not so bad
well, somehow i made it through another dreaded birthday. this one was not so bad. i was definitely fretting and fretting about it for several weeks (ok, actually months) beforehand, but at some point i kinda clued in to the fact that it's not a fixed point in time, that i had already sort of become my next chronological age, esp. as this fits with my pretty fluid concept of time (8:55, 9:00, and 9:05 are all actually just 9:00 in my book... my book might even give leeway as far as 15 minutes in either direction. i know this makes the punctual among you angry & frustrated--for that, i am ever sorry...) so now all i had to do was accept it. i was still struggling, worried about all the stuff i have yet to do & accomplish, mourning all the stuff i never will, you know, the usual self-indulgent birthday-time under-performer thirty-something blues. and then i read a little 'back page of the magazine snippet' somewhere or other that said, 'how old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?' well, that pretty much summed it up for me right there--i wouldn't be nearly this old if i didn't know i was... so i'm just not. i may have a numerically-challenging age, but i'm not just not that old yet. so i'm trying to be more forgving & gentle with myself.
anyway, it was all made a lot easier yesterday by my family & friends & by j. he took me out for a lovely dinner at our favorite italian restaurant, and then had a surprise party waiting for me at his house when we got home. no one has ever thrown me a surprise birthday party before--it was so fantastic... so about 20 people came over (and they were so quiet, i was shocked at how i didn;t even hear them waiting in the dark) & it was so nice. we had champagne & cake (he stayed up til 2am the night before baking for me... <3 <3 <3...) & yummy appetizers & finger foods & baked brie pastry shell that i adore! i got 3 different bouquets of flowers and a funny checkerboard game that uses shot glasses for chips, and then we sat around playing fun games like 'taboo' & 'chutes & ladders'. after everyone went home i opened some gifts from j & my family--i got a beautiful new set of mouthblown champagne flutes and some shoes for my collection, plus a playstation game i've been wanting (kingdom hearts ii, anyone?!) and a cool glass jug for making my own infused vodka... it was really a lovely evening & it was so nice to have so many nice people who came over just for me, and did i mention how divine the buttercream frosting on my cake is? as far as birthdays go, this one was pretty good, and i feel so lucky to have a beau who is just so thoughtful and caring--especially when i know that advance planning is even less his strong suit than it is mine! i'm not saying i'm pushing for hext year to roll around quickly--it can take its sweet time, that's for sure, but if this is any indication of what future special occassions might be like with j, maybe i won't mind getting older as much as i think i will...
and on that note, gakked from eac, in honor of my own just-passed natal celebration, i will submit to the meme of the list of songs from the www.popculturemadness.com site for the year i turned 18... drumroll, please... (i had the same struggle as others i've read about whether i liked it then or like it now... i'm going with songs that have stood the test of time... i mean, what did i know about taste when i was 18?! although it's interesting that some things which i *didn't* like back then i now do, if only for the kitsch value or sentimental reasons... things even out, i guess. lastly, geez, what a lot of synthesized schmaltz... *sigh*)
