Happy 50th Birthday, my love

In preparation for Michael's 50th birthday today, I asked him to finish the following word groupings.  They came from an old Amex advertising campaign where famous people did the same.  As I said in the note to him, I wish I had done it 20 years ago so we could compare. I was not thar sharp though.  I am posting his responses with his permission.

If any readers would like to comment back with their list, feel free.  A little reflection is good for the soul whether it is your birthday or not.

Childhood dream - to be an architect

Fondest memory - Bills beating KC Chiefs in the 1993 AFC Championship game.  (I was living in KC at the time and flew back to Buffalo to see the game.)  The following game however, not so memorable.

Favorite Soundtrack - The Big Chill

Retreat - any beach

Wildest dream - trip around the world, mostly to places without a lot of other tourists.

Proudest moment - Not one moment but overall, my long term friendships and marriage

Biggest challenge - being patient.

Alarm clock - try to avoid them, find them to be a barbaric and unnatural way to wake up

Perfect day - Family and Friends sitting around a villa in Tuscany eating great food and drinking great wine

First job - dishwasher at Bonanza Steakhouse

Indulgence - 2001 SLK Mercedez (yes, my last indulgence was 12  years ago)

Last purchase - root canal (proving my point above)

Favorite movie - To Kill a Mockingbird, (a close 2nd is: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)

Inspiration - You don't want to get me going about the over use of that word (I will sound like a grumpy old man)

My life...is a little over half done, so far I think it's going good.