Reflections on my first palindromic year since I was 11...
I'll admit it. I was terrified of my birthday this year. Not because I'm getting 'old' or any of that crap. But because I was scared of having a really horrible, lonely birthday. Alex is in South America. Jess, Simy etc are at Climate Camp in Newcastle. Amrita's in the Philippines. It's that time of year.
I remember having a birthday party when I was sixteen and I'd just come out of a year-long relationship with a possessive, jealous, suffocating guy (who to this day I attribute as the main reason why the idea of monogamy still makes me want to curl up into foetal position) and being shocked when just how few people turned up. Previously I'd always had huge birthday parties and this one drove home how much being with this guy had forced me to lose touch with friends who now weren't enough of a part of my live to come to my birthday.
I was terrified of having that happen again this year.
It started off with the Twyf, Emma Mulholland and I all going out to dinner like old times on Wednesday night, like we used to two years ago when we all had classes together at uni. Then Sam brought Jess and we had a lovely woodfire pizza dinner, warm, on the coldest nigh of the year. We relocated to Kelly's where Sam met up with Dan to discuss business. Dan's also a good friend from uni. Then Jess invited Bree to join us after work. And Bree ran into Justin on the bus and it ended up being this completely impromptu friend birthday celebration. I was delirious. I felt so loved and happy! We all played air violin along with "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and everyone stayed til midnight where they sang 'Happy Birthday' and we all had shots. It started off as a three person thing and blossomed into so many of my favourite people in one place, counting in my day.
I was also scared I wasn't going to hear from Alex because he's on the road travelling to Bolivia and it may have been hard for him to get to a phone or internet cafe. But there he was, on Skype, at seven in the morning when I woke up and logged on and we had a teary but special chat.
At work all my colleagues got me a cake and sang Happy Birthday. We logged out of our phones and had tea and cake in the afternoon and friends I had in other departments dropped in too. It was nice to make a fuss because ASNSW is a little dead in that department. Hopefully we've started a trend.
Bree, who had delayed going up to Newcastle just so she could be with me on my birthday, met up with me after work and we had dinner at the Malaya with my family and discussed politics and ate amazing food and laughed as my Dad flirted with a beautiful Maori waitress (which wasn't seedy at all, if you know my Baba you know what I'm talking about...) Then we went back to my parents house for more chatting and chai.
This morning - breakfast with Beau. Tonight - going out with work friends for a combined birthday dinner (so many Cancerians in my office!) Tomorrow night - Daniel's taking me out for dinner and drinks.
So for someone who was terrified of being alone on their birthday, I've never felt like such a part of so many communities and families.
All in all? 29 facebook messages/posts, 13 sms', 1 lovely phone call from Beau on his break at work at 1 very special skype date.
Best birthday ever!
I remember having a birthday party when I was sixteen and I'd just come out of a year-long relationship with a possessive, jealous, suffocating guy (who to this day I attribute as the main reason why the idea of monogamy still makes me want to curl up into foetal position) and being shocked when just how few people turned up. Previously I'd always had huge birthday parties and this one drove home how much being with this guy had forced me to lose touch with friends who now weren't enough of a part of my live to come to my birthday.
I was terrified of having that happen again this year.
It started off with the Twyf, Emma Mulholland and I all going out to dinner like old times on Wednesday night, like we used to two years ago when we all had classes together at uni. Then Sam brought Jess and we had a lovely woodfire pizza dinner, warm, on the coldest nigh of the year. We relocated to Kelly's where Sam met up with Dan to discuss business. Dan's also a good friend from uni. Then Jess invited Bree to join us after work. And Bree ran into Justin on the bus and it ended up being this completely impromptu friend birthday celebration. I was delirious. I felt so loved and happy! We all played air violin along with "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and everyone stayed til midnight where they sang 'Happy Birthday' and we all had shots. It started off as a three person thing and blossomed into so many of my favourite people in one place, counting in my day.
I was also scared I wasn't going to hear from Alex because he's on the road travelling to Bolivia and it may have been hard for him to get to a phone or internet cafe. But there he was, on Skype, at seven in the morning when I woke up and logged on and we had a teary but special chat.
At work all my colleagues got me a cake and sang Happy Birthday. We logged out of our phones and had tea and cake in the afternoon and friends I had in other departments dropped in too. It was nice to make a fuss because ASNSW is a little dead in that department. Hopefully we've started a trend.
Bree, who had delayed going up to Newcastle just so she could be with me on my birthday, met up with me after work and we had dinner at the Malaya with my family and discussed politics and ate amazing food and laughed as my Dad flirted with a beautiful Maori waitress (which wasn't seedy at all, if you know my Baba you know what I'm talking about...) Then we went back to my parents house for more chatting and chai.
This morning - breakfast with Beau. Tonight - going out with work friends for a combined birthday dinner (so many Cancerians in my office!) Tomorrow night - Daniel's taking me out for dinner and drinks.
So for someone who was terrified of being alone on their birthday, I've never felt like such a part of so many communities and families.
All in all? 29 facebook messages/posts, 13 sms', 1 lovely phone call from Beau on his break at work at 1 very special skype date.
Best birthday ever!