Happy Birthday to me (and Alexis).
My mom e-mailed me Sunday night to say that at UCN (the church I grew up in but no longer consider my own, though I do still like a lot of the people, as it has moved much more more theologically conservative and evangelical) Pastor Bill had announced that my birthday is Wednesday. She told me:I thought, "Oh, yeah, so it is."
Hee.
I've been working to get Gramma out the door to Miles for two weeks. Figure out getting US out the door. My job. Etc.
"Elizabeth's Birthday" didn't even make my list.
Clearly my mother-gene is deficient.
In my reply to her, I mentioned, "Also, I am sort of oddly impressed that I still get birthday-noted at UCN, even though I shouldn't really expect otherwise."
She said, "That might have been one reaosn I was surpirsed as well -- I don't think of it as your church. But you will ever be a child of the church. At least while Pastor Bill is there. He still remembers when you and George were the Sunday School."
She did Y!M me around lunchtime on Tuesday to say: "Happy Day Before Your Birthday :-D"
Mom: Happy Day Before Your Birthday :-D
me: Hee! Thank you :)
Mom: I'll be a little busy tomorrow.
me: I'm sorry, are you going somewhere? Is that allowed? ;)
Mom: Well, I'll be feeling horribly guilty all the way.
Mom: Oh wait, no I won't. I'll be thinking, "Why does July 9th ring a bell?"
me: *laughs*
***
Monday I got a card from Kevin. Tuesday I got an ecard from my grandparents and lunabee34 posted: "1. Happy birthday tomorrow, hermionesviolin! I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful day full of mac and cheese and beautiful weather. :)"
Wednesday (my actual birthday):
Katie came into the gym (cardio room) around the same time I did and mouthed (because she saw I had my earbuds in) "Happy birthday."
I came in to the office and top of my flist were happy birthday wishes from offbalance ("Happy Happy Birthday to the lovely, wonderful and talented hermionesviolin!") and antheia ("Happiest of happy birthdays to Ms. hermionesviolin! ♥"). Plus 4 Wall posts and an e-mail. And that was all before 9am. Highlights included:
+ "Happy birthday, dear. May it be a year of grace and growth."-sk8eeyore
+ "I'm so glad that we're friends (for eight years!). Thank you for being a source of laughter, thoughtfulness, and geekiness in my life." -Jonah
At like ten past nine, Katie and Greg came by and said Happy Birthday. (I told Katie I was impressed that she had remembered first thing in the morning this morning and she said, "How could I forget?")
Max was in the vicinity and was surprised it was my birthday and asked how old I was. I said 25. He said I was old :) Greg said I was "almost but not quite" a grownup. He said that was a Hitchhiker's reference. I said yeah, and he said (surprised), "Oh you knew that?" and I said that my family uses it so much that I forget it's actually a reference to anything but yeah, there's a machine [yes, I blanked on the name] that produces a liquid "almost but not quite completely unlike tea."
My mom actually called me from the airport :)
She suggested that I hang a banner saying, "It's my birthday; be nice to me." (I said I didn't think I'd need to.)From: Katie
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 10:11 AM
To: Elizabeth; Ranjan; Laura; Cailin
Subject: happy. birthday. ebeth...and lunch.
Hi all,
I'm wondering if anyone would like to go to the square for lunch today. It's Elizabeth's birthday, and while I think we discussed going next week for an official birthday lunch, I think today could be fun too, if people are interested! It's really hot out, so that may not float everyone's boat (ahem, the birthday girl) - just thought I'd throw it out there. Spangler works for me, too!
Katie
Ranjan replied, "Yay for Elizabeth's birthday! Yay for the Square!" (He's always agitating to go to the Square for lunch.)
We ended up going to Chicago Uno's.
Cailin's having a cookout tomorrow (which obv. I can't go to 'cause of CAUMC young adult group) and she was running through the different people who'll be there and mentioned Meg and Erin and said that Erin's a lot like me, "She's a nice girl, but . . . she's very upfront, blunt." I approve of this (though like my mother talking about my assertiveness in relationships, I think this is true only in certain contexts in which I am comfortable and is not true in all contexts -- though I wish it were, in both cases).
The waitress messed up Cailin's order, twice, and Cailin is a, erm, strong negotiator, so she got both her meal and mine comped (it was my birthday) and 1/2 off Katie and Ranjan's and we each got a coupon for $5 off a $15 order and also a free dessert.
We went for dessert afterward. [Cailin was gonna pick up cupcakes on her way in in from Newton, but the place she went -- Party Favors, in Brookline -- was on vacation.] We went to BerryLine 'cause I'd never been and it seemed a good excuse. I got a Small Original flavor with raspberries and bananas. Katie paid for mine, which I wasn't expecting.
