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Birthday Oddities

Outside of the cheesy work cubicle-balloon-ribbon decorations and a communal birthday card signed "calm down" by half my Department, my birthday was rather quiet. In fact i wanted just to stay home and order Thai Food but my parents insisted that we at least go out to dinner. I didn't want to be a party pooper so i conceded. Sort of an oddity for me because its the only birthday celebration since i turned 15 that didn't involve any alcohol consumption. I even requested specifically that i didn't get the corny restaurant-bday-song treatment. But still, you would expect me to at least have one brew... I mean i had a beer at noon the previous Saturday at the JP Morgan Chase Open Tennis Tournament in Carson before i had anything to eat for crying out loud...

Not that i am starved for attention but on the eve of my birthday i thought about who would greet me first on my birthday. Predictably enough, none of the people who got faked out and greeted me on my Myspace and Friendster birthdays, bothered greeting me again haha. Understandable i guess... Then there were the usual suspects, the dear friends and family who, year after year, despite my negligence of their birthdays, never fail to greet me on my day of birth. Well anyway, the first soul to greet me, was my recent ex-girlfriend who knows my cell number like its her own Social Security Number (... just kidding) even though we've been apart for nearly 3 years now. She sounded a bit too morose for someone leaving a birthday voicemail though-- like she was just going through the motions... That or she just woke up. But no matter, i'm glad that some people are still conventional in their ways. Most people in this modem day and age of the Internet are only too intent with Electronic Greeting Cards or emails. Very impersonal if you ask me. I've been guilty of that myself, but who hasn't?

Truthfully, i really don't mind the impersonal greetings. They're better than the "what are ya doing for your birthday" phone calls. Especially the people who can not help but make birthday-idea suggestions. "Why don't you throw your party at a Club?" or something ridiculous like that. At least the impersonal electronic greeting, although concise, are purposeful and does not risk the chance of a prolonged monotonous conversation. You know what i mean? Birthdays are very special days and a phone call on this special day makes perhaps the most eloquent of all greetings. But the very long conversations about the boring birthday-ideas is just overrated... Heck i am 31, i don't need birthday ideas from a 22 year old kid whose ideas are limited to Highlands or Century Club anyway. I like Gerry's idea "Its your Birthday on Wednesday, nice, Strip Club man, lemme know, i'm down". Not exactly an eloquent birthday greeting but i take it as subliminal. Furthermore Electronic Greetings are fun. It allows for creativity, and best yet, procures conviction. At least more conviction than the hasty to-go text-only email.

Posted by: Marc Gabay
Friday, August 18, 2006