On April 26th, 1986 the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine suffered a meltdown, resulting in an extended period of mass chaos and devastation. Likewise, this was also the day I chose to enter the world. Happy Birthday to me.
I used to hate my birthday, preferring to isolate myself rather than blow out candles. The day I turned 21, I flew across the country and impulse bought a Land Rover so I could roadtrip it back home. On my 24th birthday I boarded a one-way flight to China, determined to put a hard stop to my current trajectory of life choices.
Since I came back to the States, my perspective on most everything has changed, including birthdays. You know they give you presents on your birthday right? Presents are the best.
Last year, my two closest friends– Peeves and Sars— made up for all the years I refused to celebrate by taking me on a day-long adventure to do “27 Awesome Things,” each of which included it’s own candle to be blown out.
This year, the Boyfran and I will be spending my birthday in New York City. There’s something about that place that just feels magical and desperate– a perfect complement to my own personality.
The first time I went to NYC, I was 18 years old. My friend “L” and I had never driven on a highway so we practiced by trying to drive to a shopping mall that was 45 minutes away from our city. We got terribly, terribly lost but we’d already spent $18 on a U.S. Atlas (this was in the pre-GPS days) so we were committed to our mission.
We stayed in a backpackers hostel, where I held the locked door open for a girl who later ended up bare-ass-naked and high as a kite in one of our beds. Oops.
My 2nd NYC voyage was made with a group of friends from college. We rented an apartment in Hells Kitchen and I remember being frightened by Chinatown, declaring China to be “the last country I ever want to visit.” Funny how life has it’s own plans.
My last time in NYC was with Shleisel— my roommate and partner in crime during the wildest years of my 20’s. We’d just discovered our house had an infestation of mice (okay, just one– but it was the size of a donkey), so we set humane mouse traps and went to New York for the weekend. I’m pretty sure we were drunk for most of that time. When we came back home, the mouse had stolen all the feta from our traps in preparation for the 17 babies it would eventually birth. But that’s a story for another time.
I’m looking forward to getting back to the place where I first developed a habit of sketchy decisions. And I’ve made peace with my birthday. Every year just seems to get better and better– even as it poses it’s own unique shitstorms. Susie Lindau’s recent post about her perspective on birthdays in the wake of her cancer battle is also an important reminder that we should see each birthday as a victory.
You’ll be in good hands while I’m gone– Some incredible voices from the blogosphere have agreed to guest post in my absence. I know you’ll treat them well.
How do YOU feel about your birthday? Have you had any NYC adventures? What’s the one place in the world that you will always return to?
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I’ve never had any adventures on my birthday. The places I loved a lot were Paris, Barcelona, and Hong Kong. I’d never get tired of visiting them.
Oh, I would love to have adventures in Barcelona! I’ve been to the other two and yes– I approve 😉
Cassidy, I charge you with the task of adventuring on your next birthdate. You may take that however you will…
That’s coming up in a week and a half. I’ll have to think!
And! If my sleuthing is accurate– your birthday is in less than 2 weeks! So you better start feeling adventurous.
I suck and will not be joining the festivities in NYC 🙁 but you have the bestest time!
Noooooo really? Dang. But understandable. Life and all of that… well, we always have BlogHer (right?right?Ihope.)
Well trying to save money gurl. It’ll happen since I can’t get a refund on the ticket.
Sell that Pucci dress……..
slow motion: “Noooooooo”
I thought about it briefly. I honestly did.
Blog Post Ideas: Ridiculous Ways To Make Money So I Can Go To BlogHer
What a great way to spend your birthday – I’ve always wanted to go to NYC!
You should hop across the pond for a visit some time!
Happy Birthday red headed lady!! Hope it is awesome. I’ve never been to NYC, I always seem to go west or south. Not real fond of big cities anyway. The next trip will be way way way east! LOL
Haha where are you going that is way way way east, Jackie? And I’m with you– I prefer a mix of wilderness and metropolitan…
hopefully half way across the world…but shhhh it’s a secret yet 😉
Oh oh oh! I love secrets! I will wait anxiously for more details 😀
it’s not for a while yet girl…you want details well, email me LOL…then maybe I’ll tell you! maybe 😉
Imagine my bitter disappointment when, upon reading this post, I learned that it was NOT a sordid tale about glow-in-the-dark women’s lingerie. *Nav ponders in perplexed fashion the mystery of why the level in his wine bottle is dropping so quickly*
Have a blast in NYC, Aussa. Only been once and had a fab time. Oysters on the half shell and California chardonnay at Grand Central Station is a must, as is the Met and Central Park.
Wow, Aussa, I just realized how young you are. Go to your room, young lady! *Nav feels smugly satisfied with himself, for some strange reason. Wine level dropping precipitously.*
Haha! Well, I’m an old soul, really. Blame it on the radiation.
The Chernobyl skin care protocol!
I will definitely keep that in mind, Nav! I’ve actually never had oysters… I know, I know, so uncultured, this one.
And! I never said I DIDNT have a sordid story about glow-in-the-dark women’s lingerie…
Of course you didn’t! You are a classy and cultured young lady. How were you, in your youthful innocence, to know what lurks in the devious minds of male navigators?
I quote: “What Do Aussa and Chernobyl Have In Common?” Good question. Let’s go into deep pattern-finding mode. Chernobyl was highly radioactive. This makes things glow in the dark, a la Homer Simpson. Ergo, that which is in common must be things that glow in the dark.
Oysters are actually a fantastic culinary experience. Have a couple of glasses of wine first, for your first time.
Oh, and happy birthday! You’re a swell gal.
“Have a couple of glasses of wine first, for your first time.”
Stoooop it! Haha. But really– I must try it, though the thought makes my stomach swim.
Thanks for the birthday wishes 🙂
Have lots and lots of fun, my lovely Ninja Lady! *makes sure the shurikens are floating magically in the air, being all sparkly and stuff*
Lately, I’ve been pretty indifferent towards my birthday. Don’t hate it, but don’t like it either. Never had crazy adventures though! I should change that. ^_^
*hugs and waves*
YES. You absolutely must change it. Think of it as the annual “Excuse To Have An Adventure” day.