All in all we spent two hours out of the office, but hey, almost nobody's profs were in (all 3 of Laura's were, but she opted to go to the gym during lunch today, said she'd join for my second birthday lunch next week). We stopped at her desk on the way back and told her about lunch.
I walked down the hall to my desk and saw a big vase of red roses on my counter and literally muttered "Jesus fuck" (I'm classy, what can I say?). It wasn't until I looked at the card ["Happy Birthday to our special daughter Love Mom and Dad" -- florist: Jack Davis in West Roxbury] that I realized they were for me, for my birthday, from my parents.
I took pictures and uploaded them to flickr, but I'll take better ones tomorrow. (I left them on my counter, but that's a little awkward/ostentatious, so I'll move them tomorrow.)
3:45pm I updated my facebook Status: "[Elizabeth] got a dozen red roses? (Should I bring them home over the weekend for my party, or leave them at work for next week?)" [Edit: On Monday, MaryAlice saw them and jokingly asked if there were 25. she counted and actually it was fourteen of them -- I hadn't counted, had just assumed a dozen.]
Katie then came down (with Greg). We chatted at length about facebook. Yes, social networking websites are a topic of interest to me.
And of course I got additional emails, Wall posts, etc. throughout the post-9am day -- including one from OkCupid, heh.
More highlights:
+ "Happy birthday, dear one. I'm rather fond of you." -Ari
+ "Happy "19 notifications from Facebook" day!" -Jeremy [Total count in the 24-hour period was 18 Wall posts. And facebook itself told me, "Happy Birthday, Elizabeth! From all of us on The Facebook Team, have a great day!"]
+ "NOW you're 25 | As opposed to last year, when I just thought you were. :)" -theatre_pixie
+ "I think you know what I have to say..." -Meredith S.
(I also enjoyed Gusti's "Happy Day, Elizabeth!!")
Edit: Sean left me a Wall post saying, "Happy, happy, happy birthday! have a fab day! :)" The next day I messaged him saying I'd immediately thought of the crazy Grenfell clan birthday song when I read that. He said, "That's what I was going for, but I later realized they add another "happy." Well, like a thousand other happy's. I'd have sung you the whole darn thing if I knew all the words! :)" /edit
I came home to a physical card from GinnyC. that says "God knows you're special!" on the front and on the inside, "PS: I know it, too!"
I called Terry on his way home. He asked what was up and I was like, "It's my birthday," and he was like, "It's your birthday? Today's the ninth; I totally forgot." It was cute. And he did remember what year I was turning. (We had this conversation -- about how I'm turning 25 -- like a week ago, but still.)
Hee.
I've been working to get Gramma out the door to Miles for two weeks. Figure out getting US out the door. My job. Etc.
"Elizabeth's Birthday" didn't even make my list.
Clearly my mother-gene is deficient.
In my reply to her, I mentioned, "Also, I am sort of oddly impressed that I still get birthday-noted at UCN, even though I shouldn't really expect otherwise."
She said, "That might have been one reaosn I was surpirsed as well -- I don't think of it as your church. But you will ever be a child of the church. At least while Pastor Bill is there. He still remembers when you and George were the Sunday School."
She did Y!M me around lunchtime on Tuesday to say: "Happy Day Before Your Birthday :-D"
Mom: Happy Day Before Your Birthday :-D
me: Hee! Thank you :)
Mom: I'll be a little busy tomorrow.
me: I'm sorry, are you going somewhere? Is that allowed? ;)
Mom: Well, I'll be feeling horribly guilty all the way.
Mom: Oh wait, no I won't. I'll be thinking, "Why does July 9th ring a bell?"
me: *laughs*
***
Monday I got a card from Kevin. Tuesday I got an ecard from my grandparents and lunabee34 posted: "1. Happy birthday tomorrow, hermionesviolin! I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful day full of mac and cheese and beautiful weather. :)"
Wednesday (my actual birthday):
Katie came into the gym (cardio room) around the same time I did and mouthed (because she saw I had my earbuds in) "Happy birthday."
I came in to the office and top of my flist were happy birthday wishes from offbalance ("Happy Happy Birthday to the lovely, wonderful and talented hermionesviolin!") and antheia ("Happiest of happy birthdays to Ms. hermionesviolin! ♥"). Plus 4 Wall posts and an e-mail. And that was all before 9am. Highlights included:
+ "Happy birthday, dear. May it be a year of grace and growth."-sk8eeyore
+ "I'm so glad that we're friends (for eight years!). Thank you for being a source of laughter, thoughtfulness, and geekiness in my life." -Jonah
At like ten past nine, Katie and Greg came by and said Happy Birthday. (I told Katie I was impressed that she had remembered first thing in the morning this morning and she said, "How could I forget?")
