That Annual Celebration of My Life (...with convenient loot lists)
We should start Friday night, because my birthday always starts at night. At three-thirty-five in the morning precisely. I am the strange kind of person who actively will laugh and tell people not to wish me a happy birthday at midnight, because my birthday wait is still going on for three and half more hours for me. Every year I stay up until it's the exact time I came through, and my birthday starts with a specific ritual.
This past Friday I was in Austin, for Carly and Peter's Beltane party, which meant I got to be in a group of people when my cell phone alarm for the time went off. Which came with a resounding round of being cheered into my birthday and reminded of doing my tradition. My tradition is a self-imposed thing that somehow just fell into my life during the last ten years. At the time of my birth, I open thewinteroak's gifts to me, and then go to bed finally. This year was no different even for the party surrounding me, who watched excitedly for me as I undid everything and then went on talking and giggling until we all went to bed about half an hour to an hour later.
(From Winter: Neverwhere by Neil Gaimen and 40 Years of X-men: DVD-Rom Collector's Edition)
Saturday morning I woke up early, hugged and kissed my hosts goodbye/thank you, and drove back to San Antonio. I got home early enough to have some time to myself. I opened my fathers gift and the birthday cards from my investment company and my Gramma. I ended up city on my couch reading one of the books from my father for an hour before I got dressed and went off the mother/Gordon midday plans. There was a lovely lunch out at Bin55. My meal was amazing from start to finish, all the courses and the wine pairing. The conversation was strangely nice and normal and equal all around.
Following lunch was a trip home to open presents from my Gramma and from my Mom & Gordon. After that there was the drive to other side of the city where we all took part in a remembrance ceremony which involved releasing butterflies. There was a poetry reading and mythic story sharing before the big events, which was beautiful. People of all ages from grandparents to young children were in the group, awed and amazed as butterflies flew all around us. We walked around, watching them in the air, on the trees and plants, some people taking pictures and most everyone talking. After this, I went back home to prepare for my night.
(From Dad: Passport Korea: Your Pocket Guide to Korean Business, Customs & Etiquette by Kevin Keating and The Sword of Straw by Amanda Hemmingway
From Gramma: Chopsticks and French Fries: How and Why to Teach English in Korea by Samantha Amara, Korea Calling: The Essential Handbook for Teaching English & Living in South Korea by Specht & Freebonre, Lonely Planet Korea, Culture Smart! Korea, and Langenscheidt Pocket Dictionary: Korean
From Mom/Gordon: Monkey Hunting by Christina Garcia, Telling Tales Anthology, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedman, The Illustrated Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, Against Our Will: Men, Women & Rape by Susan Brownmiller, Close Range by Annie Proulx, Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, The Sherwood Game by Esther Friesener, English Majors: A Comedy Collection for the Highly Literate CD by Garrison Keillor, and a small pink photo book.
* -- I, also, think it should be delightfully pointed out it was a wonderful moment in my life when I realized my mother realized finally that she could totally take advantage of my absolutely love of used books. Because then it's basically the same amount of money spent on Amazon as before, but it means I get a ton more books)
I got dressed in my little maroon dress, after going through four or five things, marveling at my slowly changing girly nature. All of this still happened in about ten minutes still, so maybe not so girly. Except for the heels. When did I get used to two inch heels? See how this girl thing just sneaks up on you in small steps. Well, I ran over to the Girl's house, where she was still dressing and readying things. I realized amid this all that I forgot my cell, and luckily, with us being only two blocks apart, ran back home, got my phone and reappeared at her house not to long from when she was done.
We arrived to the restaurant early so we could see everyone show up. Dinner was blissfully fun and I had a large assortment of people I love: My girl, Billy, Peter, Heather, Tiffany, Mike, Jo, Lilly, and Lavern. Everyone enjoyed the food and ended up with hugely different dishes. After dinner finished, there were presents, then there was a short errand, and then a long line of cars that went to the show planned for the night's event. Deb met us at the theatre, where we all got tickets and seats, and settled in to watch The National Acrobats of Taiwan.
