If you were unaware, there is a ritual to be followed
So today is my birthday. I am 28. Certain things usually happen right around now, so let's get to it:
1) Annual reference to that webcomic strip I like
2) Non-monetary ways to show appreciation of me
3) Monetary ways to show appreciation of me/list of things I would like to have/yet another way to non-monetarily appreciate me, via complimenting my taste in coveting
4) Reflections on past year/entire life/life-altering events (variable)
Let's get to it!
1) Every year, I think of this comic strip, and every year it simultaneously makes me smile and feel like I'm not doing enough with my life.
Perry Bible Fellowship is where it's at, folks.
2) In case you're wondering why I'm specifying how people should celebrate my birthday, please pause and try to think of wtf you would do for my birthday. Yeah, see? I'm told every year I'm difficult, and I realize I'm difficult, and so I think it's just easiest if we're up-front about that. These days, the best way to make me go, "hey, that person is some kind of special" is to show up at a Big Moves Boston event. ignazwisdom did it a couple times, and I gave her a DVD player! ;P But those often involve tickets, so the non-money way of participating in that is to be on our fan list or volunteer list. If that seems like too much effort, you can just follow us on Twitter or follow the blog via whatever rss reader floats your boat (including lj, via the syndicated feed).
Relatedly, now that my twitter has broken 100 followers, I'm kind of fixated on it. I half-assed it at first, but then I started tweeting all the links that I used to just throw in my gchat status message (usually images that I find randomly), and now I do that plus actual information about my life. So it's like livejournal, but more succinct? Anyway, you can follow me here. If you want.
On a less public level, I really enjoy getting letters in the post, crafty things (especially wearable stuff like buttons or rings or the like), bits and bobs of artwork (fannish or otherwise), and anything that smells good. One year, smartlikejustin wrote me a fanfic of 10 scenes where the characters did NOT have hot, explicit sex, which was mean because hot, explicit sex is my favorite thing in art as in life. Tips on cleaning, organizing, how to rock a particular style or accessory, hair care, and makeup are all wonderful and welcome. Livejournal shout-outs or love-ins are also awesome, just y'know, wave your hands a lot and make sure I actually SEE IT so I can comment and gush (you would be shocked at how little of my lj reading list I actually read on a daily basis).
3) And now, some random links of things I would buy, given limitless funds, closet space, and square footage. Some day when I get off my ass and start trying to build an actual performer fan base, I can put these on my website as ways for creepy creeps to creepily try to purchase my affection!
- ThinkGeek used to have this series of Japanese hanging banners featuring characters from Star Wars. the R2D2 one belongs on my wall, I'm just saying.
- Despite never going to Sarah Lawrence, I feel I'm enough of a weird shut-in queermo to wear their ironic College Football shirt.
- Proving that pricing theory works, I am so intrigued at the notion of charging $50 for black tights, I kiiiind of want to one a pair of Wolfords just to find out.
- This bed is so amazing, you don't even realize it. Stare at it for a while. Just take in the lines of it. Marvel at the light fixture in the center. Appreciate the nominal storage baskets. And then realize that there are TWINKLE LIGHTS IN THE HEADBOARD. [dreamy sigh]
- I love my current TV console, but assuming some day I have an office type area, it'll probably get reallocated to filing and storage grunt work. And on that day, I'll get a new TV console, and it will have the moon on it and glow in the dark. Like a fucking bad ass.
- I willingly acknowledge that I'm a very big advocate for storage-ready furniture. We're currently saving up to replace our current coffee table with storage cubes, to hide away laptops and ephemera. Coffee and end tables should, in my world-view, do more than just offer one surface to put random magazines and drinks on. And yet I look at this and don't care.
- I want this unkillable Bonsai plant for my desk at work.
- I've said it before and I'll say it again: somehow I feel like if I owned eight of these BPL sacks, my life would somehow be better. I WOULD FIND USES FOR THEM, IDEK.
- TREEBED. TREE. BED.
