1. It lasts two days.
2. It starts with Kingfish's Macaroni and Cheese and Velvet Cake
3. It ends with a truly 'Dirty 30' experience: drinking whiskey at a seedy Portland bar with an afterthought stage while cheering the middle aged dancer working "Play That Funky Music" for all it's worth.
4. Insted of an inbox clogged with mailing lists and e-junk, it's filled for with birthday wishes from all over the world. 
5. If I had any childhood dreams that were left unanswered, I can now consider them complete. This includes racing around Toys R' US holding a sock-monkey, moonshoes, a giant stuffed puppy, Clue and a hula hoop while trying to pick one ( I got to keep two!) and finding out about the real live cello waiting for me in Seattle. 
6. Sharing the day with new and old birthday buddies - I didn't realize I had so many twinsies out there. June 1 is a busy day for babies in any year, and no wonder: we are pretty special ;-)
7. I discovered that my friends sometimes know me better than I know myself.
8. Did I mention i got a Cello, a silver sparkly hula hoop AND Clue. For my birthday. Srsly. How cool is that?
9. For a whole day (and a half) I forgot the soul crushing, tedious odessey  that has been the search for a job.
10. I realized that I am the most spoiled, loved, appreciated girl in the whole wide world. And I am grateful. If my mouth wasn't so full of cake I might have cried but that would be a pefectly awful waste of good cake, so I showed  the world my red velvet teeth and smiled instead.

NAME: Cullen Jones.

AGE: 24; born Feb. 29, 1984, in Bronx, N.Y. Lives in Raleigh, N.C.

IN THE NEWS: Swam third leg on victorious U.S. 400 meter freestyle relay team, becoming second African-American swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal after Anthony Ervin in 2000. 

BACKGROUND: Grew up in Irvington, N.J., and swam competitively for the Newark Swim Team at the John F. Kennedy Pool and Recreation Center; attended Newark's St. Benedict's Prep and North Carolina State University.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Became first African-American swimmer to hold a long course world record with the U.S. 400 meter freestyle relay team at the 2006 Pan Pacific Championships in Victoria, Canada (with 2008 Olympic team members Michael Phelps and Jason Lezak); won gold in the 400 free relay and finished second in the 50 meter freestyle at the 2007 World Championships.

MISCELLANEOUS: Promotes a nationwide program that funds swimming lessons for children in urban areas through partnership between Toyota and national YMCA; spurred by near-drowning incident at age 5 and recent statistics showing blacks ages 10-19 drown nearly three times more often than whites. 


Reprinted from Newsday