Happy Birthday! I can’t believe you got a one-way ticket to China. You’ve got some stones. But I’m glad you’re more comfortable in your birthday skin now. Sorry. That sounded kind of Hannibal Lector-ish.
Haha! *eyes light up* Birthday skin? Sounds sparkly!
Yes, the China Birthday was an odd one. I really must blog about that. That’s what the manuscript Mark Paxson read was about, actually. Hoping to work on it this summer!
I thought the answer was: you both glow green in the dark.
I love these pictures… and they make me want to meet you in real life.
Been to New York… had some adventures… but I would like to return to Amsterdam a few more times.
Now, now. A ninja simply cannot go around glowing in the dark. Unless of course everything else is also glowing and then I suppose it would prove rather useful.
I’m glad you like the photos! It seemed mildly creepy to post so many of myself at one time so I made them iiiiitty bitty 😉
Amsterdam! I’ve only been to the airport. I’ve been to the red light district in Frankfurt though… that was interesting.
Amsterdam has a red light district that lights up the sky.
So I hear!
yup
Happy Birthday Aussa! So, you snuck into the world while everyone was looking at Chernobyl, eh? You’re a tricky one. Ha! Have an awesome NYC trip and we want to hear all the gossip when you get back – so take notes!
Yes, exactly! Or maybe my entrance required some sort of massive disaster as payment. That’s dark… hehe.
I will definitely be taking notes! And I will be all over social media blabbing about it!
Happy birthday. Have a super awesome wonderful amazing one.
Thanks Alex! I plan to 🙂
Have the happiest of birthdays!!! I heart NYC… just being there for less than a week back in 06 made me feel cooler permanently… Have fun!
OHHH so that’s what makes you so cool Sara 😉
I’m trying to think… I feel like I may have been there in 06. What if we passed each other in some mob? *mind blown*
*head explodes* that would be too crazy… imagine, in a slidesy door alternate universe we might have met in real person and taken over the world!!
!!! The world simply was not ready.
Yet…
I am glad this wasn’t about explosive, redheaded tempers. I hate that stereotype… HATE IT!
In other news, I can be in New York in about 6 hours 😉
Haha! We need to have a blogger convention sometime… (our own, non-glamourous, non-sponsored affair) and we can determine the location by plotting everyone’s home airport on a map and then you can be a data driven introvert and calculate the place that’s closest for everyone. YES. Best idea I’ve had in a long time.
And! Yes, I agree about the redhead stereotype. I’m not explosive at all. I simmer very quietly and then I engulf.
Happy birthday, Aussa! Have a good one.
Thanks Miep! I will!
Oh gosh– perhaps I should check in on your own local meltdown situation :-/
When I worked for the Syracuse daily all of us feature staff writers had to turn in a day-trip feature for a couple years running.
We did the Rock Hall of Fame and a Cleveland Indians game one year. Fun and uneventful.
The next year I picked a dinosaur theme: an afternoon at the Museum of Natural History in the afternoon and dinner at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que that night.
Even with GPS, I got lost coming out of the tunnel into Manhattan. Garmin lady can’t voice her turn by turns fast enough to keep up with real turn by turns. It was the first of many wrong-ways. Traffic won’t let you get in the right lane or the left lane, one-way streets keep you from doubling back.
But the museum dinosaur exhibit was awesome, Aussa. I highly recommend the museum if you want to be laid back one afternoon with boyfran. And the barbecue at the Dinosaur is the best. The original Dino opened 25 years ago in Syracuse and the Harlem joint had a welcoming clientele of Latinas and bikers and suit-wearers.
We never saw a rat the size of a donkey. Yikes. Have a great trip.
YES! THIS! “Traffic won’t let you get in the right lane or the left lane, one-way streets keep you from doubling back.”
I was so bummed when I sat down to write this because I can’t find photos or videos from my first trip! I looked on all my computers and external hardrives, but nothing! I well recall the exact moment we got completely lost because I was filming it and my friend got really worried/frustrated and I couldn’t stop laughing! I have GOT to find that!
Also– Love the idea of the dinosaur museum! The Boyfran and I did a date like that when Jurassic Park was released at the Imax last year– it was all day dinos!
Enjoy it all this time around, Aussa. And, Happy Birthday! I care, even though a million Chernobyl-ites refuse to celebrate along with you.
I’ve actually lost a lot of enthusiasm for my birthday over the past few years. It’s just a lot harder to get people to participate when it isn’t a house party, which unfortunately my birthday parties no longer are.
As for NYC, I’ve never been but am plotting a move to live in the city this year. It’s one of the most ludicrous things ive come up with in a long time, but I feel like I need some new scenery.
Happy birthday! (Yes I know I’m a couple days early, but if you’re gonna blog about it then I’m gonna wish you a happy bday).
Thanks Brantley! Wait– aren’t you like 15? 😉 Just kidding– but you’re in your early 20s right? Coming from an old lady (I’m literally sitting on my front porch as I type this, I’ll have you know), you need to try and enjoy them 😉
That’s exciting that you’re thinking of moving there. I mean… why the hell not? This is the perfect time, simply because it’s now.
I’m 25. The rough thing about birthdays is how many of my friends moved off after college, so I can’t pack out a house party anymore! I’m flittering between an adult pragmatic relocation to NYC and a 20-something YOLO probably a mistake move to NYC. I just want to have a buck or two to enjoy the city when I get there, so it’d be swell to have employment waiting for me before I pack up and move. I don’t know how realistic that is though!
Oh! 25. Still young though 😉 That’s right when my life started making slight sense though, so be careful because order and maturity could be sneaking up on you.
I vote for YOLO. Just don’t get there by climbing into the wheel well of a jet.
I vote for saving money up before you go too, though. Ha.