- This is an alarm clock with voice provided by Stephen Fry. Right now, do you know what I wake up to? I wake up to NPR. I wake up to, "[domestic crisis] [international crisis] [war] [death] [food shortage] [debt crisis]". I'd MUCH RATHER wake up to Stephen Fry saying, "I'm sorry to disturb you, but it appears to be morning."
- Some day, I will live in a home with high ceiling that allow for ceiling fans. And then I will install this ceiling fan in every room, and just stare at it. [grew up in Indiana, loves sycamore seed pods]
- Every day El spends wandering around asking where his building pass card is is a day I think to myself, "I wish we owned a hook box."
- In case you weren't aware, I own 2 cats and live in a rickety old house. What I'm saying is, I could use an air purifier, and that one's not even ugly.
- This is a wrist cuff with Lorem Ipsum printed on it. I would wear it every day and smile.
- as jarrow just learned when he asked me, "what do you want for your birthday?", I adore everything at Ach Ach Liebling, but especially this necklace, this ring, these earrings and these earrings.
- This company makes rings and pendants of periodic elements, out of said element. The Platinum one would be just a liiiiittle chav, right?
- I'm not even sure how long this necklace would survive, but it's so cute I like to imagine being able to wear it for ages and ages.
- Something about this necklace seems so delicate-yet-saucy to me. The me that would wear this lives in the alternate reality where I can fit into and afford everything made by Anthropologie.
- A necklace of onyx Japanese Noh masks is 1) awesome and 2) a constant reminder of how freakshow the Fatal Frame game series is.
- Right now I rock a Saint Honoré watch that I bought myself after getting my first A in grad school, but eventually I will probably want/need another one. And assuming I still won't be able to afford a Cartier Pasha C, I will be forced to seriously consider this watch. Pros: clean lines, metal band. Cons: will probably be assumed by all who see me that I'm wearing it ironically.
- If you are a bath person (which I am not, given current bathtub size and conditions), or if you're a highly-stressed/busy person (uh, yes), then there is nothing finer than Kneipp herbal baths. No. Thing. God, why don't I own these?
- Ever since I sprained the ever-livin' out of my ankle (and then resprained it, and then resprained it AGAIN), heels have been...interesting for me to wear. However, low, sturdy heels are 99% resprain-free, even when walking through Boston. But low, sturdy heels are very rarely sassy, cute, sexy, or remotely my style. So in short, I need to own these in every color.
- Despite having just sold 2 sofas and purchased a new one a few months ago, El and I are already mildly dissatisfied with The Compromise Sofa and considering new ones. Our parameters are - high arms, attached back, deep seating, and no leather. Also, not craptacular. So our choices are limited. (That last one doesn't have an attached back, and is yet possibly our favorite, based on photos alone.)
4) I'm now at the point where people are sending my birthday cards whose text is all about taking a moment to pause and appreciate, to slow down, to relax for a day, etc etc. Which yes, means I'm a very busy person. It's tough not to be, though -- I'm the Administrative Director for Big Moves Boston, I'm training and learning my new role at The Firm, I spend a fair amount of time meeting with friends to discuss renovation/decoration/organizing/de-cluttering issues they have (fastest way to hang out with me socially: ask me to do this for you), and at exactly this time next year, I'll have just graduated with my Masters, and I'll either have just taken or be about to take my Project Manager certification. (Things I am planning to do when I turn 29: have a two-city, two-weekend co-birthday with cathybites; marathon all 7 seasons of Buffy and possibly make El watch it even though he thinks he hates the show; get a new computer that is built so I can poke around at making vids finally; be awesome.)