Max was in the vicinity and was surprised it was my birthday and asked how old I was. I said 25. He said I was old :) Greg said I was "almost but not quite" a grownup. He said that was a Hitchhiker's reference. I said yeah, and he said (surprised), "Oh you knew that?" and I said that my family uses it so much that I forget it's actually a reference to anything but yeah, there's a machine [yes, I blanked on the name] that produces a liquid "almost but not quite completely unlike tea."
My mom actually called me from the airport :)
She suggested that I hang a banner saying, "It's my birthday; be nice to me." (I said I didn't think I'd need to.)From: Katie
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 10:11 AM
To: Elizabeth; Ranjan; Laura; Cailin
Subject: happy. birthday. ebeth...and lunch.
Hi all,
I'm wondering if anyone would like to go to the square for lunch today. It's Elizabeth's birthday, and while I think we discussed going next week for an official birthday lunch, I think today could be fun too, if people are interested! It's really hot out, so that may not float everyone's boat (ahem, the birthday girl) - just thought I'd throw it out there. Spangler works for me, too!
Katie
Ranjan replied, "Yay for Elizabeth's birthday! Yay for the Square!" (He's always agitating to go to the Square for lunch.)
We ended up going to Chicago Uno's.
Cailin's having a cookout tomorrow (which obv. I can't go to 'cause of CAUMC young adult group) and she was running through the different people who'll be there and mentioned Meg and Erin and said that Erin's a lot like me, "She's a nice girl, but . . . she's very upfront, blunt." I approve of this (though like my mother talking about my assertiveness in relationships, I think this is true only in certain contexts in which I am comfortable and is not true in all contexts -- though I wish it were, in both cases).
The waitress messed up Cailin's order, twice, and Cailin is a, erm, strong negotiator, so she got both her meal and mine comped (it was my birthday) and 1/2 off Katie and Ranjan's and we each got a coupon for $5 off a $15 order and also a free dessert.
We went for dessert afterward. [Cailin was gonna pick up cupcakes on her way in in from Newton, but the place she went -- Party Favors, in Brookline -- was on vacation.] We went to BerryLine 'cause I'd never been and it seemed a good excuse. I got a Small Original flavor with raspberries and bananas. Katie paid for mine, which I wasn't expecting.
All in all we spent two hours out of the office, but hey, almost nobody's profs were in (all 3 of Laura's were, but she opted to go to the gym during lunch today, said she'd join for my second birthday lunch next week). We stopped at her desk on the way back and told her about lunch.
I walked down the hall to my desk and saw a big vase of red roses on my counter and literally muttered "Jesus fuck" (I'm classy, what can I say?). It wasn't until I looked at the card ["Happy Birthday to our special daughter Love Mom and Dad" -- florist: Jack Davis in West Roxbury] that I realized they were for me, for my birthday, from my parents.
I took pictures and uploaded them to flickr, but I'll take better ones tomorrow. (I left them on my counter, but that's a little awkward/ostentatious, so I'll move them tomorrow.)
3:45pm I updated my facebook Status: "[Elizabeth] got a dozen red roses? (Should I bring them home over the weekend for my party, or leave them at work for next week?)" [Edit: On Monday, MaryAlice saw them and jokingly asked if there were 25. she counted and actually it was fourteen of them -- I hadn't counted, had just assumed a dozen.]
Katie then came down (with Greg). We chatted at length about facebook. Yes, social networking websites are a topic of interest to me.
And of course I got additional emails, Wall posts, etc. throughout the post-9am day -- including one from OkCupid, heh.
More highlights:
+ "Happy birthday, dear one. I'm rather fond of you." -Ari
+ "Happy "19 notifications from Facebook" day!" -Jeremy [Total count in the 24-hour period was 18 Wall posts. And facebook itself told me, "Happy Birthday, Elizabeth! From all of us on The Facebook Team, have a great day!"]
+ "NOW you're 25 | As opposed to last year, when I just thought you were. :)" -theatre_pixie
+ "I think you know what I have to say..." -Meredith S.
(I also enjoyed Gusti's "Happy Day, Elizabeth!!")
Edit: Sean left me a Wall post saying, "Happy, happy, happy birthday! have a fab day! :)" The next day I messaged him saying I'd immediately thought of the crazy Grenfell clan birthday song when I read that. He said, "That's what I was going for, but I later realized they add another "happy." Well, like a thousand other happy's. I'd have sung you the whole darn thing if I knew all the words! :)" /edit
I came home to a physical card from GinnyC. that says "God knows you're special!" on the front and on the inside, "PS: I know it, too!"
I called Terry on his way home. He asked what was up and I was like, "It's my birthday," and he was like, "It's your birthday? Today's the ninth; I totally forgot." It was cute. And he did remember what year I was turning. (We had this conversation -- about how I'm turning 25 -- like a week ago, but still.)