Haha thanks for the encouragement. I’ve got too many things left on my lifelong to do list to be getting into any wheel wells. I heard that the survival rate on documented cases of that is like 25%. I’m just not that lucky of a guy! I would be a Brantley-cicle by the time we landed!
May you be blessed with better weather. Huge reunion with the two uni kidlets planned for the warm balmy month of February in NYC. Got as far as Toronto and learned all buses, planes, trains, tractors, roller blades, ambulances … you name it – any form of transportation and yes it was cancelled. Spent our reunion in Toronto which is lovely but it’s not NYC. Have a wonderful time and know that I am supremely jealous.
Oh gosh! That’s not good at all :-/ I’ve had a few trips like that…. best laid plans and all that. I’ve never been to Toronto so you’ve bested me there!
Birthdays are good as long as I keep perspective and don’t get all stupid with expectation. I’ve not really been to NYC, only the airport and Long Island. Long Island was a great adventure, but mostly because of the people I was with, not really the Island, although I was driven past the house that Amityville Horror was written about. So, that was kinda cool…but the house had been changed some because people were stalking it too much. It still kinda looks like the house in the movie but meh. I’m not sure I have a place I will always return to, maybe Louisiana (to visit not to live) or San Diego and I think Japan, though none of those are NEED to return to, but definitely wouldn’t refuse them either. Think the gypsy in me just enjoys exploring new places too much to return to places already been. I can’t even contemplate settling down in one place for more than a few years but I know it will happen eventually, like when we are forced to retire.
Woah. I’ve never watched Amittyville Horror but the fact it is based off of occurrences in a house you can actually drive by is raaaather intriguing.
I totally get your inner Gypsy! For the most part I always want to go somewhere new every time I get the chance to jet off. But NYC and Laos are two places I can’t help but boomerang back to…
I like that you don’t plan to settle down. In fact, I love it. There was someone who commented on my “Enrique” post about all the adventures they were still having at 75. That’s a goal to aspire to right there.
Indeed…I can only hope to be like that if I live so long.
Sounds gorgeous. You have good friends, and happy birthday in advance, you young thing, you 🙂
Where I will keep going back to – the beach.
Best birthdays – one year I hired a bouncy castle assault course, just because I could. And last year I got to drive a steam train (pity I was still drunk and sad, but hey, it was awesome).
Have a lovely time.
Lizzi aren’t we the same age?! And… it has been oh so long since I have been to a beach. I don’t even want to talk about it, its been that long. I mean, obviously I can’t go out past my bellybutton or I’ll drown but it’s still nice to splash in the shallows 😉
Bouncy castle assault course??? WOW. That sounds dangerous and delicious. There’s a local place around here where you can rent exotic baby animals for a few hours and I briefly considered throwing myself an adult “kids party” full of baby monkeys and tigers but then the Boyfran had to go off and buy plane tickets. Maybe next year.
Nup. You’re barely older than my Husby, who’s younger than my baby sister (which makes me feel a little weird, when I think about it too hard). I have three years on you…
Sounds as though you need to find yourself some beach time. And swimming lessons 😀 Maybe a present to yourself to keep you SAFE!
The bouncy assault course was AMAZING. I had no skin left on my knees or elbows by the end of the day, and I ached for a week afterwards, but it was worth every moment. It was brilliant.
Not sure how I feel about renting baby exotics. Perhaps I’m indoctrinated by the strict laws we have here on ensuring their provision of as natural a state as possible whilst in captivity….care of exotics being one of the defunct qualifications I have strung in my bow…I’ll not stir trouble though. I know things are different over there.
No, no I’m right there with you– you’re definitely right about baby exotic animals. OOOOH BUT IT IS TEMPTING. I JUST WANT TO CUDDLE THEM ALL.
After I went to Kenya, I swore off zoos. I thought they were terrible. But I’ve slowly come around… for those that are humane and well rated and blah blah blah. I like that quality about you 🙂
And! Lizzi………………. It’s been my thought for a long time that I must learn to swim before I am 30. So I have two years now. TWO YEARS. I also figure I ought to know how to swim before I have any childrens.
I know – they’re so adorable. And I think for well-managed, conservation/education there are facilities which I think are wonderful opportunities to protect and save species – after all, there’s nothing particularly safe or wonderful about being ‘free’ (as we humans so fondly like to imagine the wild animals, imprisoned as they are by the necessities and ructions of that heartless bitch, Mother Nature). I see both your points.
You should definitely learn to swim before you have children otherwise you will NEVER have a leg to stand on, should they find out one day, when you’re sending them to swimming lessons. Also if you EVER want to feel safe with them at the beach (if you trawl back through Sandy’s blog, she has a Ten Things of Thankful where her entire post was a sigh of relief that she and her friend had been able to rescue her kids from a riptide which pulled them out to sea not long ago…I shudder to imagine the heartbreak if the mama couldn’t have swum, and had to stand on the beach watching…Aussa, please learn!) ya gotta do it.
Aiiiee! BUT – plus side – two years is AGES long enough to learn 🙂 I have every confidence in you.
I love NYC. I love it when I get to visit and it’s been far too long.
You were born the same month and year that I got married the first time. Haha.
I’m so old.
And happy almost birthday, gorgeous!!!
Thanks Michelle! I leave this space in your trusty hands!
And! That means you can equate your first marriage with Chernobyl, basically. So it all works out.
Look how fun you gals are…what great pictures!! Have a wonderful time in NYC, one of my favorite places!! Happy Birthday
Thank you Barb! I’ll try to take some photos that are worthy of you… though obviously I will fail but it’s the thought that counts 😉
You are sweet….Have a wonderful time on your birthday
I don’t dislike my birthday or anything like that but I do just think it is just another day.
Oh I suppose you are right… but why not infuse arbitrary moments with magic? Like when I celebrate the most minor of things… like anniversary of statehood. That deserves a round of drinks, surely!
