feel more fortunate than ever to observe yet another birthday.  This year = #33.  Cheers!
3. March Madness - combine my favorite sport with three weeks of "win-or-go-home" game after game (tourney style) and the result is the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, more commonly known as March Madness.  With lots of upsets, bracket pools and illegal gambling, everybody loves the tourney and anxiously looks forward to the insane madness that consistently happens year after year.  Two of my favorite teams, Wisconsin and Arizona, were supposedly the last two bubble teams granted an invitation to the Big Dance, and I predict that both will win their 1st round games.  Other than that, I won't make any bold predictions, other than to guarantee that I'll enjoy every minute of the action.  So make sure to fill out your bracket, wager a few bucks and actively take part in the beginning of March Madness.  Go Badgers, Cats & Zags!

Although it's only one week of the year, I'm pretty sure that the other 51 throughout 2009 won't measure up to this week (March 15 - March 21).  Enjoy!  I know I will.