My nana left me a really lovely voice mail about how proud of me she is for doing so much with my life, and hearing my grandmother rattle off the list of everything I do made it seem kind of like...a lot. But given that I'm not about to drop out of school (HALFWAY DONE, YOU CANNOT BEST ME, SKOOLIN'), and given that if I don't show up at The Firm, they probably won't give me a paycheck anymore, the only things left on the list are things I really like (maintaining friends, being an organizing and design bad ass, slowly preparing Big Moves to take over the city/world). The next step, obvs, is to somehow smoosh a couple of those things together after grad school's done, like getting PAID ACTUAL MONEY for being a design/organizing bad ass, or Big Moves, or some sort of job that integrates those dual loves of being a control freak and working with creative people (read: film production). I am willing to admit that I have undeservedly good luck when it comes to employment (never been fired or downsized, never been unemployed for any stretch of time except by choice, got a job at The Firm 2 weeks after wandering into Boston, etc), and I guess I just expect that to continue -- I'm really not that worried about figuring it all out. So far, I've just tried to make time for things I love, and that's been working out pretty well. (Exception: El gets the shaft hardcore, all the time. He's pointed it out and I'm trying very hard to change that, but there is a fair amount of "when school's done I'll be home EVERY NIGHT!!" wishful thinking - aka lies - going on.)
I'm not one to dwell in the past by nature (with some exceptions, depending on mood and subject), and with this past year in particular, so much was the beginnings of things or was in flux or occasionally awful (I would not suggest going through a relationship crisis during a time of year that forces you to perform the Christmas-First Year Anniversary-New Year's Eve-Valentine's Day run of traditions and celebrations, especially if trips to visit family are involved as well). So mostly, 27 was awesome because it gave me the teeny tiny seedlings of things that are now really growing up to fill my life and my heart and so on. I feel very satisfied with where I am now, which is a wonderful feeling to have on one's birthday. :)
To top it all off, the MG just called me, congratulated me for everything I'm doing, and then right before she hung up said, "Oh and your guy is in the White House!" And I have a lot to say about that, but it's going to wait until the other obnoxiously indulgent post I make every year at the end of this month. But for now, yes, I'm proud of myself and I'm proud of our President, and we've all just come an awfully long way.
So basically, this whole thing can be summed up by my gmail sig block:
"I say good night to you by quoting the words of an old Negro slave preacher, who said, 'We ain't what we ought to be and we ain't what we want to be and we ain't what we're going to be. But thank God, we ain't what we was.'"
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
1) Annual reference to that webcomic strip I like
2) Non-monetary ways to show appreciation of me
3) Monetary ways to show appreciation of me/list of things I would like to have/yet another way to non-monetarily appreciate me, via complimenting my taste in coveting
4) Reflections on past year/entire life/life-altering events (variable)
Let's get to it!
1) Every year, I think of this comic strip, and every year it simultaneously makes me smile and feel like I'm not doing enough with my life.
Perry Bible Fellowship is where it's at, folks.
2) In case you're wondering why I'm specifying how people should celebrate my birthday, please pause and try to think of wtf you would do for my birthday. Yeah, see? I'm told every year I'm difficult, and I realize I'm difficult, and so I think it's just easiest if we're up-front about that. These days, the best way to make me go, "hey, that person is some kind of special" is to show up at a Big Moves Boston event. ignazwisdom did it a couple times, and I gave her a DVD player! ;P But those often involve tickets, so the non-money way of participating in that is to be on our fan list or volunteer list. If that seems like too much effort, you can just follow us on Twitter or follow the blog via whatever rss reader floats your boat (including lj, via the syndicated feed).
Relatedly, now that my twitter has broken 100 followers, I'm kind of fixated on it. I half-assed it at first, but then I started tweeting all the links that I used to just throw in my gchat status message (usually images that I find randomly), and now I do that plus actual information about my life. So it's like livejournal, but more succinct? Anyway, you can follow me here. If you want.
On a less public level, I really enjoy getting letters in the post, crafty things (especially wearable stuff like buttons or rings or the like), bits and bobs of artwork (fannish or otherwise), and anything that smells good. One year, smartlikejustin wrote me a fanfic of 10 scenes where the characters did NOT have hot, explicit sex, which was mean because hot, explicit sex is my favorite thing in art as in life. Tips on cleaning, organizing, how to rock a particular style or accessory, hair care, and makeup are all wonderful and welcome. Livejournal shout-outs or love-ins are also awesome, just y'know, wave your hands a lot and make sure I actually SEE IT so I can comment and gush (you would be shocked at how little of my lj reading list I actually read on a daily basis).