Drinkin’ is different. If I am between doses of my painkillers, I will take any excuse to drink! I just let the magic happen, like in the smile of a 7 yr old or the fist pump of a 16 yr old as she is psyched after driving across town for the first time. I am just an old mellow guy. lol
Happy Birthday, my favorite Ninja. I love your sweet friends with the 27 Awesome Things! Enjoy New York and have many adventures so I can continue to live vicariously through you. And for Christ’s sake, be careful. (Sorry, I’m a mom, you know?) (Take your taser.)
Aw! I’m your favorite ninja??? *blushes* Thank you!
OMG STEPH. Tasers are illegal in New York. And I’m carrying my luggage on board so I can’t even attempto smuggle it without ending up in prison :-/
That leaves me with only one choice: I will have to kill bad guys with my bare hands for an entire weekend.
Ohhhh. Oops. I guess, don’t take advice from me, cause I’m likely to get you arrested! But I have faith in your ninja skillz.
“What’s the one place in the world that you will always return to?”
The bathroom.
Womp-womp 😉
Gotta love the WC though!
Thank you. I’m here all week. Except for Thursday. I’m boycotting Thursday until there’s equality.
Happy almost birthday! I had a friend who’s birthday was on September 12th, which seems unremarkable except that in 2001 EVERYONE including his mom was still so out of sorts that they totally forgot his birthday.
I’ve always loved my birthday, and due to… the structure of my family… always enjoyed several different celebrations each year for it. My husband has yet to grow accustomed to this, as every year he protests how “excessive” it is for me to expect a whole birthday weekend, or week, or more. Hah! I’m thinking NYC might be a fun trip for my 30th birthday this year, and a good excuse to don my dinosaur hat for a perspective photo with lady liberty.
I’ve heard that from a lot of people who had birthdays around then– they were just completely forgotten. Gosh, what an awful time that was 🙁 And continues to be, for so many people.
OMG wait what– dinosaur hat? Should I do this? Should this be a thing? We can start a trend– the new planking. No, no, no stealing. I’ll wait for you to start it and then I’ll be quick behind you. And it’s totally reasonable to expect an entire week of celebrations! Celebrating is the best!
Dinosaur hat… yes. You’re welcome to do it, who knows if I’ll actually make it to NYC. But people in dinosaur hats threatening world-famous monuments sounds way cooler than people planking on them. I was always a fan of extreme ironing, myself. Anyways, happy birthday week!
I used to visit CBGB’s in Manhattan back in the day, and it was rockin’! Lots of great memories there! Happy Birthday, stay safe but have fun!
“Stay safe but have fun” = words to live by! I’ll do my best 😉
Have the best birthday ever Aussa. You deserve it, and I am sure you will return with many more Aussome tales of wild and crazy NYC birthday party adventures and MISadventures. LOL. Have a good one and be safe.
Thanks John 🙂 I plan to have many adventures! We’ll see how The Boyfran feels about that 😉 Surely I’ll have enough for at least oooooone blog post…
Can’t wait. Have an Aussome B-day. Be safe and have fun.
Oh and BTW. Places I will return to? Only one so far. Lake Tahoe. Year after year. Favorite place on the Earth (that I have seen so far.) That place restores my sanity at least once and sometimes twice a year.
I haven’t been! But photos I’ve seen make it look oh so lovely.
Put it on your list and aim for a less touristy time of year. You won’t regret it.
Happy almost birthday. I am sitting here sad because it would have been my sister’s 62nd birthday. I learned that she had died as my husband son and I were heading out to celebrate my birthday, and I flew to her funeral on my actual birthday.
For years I got deeply depressed on my b-day but last year I stopped. It is a thing to celebrate. Survival. Being with people you love. Life is good, and now I remember that much more often.
And Venice is my magical place.
Oh Elyse, I’m so sorry. That is horrible timing to learn something like that. I hate when a tragedy falls near an important date or holiday… not that there is ever a time when something will hurt less, but it’s hard not to associate things with that loss. I agree though– it ought to be celebrated. I will look back at Susie’s post anytime I nearly forget that.
And, Venice! All I know of it are paintings. And that I must go.
My 29th birthday is one of my most memorable birthdays…I was in New Orleans and had a bunch of awesome gay guys sing Happy Birthday to me at a cafe on Bourbon Street. They also bought my breakfast and a plate full of M&Ms since there wasn’t any pastry of any kind. It was certainly one I will not forget! But my 30th was pretty cool….I was at a Kinks concert! Since my 50th was last summer, I don’t really think much of them anymore. I do not get my hopes up because they can be sorely dashed…(as I have experienced in the past) but your’s all sound like great adventures!
*I don’t think you are a real person sometimes* LMAO!
Have a glorious time in NYC! Go to Strawberry Fields garden and kiss the statue of John Lennon for me! :-*
Oh oh what! I have not heard of Strawberry Fields Garden! I must be out of the loop on that one– I’ve seen the “imagine” stone in Central Park but that’s it!
Sounds like you’ve had some great birthdays– especially that 29th, huzzah! And– I’m tooootally a real person, that’s why the vlogs are there 😉 #proof
Oh yeah!!!!!!!!! I have actually seen your beautiful face!! I forgot….LOL! as if…..
The Strawberry Fields Garden may have only been temporary. It has been a long time since I was in NYC. But go see the “Imagine” stone for me, OK?
I hope you have an awesome birthday toots! 🙂
Happy 28th Birthday Aussa! Enjoy New York and the boyfran on your big day.
Thank you! I certainly will 🙂
Happy birthday my friend! Have fun in NYC! My Grandma in law lives there and we ate SO MANY BAGELS!
Sorry, my fattiness is seeping through. If you’re a brownie fan, Fat Witch Brownies in Manhatten have internationally acclaimed brownies. And Times Square is a perfect place to be proposed to, as well as Central Park. Beware of the Boyfran turning into a Fiance 😉
I freaking love bagels. It was a late in life discovery but BELIEVE ME I have made up for lost time. Asiago, swoon.