It was amazing. The mistakes, the lack of mistakes, the dancing, the chair climber without a harness, the plate spinners, the acrobats. It's hard to explain, but there is no regret about it at all. It was small and hardly publicized about and yet it was totally worth the small price, the small crowd and the awe it charged us all with.
(From Carrie: Lamy Ink pen w/ 5 Refills
From Lavern: Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss and Chinese tiny glass bottle, cherry blossom painted with my name
From Billy: Newest Cd and Kodak Easy Share Digital Picture Frame
From Deb: If On A Winter's Night by Italo Calvino)
I really should have kept to my original plan of dinner and show, but I didn't.
I went with the general conversation at my dinner table, which evolved the nights' plans into a desert party down town after the show, which was in turn inspired by the need to get me a banana's foster after I said that it was the best desert I'd found in New Orleans (not even anything specifically about wanting one). Post the show was stressful getting people organized, figuring out directions, how to reorganized which cars to drive and which ones to leave somewhere. At the restaurant, instead of bringing me the Banana's Foster I'd begun to want, I got a plate mountain-filled with three things I don't eat, and seven slices of banana.
Thus my birthday dessert party was seven slices of banana and glass of resiling, in a room full of chatter where I wasn't really talking to anyone for an hour. I can say other people had a lot of fun during it, and I'm glad for them, but in my own place it's also, that their fun came at the expense of me wishing for a while that my birthday would just end soon. It doesn't make me discount the night in anyway, but it does make me think I will keep to my own published schedule the next birthday I plan.
Of course. It didn’t end there either. It was a good night.
And this morning there was another package in the mail for me from my Catherine.
(From Catherine: American Gods by Neil Gaiman)
Thank you to everyone who was part of my birthday, and to those who posted during the day on livejournal/e-mail/facebook/etc, to those who gave me gifts, to those who made calls, to those who came to my birthday evening, and left me voice mails. There are not enough words to explain how loved and thought of I felt on my day.
My gratitude and joy is extended to all of you.
This past Friday I was in Austin, for Carly and Peter's Beltane party, which meant I got to be in a group of people when my cell phone alarm for the time went off. Which came with a resounding round of being cheered into my birthday and reminded of doing my tradition. My tradition is a self-imposed thing that somehow just fell into my life during the last ten years. At the time of my birth, I open thewinteroak's gifts to me, and then go to bed finally. This year was no different even for the party surrounding me, who watched excitedly for me as I undid everything and then went on talking and giggling until we all went to bed about half an hour to an hour later.
(From Winter: Neverwhere by Neil Gaimen and 40 Years of X-men: DVD-Rom Collector's Edition)
Saturday morning I woke up early, hugged and kissed my hosts goodbye/thank you, and drove back to San Antonio. I got home early enough to have some time to myself. I opened my fathers gift and the birthday cards from my investment company and my Gramma. I ended up city on my couch reading one of the books from my father for an hour before I got dressed and went off the mother/Gordon midday plans. There was a lovely lunch out at Bin55. My meal was amazing from start to finish, all the courses and the wine pairing. The conversation was strangely nice and normal and equal all around.
Following lunch was a trip home to open presents from my Gramma and from my Mom & Gordon. After that there was the drive to other side of the city where we all took part in a remembrance ceremony which involved releasing butterflies. There was a poetry reading and mythic story sharing before the big events, which was beautiful. People of all ages from grandparents to young children were in the group, awed and amazed as butterflies flew all around us. We walked around, watching them in the air, on the trees and plants, some people taking pictures and most everyone talking. After this, I went back home to prepare for my night.