3) And now, some random links of things I would buy, given limitless funds, closet space, and square footage. Some day when I get off my ass and start trying to build an actual performer fan base, I can put these on my website as ways for creepy creeps to creepily try to purchase my affection!
- ThinkGeek used to have this series of Japanese hanging banners featuring characters from Star Wars. the R2D2 one belongs on my wall, I'm just saying.
- Despite never going to Sarah Lawrence, I feel I'm enough of a weird shut-in queermo to wear their ironic College Football shirt.
- Proving that pricing theory works, I am so intrigued at the notion of charging $50 for black tights, I kiiiind of want to one a pair of Wolfords just to find out.
- This bed is so amazing, you don't even realize it. Stare at it for a while. Just take in the lines of it. Marvel at the light fixture in the center. Appreciate the nominal storage baskets. And then realize that there are TWINKLE LIGHTS IN THE HEADBOARD. [dreamy sigh]
- I love my current TV console, but assuming some day I have an office type area, it'll probably get reallocated to filing and storage grunt work. And on that day, I'll get a new TV console, and it will have the moon on it and glow in the dark. Like a fucking bad ass.
- I willingly acknowledge that I'm a very big advocate for storage-ready furniture. We're currently saving up to replace our current coffee table with storage cubes, to hide away laptops and ephemera. Coffee and end tables should, in my world-view, do more than just offer one surface to put random magazines and drinks on. And yet I look at this and don't care.
- I want this unkillable Bonsai plant for my desk at work.
- I've said it before and I'll say it again: somehow I feel like if I owned eight of these BPL sacks, my life would somehow be better. I WOULD FIND USES FOR THEM, IDEK.
- TREEBED. TREE. BED.
- This is an alarm clock with voice provided by Stephen Fry. Right now, do you know what I wake up to? I wake up to NPR. I wake up to, "[domestic crisis] [international crisis] [war] [death] [food shortage] [debt crisis]". I'd MUCH RATHER wake up to Stephen Fry saying, "I'm sorry to disturb you, but it appears to be morning."
- Some day, I will live in a home with high ceiling that allow for ceiling fans. And then I will install this ceiling fan in every room, and just stare at it. [grew up in Indiana, loves sycamore seed pods]
- Every day El spends wandering around asking where his building pass card is is a day I think to myself, "I wish we owned a hook box."
- In case you weren't aware, I own 2 cats and live in a rickety old house. What I'm saying is, I could use an air purifier, and that one's not even ugly.
- This is a wrist cuff with Lorem Ipsum printed on it. I would wear it every day and smile.
- as jarrow just learned when he asked me, "what do you want for your birthday?", I adore everything at Ach Ach Liebling, but especially this necklace, this ring, these earrings and these earrings.
- This company makes rings and pendants of periodic elements, out of said element. The Platinum one would be just a liiiiittle chav, right?
- I'm not even sure how long this necklace would survive, but it's so cute I like to imagine being able to wear it for ages and ages.
- Something about this necklace seems so delicate-yet-saucy to me. The me that would wear this lives in the alternate reality where I can fit into and afford everything made by Anthropologie.
- A necklace of onyx Japanese Noh masks is 1) awesome and 2) a constant reminder of how freakshow the Fatal Frame game series is.
- Right now I rock a Saint Honoré watch that I bought myself after getting my first A in grad school, but eventually I will probably want/need another one. And assuming I still won't be able to afford a Cartier Pasha C, I will be forced to seriously consider this watch. Pros: clean lines, metal band. Cons: will probably be assumed by all who see me that I'm wearing it ironically.
- If you are a bath person (which I am not, given current bathtub size and conditions), or if you're a highly-stressed/busy person (uh, yes), then there is nothing finer than Kneipp herbal baths. No. Thing. God, why don't I own these?