Oh! I wrote that first part before reading the last half of your comment! Scary 😉
Any kosher bakery will have AMAZING bagels. Fo’ realz.
Very nice, Aussa! I am glad you are back to celebrating birthdays. It doesn’t matter how old we are, we still want to be celebrated wether we admit it or not. Have a blast!!! And, YES on the Susie Lindau’s take on life! 🙂
It’s so true! I think that a lot of my reluctance had to do with resisting people’s affection and concern for my existence… silly me. Now I’m obsessed with being cared about 😉 Hahahaha poor Boyfran. I’m glad you enjoyed Susie’s post. It was a good reminder for me.
Holy crap, you’re a Chernobyl baby… that’s kind of cool, in some weird way that makes me want to write about it. I dunno, drunk. That is all I have to say.
YES. Write about it, please.
“The Chernobyl Baby” by Trent Lewin
It would be like 5000 words and contain hidden messages to aliens, and wouldn’t make two sentences worth of sense, so of course I’m going to write it. But I’m not paying you a royalty! Okay, I will buy you a virtual drink. Vodka shot preferred.
How wonderful! We are business partners made in heaven, because I ONLY accept payment in virtual drinks.
Please do include some symbols, a la The Da Vinci Code et. etc.
I’m so jealous! I’m desperate to see Hedwig on Broadway, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to swing it with the kids :-/ I’d have to go alone and that seems really depressing considering the show is all about loneliness… Anyway, enjoy the big city!
Haha you’re so funny! I’ve never been to the theatre alone but I’ve certainly seen many movies alone and yeah I think you have to be careful what you see… I watched “Pan’s Labyrinth” by myself and went into a depression for like two weeks!
That movie was creepy as hell! The only movie I ever went to alone was a terrible romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler…I was definitely depressed afterward but for very different reasons 😛
Haha! If it was any Adam Sandler movie that came out after 2003 then YES, utterly depressing.
Headwig is a tough ticket already and the reviews aren’t even out yet. Just wait until they are. Then, like a lot of hit shows, it’ll only be for rich people.
Well, I guess that sort of makes me feel better 🙁 Darn.
Mark, we are seeing The Cripple of Inishmaan, at your suggestion!
I just saw it last night! Really funny and an excellent cast. It opened to rave reviews on Monday.
Here you go. This should whet your appetite. It’s the review just published in the NY Times the other day. It contains a helpful synopsis if the plot. The production is imported from London and the Irish accents are so thick that I missed a few lines.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/theater/daniel-radcliffe-stars-in-revival-of-the-cripple-of-inishmaan.html?_r=0&referrer=
Will read, as long as there are no “spoilers!” I MURDER for spoilers!
I think it’s safe. They’re usually pretty good about leaving out the fun surprises in store.
You’re going to be in my city and I’m going to be elsewhere. FRACK.
It seems as though you are always elsewhere!
Also happy birthday!!
Hahahaha Thank You 🙂
As you know, my main feeling about my birthday is that no one else can share it. It’s MINE!
My bff and I used to hop on a bus every year and go for a shopping spree in NYC back when we were in highschool. We first got the idea when her school put together a bus trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We hopped on the bus with the other students, made it to NYC, did a quick 10 minute spin through the museum, then pulled out our mapquest printout so that we could make our way to Tiffany’s. From that year on, we hit up NYC every fall, but didn’t bother wasting our time with silly museums.
Haha oh yes, that’s right! It’s enough to render someone unemployable!
I love that you used a Mapquest printout. That’s exactly what we had (in addition to our 9lb atlas). Our children will laugh at us some day!
Remember the days when you’d be clutching your mapquest printout with both hands still gripping the wheel and you’d be darting your eyes up to the road, then back to your mapquest, up to the road, etc. Look at the road for too long and you’d be all, oh no which direction was I on??? Maybe that was just me…
No, that’s so me! I still do that with the GPS on the phone and it’s TALKING to me.
Hahaha!! I use my GPS to go to and from work every day. I’ve been at the same office for 5 years. If it stopped working, I would probably get lost!!
I think we may be soulmates.
Two soulmates catfishing the modern internet world one blog at a time.
*fistpump*
My feelings about my birthday have gone from big thrill to casual indifference to abject panic. Just wait until you reach my stratosphere. It’s downright worrisome!
My life *IS* an NYC adventure! But don’t be jealous. I hang on my cross for lots of other stuff. I haven’t escaped anything. But NYC? At least I’ve got that going for me.
JERLERS of your daily NYC adventure, psshh– can’t help it.
And yeah… I started dreading and hating birthdays when I turned 19. But that’s a waste of time. I shall embrace them as well as I can and demand fancy presents.
GO SEE KINKY BOOTS. Seriously, listen to me. Just tell your boyfriend the title and not what it’s actually about. It’s amazing. JUST DO IT.
Haha okay now I have to google it! AND! I think I’m going to give myself a birthday present of buying all the stuff in my iPhone note that I’ve written down from browsing your site!
DO IT – on both accounts! I’m happy to be an enabler :):):)
Have fun in NYC! And Happy (early) Birthday!
I was in a band right after high school called Melt Down. We called it that because of the nuclear disaster at Three Mile Island that happened right then SEVENTEEN YEARS BEFORE you and Chernobyl happened. Do you share anything else with Chernobyl? Are you rapidly returning to your wild and natural state like the exclusion zone there is? They say that wolves live there now.
My birthday is December 15, which was always too close to Christmas to get too worked up over, but I never really minded and usually figured out a way to turn it into a good time. My last birthday was my 53rd and I discovered that day that there was a new Neko Case album that I hadn’t known about, so I downloaded it and was as happy as a bucket o’ clams.
So happy birthday, have fun in NYC, and am I to infer from the above comment that Michelle is doing something here in your absence? She’s another one of my favorite bloggers, and I do have excellent taste in bloggers.
I am giggling like a fool at this question: “Are you rapidly returning to your wild and natural state like the exclusion zone there is?” Seriously, I’m rocking back on my heels and laughing with abandon.
