Thursday, January 13, 2005
Happy Birthday to Me! Happy Birthday to Me! Happy Birthday to ME-eeee...
Happy birthday to me! It always surprises me how many people remember my birthday. Maybe this is because I don't know any of my friends' birthdays. I should work on that. This morning at around 11:00 I got a call from my good friend, Mike, wishing me a happy birthday. I was surprised! I was actually planning on having lunch with Mike and some other acquaintances from my old job, but I had not yet decided if I would try to wrangle a free lunch out of him by mentioning my birthday. I don't even know how he knew it was my birthday. My own brothers probably don't know it's my birthday. Anyway, he remembered and I got a free lunch from him.
I'm starting to think that KineticMe has the right idea. He has a whole birthday week dedicated to spending time with all of his friends and family. I think I could benefit from that kind of attention.
And then there's this. I have been listening to Lilian Jackson Braun's cat mysteries. It sounds silly, but they are really good! The sleuth, Qwilleran, and his friends all have birthday poems. I want a birthday poem. I want it to be just perfect, but I can't decide. Do I want a silly limerick or something smart? For now, it's going to be Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but I reserve the right to change my mind if I find a better one by next year:
Yes, call me by my pet name! let me hear
The name I used to run at, when a child,
From innocent play, and leave the cowslips piled,
To glance up in some face that proved me dear
With the look of its eyes. I miss the clear
Fond voices which, being drawn and reconciled
Into the music of Heaven's undefiled,
Call me no longer. Silence on the bier,
While I call God...call God!--so let thy mouth
Be heir to those who are now exanimate.
Gather the north flowers to complete the south,
And catch the early love up in the late.
Yes, call me by that name,--and I, in truth,
With the same heart, will answer and not wait.
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning
PS: I was right. Seeing as how I forgot to post this last night so it is now actually the day after my birthday, I can tell you all that, indeed, my brothers did not remember my birthday.
Happy birthday to me! It always surprises me how many people remember my birthday. Maybe this is because I don't know any of my friends' birthdays. I should work on that. This morning at around 11:00 I got a call from my good friend, Mike, wishing me a happy birthday. I was surprised! I was actually planning on having lunch with Mike and some other acquaintances from my old job, but I had not yet decided if I would try to wrangle a free lunch out of him by mentioning my birthday. I don't even know how he knew it was my birthday. My own brothers probably don't know it's my birthday. Anyway, he remembered and I got a free lunch from him.
I'm starting to think that KineticMe has the right idea. He has a whole birthday week dedicated to spending time with all of his friends and family. I think I could benefit from that kind of attention.
And then there's this. I have been listening to Lilian Jackson Braun's cat mysteries. It sounds silly, but they are really good! The sleuth, Qwilleran, and his friends all have birthday poems. I want a birthday poem. I want it to be just perfect, but I can't decide. Do I want a silly limerick or something smart? For now, it's going to be Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but I reserve the right to change my mind if I find a better one by next year:
Yes, call me by my pet name! let me hear
The name I used to run at, when a child,
From innocent play, and leave the cowslips piled,
To glance up in some face that proved me dear
With the look of its eyes. I miss the clear
Fond voices which, being drawn and reconciled
Into the music of Heaven's undefiled,
Call me no longer. Silence on the bier,
While I call God...call God!--so let thy mouth
Be heir to those who are now exanimate.
Gather the north flowers to complete the south,
And catch the early love up in the late.
Yes, call me by that name,--and I, in truth,
With the same heart, will answer and not wait.
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning
PS: I was right. Seeing as how I forgot to post this last night so it is now actually the day after my birthday, I can tell you all that, indeed, my brothers did not remember my birthday.