- Ever since I sprained the ever-livin' out of my ankle (and then resprained it, and then resprained it AGAIN), heels have been...interesting for me to wear. However, low, sturdy heels are 99% resprain-free, even when walking through Boston. But low, sturdy heels are very rarely sassy, cute, sexy, or remotely my style. So in short, I need to own these in every color.
- Despite having just sold 2 sofas and purchased a new one a few months ago, El and I are already mildly dissatisfied with The Compromise Sofa and considering new ones. Our parameters are - high arms, attached back, deep seating, and no leather. Also, not craptacular. So our choices are limited. (That last one doesn't have an attached back, and is yet possibly our favorite, based on photos alone.)
4) I'm now at the point where people are sending my birthday cards whose text is all about taking a moment to pause and appreciate, to slow down, to relax for a day, etc etc. Which yes, means I'm a very busy person. It's tough not to be, though -- I'm the Administrative Director for Big Moves Boston, I'm training and learning my new role at The Firm, I spend a fair amount of time meeting with friends to discuss renovation/decoration/organizing/de-cluttering issues they have (fastest way to hang out with me socially: ask me to do this for you), and at exactly this time next year, I'll have just graduated with my Masters, and I'll either have just taken or be about to take my Project Manager certification. (Things I am planning to do when I turn 29: have a two-city, two-weekend co-birthday with cathybites; marathon all 7 seasons of Buffy and possibly make El watch it even though he thinks he hates the show; get a new computer that is built so I can poke around at making vids finally; be awesome.)
My nana left me a really lovely voice mail about how proud of me she is for doing so much with my life, and hearing my grandmother rattle off the list of everything I do made it seem kind of like...a lot. But given that I'm not about to drop out of school (HALFWAY DONE, YOU CANNOT BEST ME, SKOOLIN'), and given that if I don't show up at The Firm, they probably won't give me a paycheck anymore, the only things left on the list are things I really like (maintaining friends, being an organizing and design bad ass, slowly preparing Big Moves to take over the city/world). The next step, obvs, is to somehow smoosh a couple of those things together after grad school's done, like getting PAID ACTUAL MONEY for being a design/organizing bad ass, or Big Moves, or some sort of job that integrates those dual loves of being a control freak and working with creative people (read: film production). I am willing to admit that I have undeservedly good luck when it comes to employment (never been fired or downsized, never been unemployed for any stretch of time except by choice, got a job at The Firm 2 weeks after wandering into Boston, etc), and I guess I just expect that to continue -- I'm really not that worried about figuring it all out. So far, I've just tried to make time for things I love, and that's been working out pretty well. (Exception: El gets the shaft hardcore, all the time. He's pointed it out and I'm trying very hard to change that, but there is a fair amount of "when school's done I'll be home EVERY NIGHT!!" wishful thinking - aka lies - going on.)
I'm not one to dwell in the past by nature (with some exceptions, depending on mood and subject), and with this past year in particular, so much was the beginnings of things or was in flux or occasionally awful (I would not suggest going through a relationship crisis during a time of year that forces you to perform the Christmas-First Year Anniversary-New Year's Eve-Valentine's Day run of traditions and celebrations, especially if trips to visit family are involved as well). So mostly, 27 was awesome because it gave me the teeny tiny seedlings of things that are now really growing up to fill my life and my heart and so on. I feel very satisfied with where I am now, which is a wonderful feeling to have on one's birthday. :)
To top it all off, the MG just called me, congratulated me for everything I'm doing, and then right before she hung up said, "Oh and your guy is in the White House!" And I have a lot to say about that, but it's going to wait until the other obnoxiously indulgent post I make every year at the end of this month. But for now, yes, I'm proud of myself and I'm proud of our President, and we've all just come an awfully long way.
So basically, this whole thing can be summed up by my gmail sig block:
"I say good night to you by quoting the words of an old Negro slave preacher, who said, 'We ain't what we ought to be and we ain't what we want to be and we ain't what we're going to be. But thank God, we ain't what we was.'"
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.