I can’t see why clams would be very happy in a bucket. I’ve seen very large buckets of crabs and they seemed to be suffering from extreme anxiety.
Are clams the same thing as oysters? I feel dumb. I ought to google it, but I have so many tabs open already.
Also– I didn’t realize Neko Case was still making music? I’m sounding dumber and more ignorant as this comment goes on.
And… you infer correctly 😉
I never understood the whole happy as a clam thing either, I was stealing that expression from Matt Groening’s comic “Life in Hell”. I can’t really explain the difference between clams and oysters; not that big a fan of either.
Neko case’s new album is called The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You. She has teamed up with Kelly Hogan on a quasi-permanent basis. The two of them could be singing truly horrible things about me, but as long as they harmonized while they did, I’d be smiling.
And best case scenario is having both you AND Michelle to read, but if your absence means more Michelle, I guess that’s not so bad.
I have it pulled up and am listening now!
“Magical and Desperate”
If I garner (garnish?) enuff Good Karma, I am coming back as yer Boyfran.
Jes sayin’
😉
Happy Early B’day!
Haha aw, I’ll take that as a compliment then.
Thanks for the Bday wishes!
Oh, Happy Happy Birthday, Aussa!! Have a ball in NYC. I’ve never been, so I must live through you. Take in a Broadway show for me, okay? What can I say about birthdays. I’ve begun to count backwards and I’m stuck at age 29! Yay! That’s a great age. That is strange that you are a Chernobyl baby and I think you are the first that I’ve met ever. But really it’s pretty cool. Have a wonderful B-day!
Thanks Amy! If I ever need a new identity, you will be able to find me out there on the interwebs with the handle “Chernobyl Baby.”
I looove Broadway! This time we are seeing a play– “the cripple of inishmaan.” I know nothing of it, other than it was expensive, highly recommended, and Harry Potter is in it.
Oh, do you know Lame Adventures? She just wrote a post about that. She really liked it! Enjoy! Birthday hugs and kisses. xoxo
I used to love my birthday until other people ruined it
Other people have a way of doing that. To everything…
After finally finding the end to previous comments, Happy Birthday.
I stopped blogging because I could barely tolerate ten comments. Too tiresome.
You’d get an average of ten? Lucky!
To many for me!
I know some bloggers who have turned off comments entirely and just post it for reading only… you could do that if you ever get the urge to put your words out there.
And, thanks!
Aussa, it’s not April Fools’ anymore! For a moment, I thought you were going to say you had a meltdown. Happy birthday, though. Thank you for inspiring sentiments of oldness, too, for I do remember news about that incident.
How do YOU feel about your birthday?
*shrug* My sister, Jenn “The Amazon” (she stands 6’0″) is already spilling the beans about her schemes and machinations to humiliate me on my 40th this August. She wants to get me a wooden staff, so that I’ll grow a long beard and say, “Fly, you fools!” Yeah, sure. Like Ian McKellen’s Gandalf and Christopher Lee’s Sauroman somehow mated and gave birth to Wizzy Claus me. Like a bowl full of… jelly.
Have you had any NYC adventures?
None whatsoever. Furthest east Cimmy and I went was Ann Arbor, MI.
What’s the one place in the world that you will always return to?
So far it’s been Chuck E. Cheese’s, Columbia Center Blvd., Richland, WA, ever since it began as Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theater about… hmm… 1983, I believe.
Hey, it’s a birthday post, and that’s where I keep returning come birthday times.
Oh! I most definitely have meltdowns! Just ask The Boyfran.
I think you should most definitely dress up like Gandalf on your birthday. I mean… I kind of want to steal the idea from you.
Last time I was in Denver, I passed a guy wearing a full blown wizard costume.. but I think he may have been a real wizard. At least, his beard looked real. And his staff.
I mean… I kind of want to steal the idea from you.
A red-headed wizard…? Hmmm….
I did a few wizard and sorcerer getups back in the day, but again, now… I think I’d still look like Santa Mage. “Ho ho ho… I mean, Avernum Poxus Espelliarum!”
1. You have amazing friends!
2. Presents and free drinks are the only thing that make birthdays worth having 😉
Happy, happy birthday! Since it’s not actually your birthday til the 26th, I’m early, but since you’re not German you probably don’t mind.
Haha do German people get upset if you wish them an early Happy Birthday??? I don’t mind 😉 Thank you!
And you’re right about the free drinks– I will begin accepting those at lunch today HAHA.
They think being wished a happy birthday early is bad luck.
Interesting! I always like hearing about these cultural tidbits.
happy almost bday, aussa. i love the idea with the candles at each location. ps – i love celebrating my birthday, usually try to somehow extend it to a whole month fiesta of sorts. )
Now we’re thinking! An entire month of festivities… YES. I have friends who also celebrate their half birthdays, which I find hilarious. If I were capable of maths, I’d figure that one out.
Those birthday adventures look nothing but amazing! ^_^
I used to hate my own birthday. I didn’t like the attention (sometimes the lack thereof- I guess I’m hard to please) and the reminder that I’m getting older. I didn’t even think there was anything about me special enough to celebrate. But a few years into my awful period of bulimia, OCD and GAD, I started thinking of my birthday like a perfect reminder of how strong I was. Despite my troubles, I was still alive, fighting on. And I started celebrating my birthday in honor of that. Now that I’m cured of almost everything (I will probably always have more anxiety than others), living a very happy life, I celebrate my birthday because I think I’m fucking awesome to have survived all those hard years. Some people seriously DIE from bulimia. And some mental patients commit suicide. I didn’t. I survived something horrible and I think that’s worth celebrating!
I’ve never been to NYC but I’d love to go. And I think I’ll always return to Poland. There’s something about that country that just makes everything feel so right. It’s really weird, actually, but I’ve had an interest in Poland ever since I was maybe 11 or 12 years old. I’ve always felt like I have to go there, and when I visited the first time last May, I knew I was in the right place. Next month I’m going there for the third time. I also have some Polish friends who ironically kinda slipped into my life here in Sweden, and apparently my boyfriend has Polish aunties. I think this is quite hilarious. It’s like Poland and I are meant to be. Maybe I was a Pole in my previous life?