1. Love Shack - B-52's
2. Funky Cold Medina - Tone Loc
3. Bust A Move - Young MC
4. Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler
5. Like A Prayer - Madonna
6. Joy and Pain - Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock
7. Put A Little Love In Your Heart - Annie Lennox and Al Green
8. All I Want Is You - U2
9. Patience - Guns N Roses
10. The Best - Tina Turner
11. Paradise City - Guns N Roses
12. Keep On Movin' - Soul II Soul
13. Wild Thing - Tone Loc
14. Every Little Step - Bobby Brown
15. I'll Be There For You - Bon Jovi
16. Another Day In Paradise - Phil Collins
17. Love In An Elevator - Aerosmith
18. Kiss - Art of Noise featuring Tom Jones
19. She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals
20. Lay Your Hands On Me - Bon Jovi
21. Don't Know Much - Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville
22. Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson
23. After All - Cher and Peter Cetera
24. Express Yourself - Madonna
25. Eternal Flame - the Bangles
26. Buffalo Stance - Nenah Cherry
27. Love Song - the Cure
28. Angel of Harlem - U2
29. So Alive - Love and Rockets
30. Back To Life - Soul II Soul
31. Listen To Her Heart - Roxette
32. Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) - Enya
33. I Feel The Earth Move - Martika
34. Get On Your Feet - Gloria Estefan
35. When I See You Smile - Bad English
36. Heaven Help Me - Deon Estus and George Micahel
37. Baby, Don't Forget My Number - Milli Vanilli
38. Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crew
39. Heaven - Warrent
40. She Wants To Dance With Me - Rick Astley
41. Walk The Dinosaur - Was (Not Was)
42. Once Bitten Twice Shy - Great White
43. Me, Myself and I - De la Soul
44. I Won't Back Down - Tom Petty
45. On Our Own - Bobby Brown
46. A Little Respect - Erasure
47. Miss You Like Crazy - Natalie Cole
48. 18 and Life - Skid Row
49. You Got It (The Right Stuff) - New Kids On The Block
50. Me So Horn y - 2 Live Crew
51. Stand - R.E.M.
52. Soldier Of Love - Donny Osmond
53. The Look - Roxette
54. Birthday Suit - Johnny Kemp
55. We Didn't Start the Fire - Billy Joel
56. Hey Ladies - Beastie Boys
57. The Living Years - Mike and the Mechanics
58. Trouble Me - 10,000 Maniacs
59. Don't Wanna To Lose You - Gloria Estefan
60. Closer To Fine - Indigo Girls
61. Forever Your Girl - Paula Abdul
62. My Fantasy - Teddy Riley Featuring Guy
63. Blame It On The Rain - Milli Vanilli
64. End Of The Line - Traveling Wilburys
65. Two Hearts - Phil Collins
66. Anchorage - Michelle Shocked
67. Right Here Waiting - Richard Marx
68. Mayor Of Simpleton - XTC
69. Straight Up - Paula Abdul
70. Pop Song 89 - R.E.M.
71. I'll Be Loving You (Forever) - New Kids On The Block
72. Now You're In Heaven - Julian Lennon
73. My Perogative - Bobby Brown
74. Dear God - Midge Ure
75. Hangin' Tough - New Kids On The Block
anyway, it was all made a lot easier yesterday by my family & friends & by j. he took me out for a lovely dinner at our favorite italian restaurant, and then had a surprise party waiting for me at his house when we got home. no one has ever thrown me a surprise birthday party before--it was so fantastic... so about 20 people came over (and they were so quiet, i was shocked at how i didn;t even hear them waiting in the dark) & it was so nice. we had champagne & cake (he stayed up til 2am the night before baking for me... <3 <3 <3...) & yummy appetizers & finger foods & baked brie pastry shell that i adore! i got 3 different bouquets of flowers and a funny checkerboard game that uses shot glasses for chips, and then we sat around playing fun games like 'taboo' & 'chutes & ladders'. after everyone went home i opened some gifts from j & my family--i got a beautiful new set of mouthblown champagne flutes and some shoes for my collection, plus a playstation game i've been wanting (kingdom hearts ii, anyone?!) and a cool glass jug for making my own infused vodka... it was really a lovely evening & it was so nice to have so many nice people who came over just for me, and did i mention how divine the buttercream frosting on my cake is? as far as birthdays go, this one was pretty good, and i feel so lucky to have a beau who is just so thoughtful and caring--especially when i know that advance planning is even less his strong suit than it is mine! i'm not saying i'm pushing for hext year to roll around quickly--it can take its sweet time, that's for sure, but if this is any indication of what future special occassions might be like with j, maybe i won't mind getting older as much as i think i will...
and on that note, gakked from eac, in honor of my own just-passed natal celebration, i will submit to the meme of the list of songs from the www.popculturemadness.com site for the year i turned 18... drumroll, please... (i had the same struggle as others i've read about whether i liked it then or like it now... i'm going with songs that have stood the test of time... i mean, what did i know about taste when i was 18?! although it's interesting that some things which i *didn't* like back then i now do, if only for the kitsch value or sentimental reasons... things even out, i guess. lastly, geez, what a lot of synthesized schmaltz... *sigh*)
1. Love Shack - B-52's
2. Funky Cold Medina - Tone Loc
3. Bust A Move - Young MC
4. Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler
5. Like A Prayer - Madonna
6. Joy and Pain - Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock
7. Put A Little Love In Your Heart - Annie Lennox and Al Green
8. All I Want Is You - U2
9. Patience - Guns N Roses
10. The Best - Tina Turner
11. Paradise City - Guns N Roses
12. Keep On Movin' - Soul II Soul
13. Wild Thing - Tone Loc
14. Every Little Step - Bobby Brown
15. I'll Be There For You - Bon Jovi
16. Another Day In Paradise - Phil Collins
17. Love In An Elevator - Aerosmith
18. Kiss - Art of Noise featuring Tom Jones
19. She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals
20. Lay Your Hands On Me - Bon Jovi
21. Don't Know Much - Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville
22. Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson
23. After All - Cher and Peter Cetera
24. Express Yourself - Madonna
25. Eternal Flame - the Bangles
26. Buffalo Stance - Nenah Cherry
27. Love Song - the Cure
28. Angel of Harlem - U2
29. So Alive - Love and Rockets
30. Back To Life - Soul II Soul
31. Listen To Her Heart - Roxette
32. Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) - Enya
33. I Feel The Earth Move - Martika
34. Get On Your Feet - Gloria Estefan
35. When I See You Smile - Bad English
36. Heaven Help Me - Deon Estus and George Micahel
37. Baby, Don't Forget My Number - Milli Vanilli
38. Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crew
39. Heaven - Warrent
40. She Wants To Dance With Me - Rick Astley
41. Walk The Dinosaur - Was (Not Was)
42. Once Bitten Twice Shy - Great White
43. Me, Myself and I - De la Soul
44. I Won't Back Down - Tom Petty
45. On Our Own - Bobby Brown
46. A Little Respect - Erasure
47. Miss You Like Crazy - Natalie Cole
48. 18 and Life - Skid Row
49. You Got It (The Right Stuff) - New Kids On The Block
50. Me So Horn y - 2 Live Crew
51. Stand - R.E.M.
52. Soldier Of Love - Donny Osmond
53. The Look - Roxette
54. Birthday Suit - Johnny Kemp
55. We Didn't Start the Fire - Billy Joel
56. Hey Ladies - Beastie Boys
57. The Living Years - Mike and the Mechanics
58. Trouble Me - 10,000 Maniacs
59. Don't Wanna To Lose You - Gloria Estefan
60. Closer To Fine - Indigo Girls
61. Forever Your Girl - Paula Abdul
62. My Fantasy - Teddy Riley Featuring Guy
63. Blame It On The Rain - Milli Vanilli
64. End Of The Line - Traveling Wilburys
65. Two Hearts - Phil Collins
66. Anchorage - Michelle Shocked
67. Right Here Waiting - Richard Marx
68. Mayor Of Simpleton - XTC
69. Straight Up - Paula Abdul
70. Pop Song 89 - R.E.M.
71. I'll Be Loving You (Forever) - New Kids On The Block
72. Now You're In Heaven - Julian Lennon
73. My Perogative - Bobby Brown
74. Dear God - Midge Ure
75. Hangin' Tough - New Kids On The Block