Darn it. Upper-30s!!! No. Not the weather, which will be down in the low-20s. Upper-30s (37, specifically) is my new age category.

Yeah, I'm getting old. And feeling it. I'm sure I'll resume feeling youthful and carefree again soon...at least, as youthful and carefree as an uptight bureaucrat with a Puritan streak can be. But for now, I feel old.

As a creature of habit, I once again choose Fiddlesticks as the place for my birthday celebration. Why? First, for the last few years of my residency on West 12th Street, it was the closest bar to my apartment. More important, it is a pub. And by that I mean Fiddlesticks is what a pub should be -- big enough for a group, comfortable, decent beer selection, simple but tasty food, and lots of wood. A well-stocked wine cellar would be a pleasant addition, but not if it even nominally tainted the classic Irish Pub vibe. Finally, it is convenient, lying within a 5 minute walk of various subway lines.

• Where: Fiddlesticks
• Address: 54-58 Greenwich Avenue, at Perry (6th/7th Aves.)
• Time: 7pm
• Food: mostly Irish pub food...and Guinness
  
• URL: http://newyork.citysearch.com/customer_website/11359597
• Backup: Stoned Crow, 85 Washington Place (6th Ave./Wash. Square Park)

Sheckys Bar Guide describes Fiddlesticks perfectly: "It's welcoming, warm and friendly and they never run out of Guinness." See you there.