This sentence made me smile: “I celebrate my birthday because I think I’m fucking awesome to have survived all those hard years.” That’s amazing and might need to be on a meme or something. You’ve kicked some serious ass, it sounds like… you are right about the fact that many people don’t survive those, I see it far too often at my work.
Poland, interesting! That’s not an answer I would have expected to hear but I love that it’s like a recurring theme in your life– it is definitely meant to be and I think you may be on to something with your reincarnation theory…
Ahhhh! I’m dying to go to NYC. We had planned on it, but just as you said, funny how life has it’s own plan. Enter: the little monster. 🙂 Someday! Have a great time with the Boyfran and have a wonderful Happy Birthday amazing SW!
Haha, how funny! Yep– nothing like a miniature human to come along and derail all your plans. I suppose he’s worth it, the poor little cacti victim 😉
I went to NYC in college. It was awesome! I went for a journalism conference, which means I stayed in the same hotel, picked up all the free swag, and spent 72 straight hours eating all the iconic foods, seeing all the iconic sights, and doing as much as I could, including squeezing in some research at the Harlem Library and showing up at the Today Show at 4:30 in the morning to make sure I had a front row spot. I did. It was epic! Even though none of them talked to me. Their loss.
Have fun on your trip! Happy Birthday!!!
Thanks Melanie! And that’s awesome that you went to the Harlem Library– Harlem is one place we will be hitting that I’ve not made it on my previous trips… After all the books and music etc. etc. that I’ve studied in school, it is about time!
I went specifically to read some handwritten letters in their archives and I went by myself. Everyone thought I was nuts, but it was one of the best days there. I’m glad there wasn’t anyone to distract me from the experience. It was awesome!
I’ve never done anything wild for my birthday. During my 18th birthday (where many girls here have coming our parties) I got drunk on the beach side with my closest friends. I still don’t like celebrating my birthdays in a bog way but I just want those closest to me to be there. 🙂
I think it’s important to share important experiences with people that matter and not just be focused on creating some sort of big to-do. I like how you spent your 18th birthday, haha. My parents actually forgot about my birthday that year! I think all I did on that birthday was go get a movie rental membership, because I was finally old enough. Yeah, I’m awesome.
I’m having birthday envy over here. I’m never done anything like this. Have a blast on your trip and happy early birthday!
Laura, it’s never too late! You get a chance every year.
Next year, I want to have a “kid” party.. maybe an overnight lock-in at the zoo. YES. And probably I will need to toilet paper someone’s yard.
My birthday is on mischief night…there was always plenty of toilet papering.
I LOVE what your friends did for you last year, that’s amazing and made me feel all emotional! There’s definitely something emotional about birthdays. If you hear of a story about a kid that had a birthday party where no one turned up, it’s just heartbreaking isn’t it! When my kids were little I was always so anxious about the possibility of that happening, thankfully it never did. I can’t say I ever particularly look forward to my birthday, not like some people who seem to get excited for months beforehand, planning what they’re going to do! I enjoyed my 30th birthday because I went jetskiing on Lake Mead just outside Vegas, and as I had been a bit down about turning 30, it was the ideal thing to do to make me feel good about the world. And I enjoyed my 40th because me and my Neil took a weekend break in London and it was lovely. Mostly I’m just pleased to have my kids make me a cake and sing happy birthday to me! Have a fab time in NY lady!
Oh, I don’t want to think about that! Having no one show up to a kid’s birthday party would be terrible 🙁 I’ve worried that when I’ve thrown wedding/baby showers before though! Ah.
Weekend breaks are the best thing ever… the Boyfran works for Hilton, so it makes things nice and convenient for those. My idea of a “getaway” has definitely morphed over the years!
Aw! Happy Birthday fellow April chick – what awesome friends you have! And don’t worry about the Chernobyl thing… I happen to share my birthday with Adolf Hitler, so… yeah. 🙂 But I guess after reading Susie’s post, I’ve decided to make peace with it as well. With any luck, by 40, I’ll be a totally chilled dictator! Have fun in NYC xox
Haha! Well… at least that’s 4/20 if you’re into that sort of thing 😉 Happy Birthday a couple days ago!
Thanks to you, that myth has now been busted! I never bothered to check Hitler’s birthdate, instead believing what was fed to me in various astrology pages. Turns out, it’s not Hitler but Lenin whose birthday I share… 22, not 20! Anyone, moral of the story is, we’re both dangerous 😉
Oh! Bustin’ myths up in here, huzzah! And yes. Very dangerous…
But astrology is a science while history isn’t. Scientists have atomic clocks and do rendezvouses in space and all kinda stuff with accurate timing.
History is written by the victors, how subjective is that? Holocaust denial is a thing, gravity denial isn’t. So one should prefer the evidence of scientists.
Sorry Alarna, Hitler really is your birthmate. Stars are just stars, they can’t lie.
I often hide on my birthday, take the day off and do whatever I like.
My bro went one better. His wife organised a surprise birthday party, he came in, turned and shot straight out again. The party went very well anyway.
I am a firm believer in taking the day off on your birthday— I’ve never worked that day, everrrr. I like your brother’s reaction, that’s hilarious. I remember when I was… maybe 17 or so, my friends threw me a surprise dinner party and then when it was over and we headed back home, there was another surprise party waiting. It was kind of incredible.
Happy Birthday!
I love the Land Rover road trip for your 21st. Be glad you’ve done all these things ’cause it’s more difficult to do as you get older (until you’re a lot older, like 60) I believe. Or at least during any period where you have offspring, mortgage, and the weight of the world weighing you down…and every morning you think about offing yourself…..but I digress.