(From Dad: Passport Korea: Your Pocket Guide to Korean Business, Customs & Etiquette by Kevin Keating and The Sword of Straw by Amanda Hemmingway
From Gramma: Chopsticks and French Fries: How and Why to Teach English in Korea by Samantha Amara, Korea Calling: The Essential Handbook for Teaching English & Living in South Korea by Specht & Freebonre, Lonely Planet Korea, Culture Smart! Korea, and Langenscheidt Pocket Dictionary: Korean
From Mom/Gordon: Monkey Hunting by Christina Garcia, Telling Tales Anthology, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedman, The Illustrated Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, Against Our Will: Men, Women & Rape by Susan Brownmiller, Close Range by Annie Proulx, Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, The Sherwood Game by Esther Friesener, English Majors: A Comedy Collection for the Highly Literate CD by Garrison Keillor, and a small pink photo book.
* -- I, also, think it should be delightfully pointed out it was a wonderful moment in my life when I realized my mother realized finally that she could totally take advantage of my absolutely love of used books. Because then it's basically the same amount of money spent on Amazon as before, but it means I get a ton more books)
I got dressed in my little maroon dress, after going through four or five things, marveling at my slowly changing girly nature. All of this still happened in about ten minutes still, so maybe not so girly. Except for the heels. When did I get used to two inch heels? See how this girl thing just sneaks up on you in small steps. Well, I ran over to the Girl's house, where she was still dressing and readying things. I realized amid this all that I forgot my cell, and luckily, with us being only two blocks apart, ran back home, got my phone and reappeared at her house not to long from when she was done.
We arrived to the restaurant early so we could see everyone show up. Dinner was blissfully fun and I had a large assortment of people I love: My girl, Billy, Peter, Heather, Tiffany, Mike, Jo, Lilly, and Lavern. Everyone enjoyed the food and ended up with hugely different dishes. After dinner finished, there were presents, then there was a short errand, and then a long line of cars that went to the show planned for the night's event. Deb met us at the theatre, where we all got tickets and seats, and settled in to watch The National Acrobats of Taiwan.
It was amazing. The mistakes, the lack of mistakes, the dancing, the chair climber without a harness, the plate spinners, the acrobats. It's hard to explain, but there is no regret about it at all. It was small and hardly publicized about and yet it was totally worth the small price, the small crowd and the awe it charged us all with.
(From Carrie: Lamy Ink pen w/ 5 Refills
From Lavern: Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss and Chinese tiny glass bottle, cherry blossom painted with my name
From Billy: Newest Cd and Kodak Easy Share Digital Picture Frame
From Deb: If On A Winter's Night by Italo Calvino)
I really should have kept to my original plan of dinner and show, but I didn't.
I went with the general conversation at my dinner table, which evolved the nights' plans into a desert party down town after the show, which was in turn inspired by the need to get me a banana's foster after I said that it was the best desert I'd found in New Orleans (not even anything specifically about wanting one). Post the show was stressful getting people organized, figuring out directions, how to reorganized which cars to drive and which ones to leave somewhere. At the restaurant, instead of bringing me the Banana's Foster I'd begun to want, I got a plate mountain-filled with three things I don't eat, and seven slices of banana.
Thus my birthday dessert party was seven slices of banana and glass of resiling, in a room full of chatter where I wasn't really talking to anyone for an hour. I can say other people had a lot of fun during it, and I'm glad for them, but in my own place it's also, that their fun came at the expense of me wishing for a while that my birthday would just end soon. It doesn't make me discount the night in anyway, but it does make me think I will keep to my own published schedule the next birthday I plan.
Of course. It didn’t end there either. It was a good night.
And this morning there was another package in the mail for me from my Catherine.
(From Catherine: American Gods by Neil Gaiman)
Thank you to everyone who was part of my birthday, and to those who posted during the day on livejournal/e-mail/facebook/etc, to those who gave me gifts, to those who made calls, to those who came to my birthday evening, and left me voice mails. There are not enough words to explain how loved and thought of I felt on my day.
My gratitude and joy is extended to all of you.