Blogging about one's own birthday is dodgy territory. On one hand, you've got your blog, which is all about you. Then on the other hand, you've got your birthday, which is also all about you. Writing about your birthday on your blog, you run the risk of creating such a powerful vortex of you-ness that it sucks you up and spits you out into another dimension filled with other yous, not unlike that "Malkovich Malkovich" scene in Being John Malkovich.
Unless you're me, in which case none of that occurs and all that happens is that you experience a vague, blushing sense of shame in pimping your special day so egregiously.
But you're not me, so on your birthday, make sure you announce it on your site so that you can see what happens. And be sure to let me know, because I want a front-row seat for the vortex and the other dimension and the whathaveyou.
I'm pretty excited, because Rusty took the trouble of procuring young Master Sam's FIRST BABYSITTER EVER so that we can go out for a nice dinner tonight. It's not that Sam doesn't know how to comport himself in fine dining establishments. He does. But he gets restless after the entree, so we never get dessert. And I'd kind of like dessert this time.
To end things on a bookish note AND a birthday-ish note, can I share with you the fact that my all-time favourite Winnie-the-Pooh story is "Eeyore Has a Birthday"? It's about Eeyore's birthday and how Pooh and Piglet each try to give him a special present and everything goes wrong but then everything turns out okay after all. It may be the best short story ever written for children, and quite possibly a contender for best short story ever. If you've never read it, you really should. Do it for me. Because it's my bthuthdy.
20 comments:
Happy Birthday! Don't worry about seeming self-pimping just because you happened to mention that today is the day you arrived on this planet. Hell, I start talking about my birthday on April 1, the actual birthday is April 12th, and we end up celebrating for about a week. Because it IS all about ME and anyone who doesn't like that can build a staircase and get over it.
Besides, a birthday is the closest thing most of us will ever get to a holiday devoted only to ourselves!
Many happy returns and enjoy your kid-free dinner on the town!
Happy birthday!
Happiest of birthdays and many happy returns!
Have a great birthday. Tell the sitter, "Put the kid to bed early, I'm coming home loaded." I would.
Happy birthday! No worries about the self-absorbed vortex - birthdays are all about you. Or at least, that's the way I like to think about them. And definitely get dessert tonight. I decided a few years ago that life was too short NOT to have cake and champagne on your birthday.
Yay...Happy Birthday!
Many happy returns of the day!
That story is my favorite ever. I always cry like a baby when I read it, in fact I'm tearing up now just thinking about it. It really is such a great story on so many levels. It is my greatest desire to end up with not only friends who would support me the way Pooh and Piglet support Eeyore, but to also be able to see it and be so easily contented as Eeyore is by it.
Love that story so much. Love all the Pooh stories so much.
Happy Birthday, DG! May your Saturday morning involve sleeping in.
And Rachel, 'build a staircase and get over it'? Genius
Happy birthday!
I'm going to be flying across the country with a baby on my birthday, but maybe I'll post the day before.
Happy, happy birthday!!!! I'm so glad you shared! Somehow, your birthday has made my day. Enjoy enjoy!! :-)
It's your birthday! Happy, happy birthday! I always refer to mine as Future National Holiday myself, so you can see how lightly I take it. I haven't been sucked up by the vortex of me-ness yet, so there's more than hope for you.
I love Eeyore. Don't know the story, but poor Eeyore.
go shorty, it's your birthday
gonna party like it's your birthday
go..go..go...
meet you in da club
Happy birthday! If it makes you feel better, I posted all sorts of little-me pictures on my birthday.
Happy Birthday :-)
Eeyore's birthday story makes later efforts, such as when he's bounced into the river by Tigger and Pooh decides to splash him out by throwing a large rock in the water, all the more hilarious.
Happy birthday!
hello, and happy birthday!
i've been reading your site for a while and i really enjoy your reviews and writing. thought your b-day would be a good time to delurk!
have a good one!
oh, and i'll definitely check out that eeyore story for my baby girl!
~Cheney
Awww... thanks for the birthday wishes, everybody. I feel all warm and smushy now.
Can I tell you that we had an AWESOME dinner out? Despite having to wait almost half an hour for a table (a lot of Vancouver restaurants no longer take reservations because Vancouverites are so goddamned flaky and think nothing of showing up 45 minutes late for dinner. You people know who you are, and you're the reason why I had to do this dumb first-come-first-served thing on MY BIRTHDAY, curse you!), we didn't really mind, which is somewhat out of character for us, I have to admit. We stood at the bar and had drinks and giggled like giddy schoolkids who've just cut class.
And the food! The FOOD, people! The restaurant is a tapas place, and we ordered so many dishes that we actually faked out our server, who thought we must be done ordering and started to turn away, when in fact all that had happened was that I'd paused to take a breath before continuing to order. Ha!
And then we ate everything that came near our table, PLUS we ordered dessert, and then the kitchen ran out of food and the restaurant declared bankruptcy because they were sued by all the people who'd also ordered meals but didn't get them because we got there first.
Okay, some of that didn't happen.
So now I'm thirty-six years and one day old, or, as my younger sister likes to put it, I'm in my thirty-seventh year. So far, so good.
A very happy belated bookish birthday to youuuu!
A belated happy birthday to you!! Your celebrations sounds awesome (being a bit of a foodaholic myself, I enjoyed the image).
Many happy returns!
Hi! I'm delurking to say happy birthday a few days late-- I couldn't be bothered to read blogs on the third because that's my birthday too! And I have a blog about books too! And I'm mom too! Statistically, none of these things are particularly amazing coincidences. But I still used exclamation marks!
I enjoy your blog and to be honest it inspired me to start mine as a record of just where all those hours spent reading went. Many happy birthday returns and reading experiences.
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