Favorite way to celebrate your birthday (dinner with family? party with friends? a day in solitude?) I prefer to go to a special restaurant with the Scientist and perhaps family and a few close friends. The older I get, the less interested I am in having a big party.
2. "You say it's your birthday... it's my birthday too, yeah..." Do you share your birthday with someone famous? (Click here to find out!)
Well, I already knew I shared my birthday with Mikhail Gorbachev...and at one time, it was a point of particular pride to me that John Cowsill and I were born on EXACTLY THE SAME DAY. Now I find that among my other birthday buddies are Lou Reed, Jon Bon Jovi, and Laraine Newman--not to mention Daniel Craig, the new Bond.
My dad and I nearly were birthday buddies, as his was the day after mine. The story goes that shortly before I was born at around 7:30 P.M., Mama asked Daddy if she should try to hold on until midnight. He assured her that would not be necessary.
3. "Lordy Lordy look who's forty..."Milestone birthdays: a) just like any other birthday--they're just numbers, people. b) a good opportunity to look back/take stock c) enjoy the black balloons--I'll be hiding under a pile of coats until the day is over d) some combination of the above, or something else entirely.
Mostly (b), I guess, but probably more (d). I received the full black-balloon treatment for 30 and 40, and enjoyed it. But for 50, this past year, I wanted something quieter and more intimate. The Scientist and I went to Big Bend and the surrounding area for a week, and enjoyed hiking and just hanging out in the beautiful West Texas desert. We had my birthday dinner in a very chic little restaurant in Marfa, an odd little town that is a bit full of itself but should not be missed if you have any interest in contemporary art, or like to hang out in cool bookstores. I am bursting with more West Texas travel tips, which I will gladly provide on request. :)
The Scientist's 50th birthday and our silver wedding anniversary will both be this year. We plan to celebrate this spring with three weeks in Italy!!
4. "Happy birthday, dear... Customer..."Have you ever been sung to in a restaurant? Fun or cringe-worthy?
Horrors!! I hate it!! When I turned 24, the gentleman I was seeing at the time took me to a very elegant and, in those days, well-known Houston restaurant where peacocks roamed the manicured grounds amid the azaleas, and the food and service were impeccable. Not the sort of place where one would expect a birthday serenade. But when the maitre d' found out it was my birthday, he offered to have all of the waiters come and sing. I begged him PLEASE PLEASE not to do that. At the end of the meal he came over by himself, gave me a mint, and sang "Happy Birthday", very quietly. That was OK.
5. "Take my birthday--please"Tell me one advantage and one disadvantage about your particular birthday (e.g. birthday in the summer--never had to go to school; birthday near Christmas--the dreaded joint presents)
EDITED TO ADD: This could also simply be something you like/dislike about your birthday (e.g. I like sharing a birthday with my best friend, etc.).
The only disadvantage to my birthday is that it almost always falls during Lent, when I am usually attempting to abstain from alcohol and refined sugar. I confess that I have been known to grant myself a special dispensation for that one day.
5 comments:
I'm a total believer in self-granted special dispensations.
I'd also love to know some of your west texas travel tips. I've lived in the Northern half of the west all my life, but never explored Big Bend.
morning,z
a quick thought....my birthday often falls on mother's day, once a very painful experience. now, i resent the great outpouring of affection focused merely on one day. solution, birthday week...and being greeted as "the queen mum" accompanied with the traditional wave. works for me
Bohemia!
My birthday falls on Labor Day weekend pretty much every year. I spend my birthday telling everyone "You're welcome" for giving them the Monday off. And, of course, I do require beneficit reciprocity.
Hi Rach--Alpine is a wonderful little town with a great microbrewery/German restaurant, and the best breakfast burritos ever at a little hole in the wall called Alicia's Burrito Place. The best fried pies ever are at Shirley's Burnt Biscuit Bakery in Marathon.(Reminder to self: focus on something other than food once in a while.) And the most beautiful hike I ever took was into Big Bend's Santa Elena Canyon. E-mail me if you would like much much more (Mindy has my address).
Crosswick! Hi kiddo!! Thanks for commenting. Birthday week is an excellent idea. Boh! HE-mia!
PG, I remembered something similar about my birthday; it falls on Texas Independence Day, so when I worked for the state I (and everyone else, of course)always had the day off!
Hey birthday girl, where are you?
Good play. Late comment.
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