['it was my birthday the other day, and I was allowed to leave work early by my boss!', "Dang! That's awesome! Did you get any cool presents?", 'Funny that you should mention that, I actually did.  I got a few gift cards from co-workers and my boss.  i got a few things from my family as well.']
Wow that's really neat! What kind of gift cards did you get? Gift cards are always nice.
once, i was able to leave work early because it was my birthday