I guess I don’t mind birthdays. They come and go. Now that I have kids, most of the focus is on them rightfully so. Forty came and went with no fanfare this past year for me and that’s okay. I do think now is one of the best ages for me. Ironically I really enjoys the early to mid 80’s for whatever reason, 1986 especially. Probably the whole “becoming a teenager” thing. You make me feel old, ha.
As for NYC I’ve only been twice – first time in college and we stayed in a hostile filled with ants and German backpackers who snored. From that moment on I vowed I would always make / have enough money for a real hotel room, even if it was the Holiday Inn in NYC. A promise I’ve essentially kept throughout my adult life. I have no desire to “rough it” in a hostile anywhere, anytime. Ever. I’ll commune with humanity over wine mid-day on the coast of Italy or in a Irish pub after closing hours. But not in a hostile.
The other time we went for work during Christmas and it was great. We stayed in Times Square and I found that area safe to walk even at night. We met a supplier at a really cool bar / restaurant “under” Grand Central Station. Behind a nondescript door and down a flight a stairs the world opened up to reveal a really cool, but not trendy or flashy place to get a drink and presumably good food (we just drank, maybe had an appetizer). It was a neat experience.
That place “under” Grand Central Station sounds cool! Like a proper speakeasy 🙂
And you’re so funny about hostels– you sound like the Boyfran. I’ve always enjoyed staying in them… as long as they’re the cool funky ones and not the shit-hole ant-infested ones, of course.
I will keep this in mind, what you said about growing old and wanting to off myself in the morning. Those are heartwarming birthday thoughts.
Happy birthday, Aussa! 🙂 NYC is on my photography bucket list, so I am a hair envious of you! 🙂 I hope you have an absolute blast!
Thanks Julie! I need to go and delete thousands of photos from my phone so that I will have storage space for new ones! I’ll try to do you proud 🙂
I can’t WAIT to see them! <3
Oh Aussa…Happy Birthday babygirl! I am sure you will have a wonderful time and Boyfran will help keep you safe. At least you are staying on US soil (presumably) and relatively safe. It might not surprise you that I have never been to NYC. I can barely say I have been to Chicago, and I live here! ha! jk. a little maybe.. Birthdays are magical. I was 25 on yours!
I love your sense of adventure even if your sense of self preservation needs some…assertiveness??
The 27 Awesome Things! What a great idea! Your friends are amazing! Not that I am surprised, I am fairly certain that you draw amazing things to you like some kinda force field.
You have a great time and be safe!
Happy Birthday!
Aw, your friends are so sweet! I love the photos in this post. Look at you being all tender and shit. haha.
I LOVE NYC. Have a wonderful time, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! XOXOXO
Happy early birthday and I hope your time in NYC is filled with adventure-in a good way! I’ve never been there and have always wanted to go. It’s on the bucket list.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Thanks so much for the shout! I have always celebrated them, probably because they are all about fun and the milestone of living another year. I plan to live a very long life and really want to fill that cake with wax!
Have fun in NYC!
Aww, Happy Birthday Chernobyl girl! Have a wonderful time in NYC. I’ve been heading there monthly since I started my new job – head office is in Times Square! Love, love, love everything about that great city.
I heart NY! It’s one of the places where I always return. Other than trying to buy Coco’s sunglasses from Iced Tea, another interesting NYC adventure was when I left my group of friends standing in line at a hot new night club in the Meat Packing District in hopes of finding a place to pee. I walked for what seemed like hours until the beacon of light shone above some sketchy gas station/gyro shop. I walked through the door, and the smell almost knocked me down, but…bladder. I wiggled and danced and asked if they had a restroom. They didn’t speak, just pointed. I never hover, but in this place, that’s all I could do. I peed for 45 minutes, flushed, washed my hands (with no soap because there wasn’t any), decided against drying because they only had one of those towel things that recycled the dirty towel over and over, bought a delicious gyro and enjoyed it with a couple who also were there for the famous gyros. We walked back to the night club together, and I learned that they were semi celebrities in NY, something in fashion, so when we got back to my friends, they insisted that we ditch the line and go in with them. We sat at their VIP table and drank from the champagne that they paid for all night. I still, to this day, have no idea who they were, but they were fun and generous, and all that really mattered was that I didn’t have to pee any more. We left the club after the sun was up the next day.
Another place I’d visit again and again is Bora Bora. If you ever get the chance, go there. You’ll never see a more beautiful place.
I’m sort of ignoring the fact that you’re eight years younger than I, so I’ll just say…happy birthday. Chernobyl’s got nothing on you.
Your birth date is perfect. You are the exact opposite to a destructive occurrence…you were humanity’s answer to Chernobyl…..awake, alive, vibrant and fun…..Your birth was our only good response to all the horror and fear of that event…..and I’d say it worked. Go be fabulous in NYC…Happy 28th!
TAKE ME WITH YOU!! I promise I will provide proper entertainment with my bizarre personality.
Happy birthday, Aussa!
Can I just say I’m so envious of the fun and exciting life you’ve had? Yea, I’m envious. Still, I think it’s awesome you’ve had such great friends, great experiences and now a great boyfran to enjoy all of this with. Here’s to many more wonderful years and great adventures! (Holy shit I sound so cheesy…it’s early and I’m uncaffeinated. That’s my excuse)
I hope you will have a super birthday and I hope you have tons of fun in NY. If I had the time I would visit Hong Kong again, it was a great adventure and I wish I could turn back the time to see this place again :o)
I’m not a fan of birthdays, because I always feel like I have done too little the past year… But hopefully one day I’ll change just like you!
And happy birthday in advance already!
HAPPY BIRTHDAAAYY!! Hope you have a lovely, lovely time!
Aw, thank you thank you!!! I’ll do my darnedest 😉
Oh,hey Aussa, as an aside, want to win a trip to Italy? It is the fiftieth anniversary of NUTELLA. You can tell your Nutella story at http://www.nutellastories.com/en_CA/ (there may be a US website too) and they are awarding 3 trips to Italy to the best Nutella story! I know how much you enjoy your Nutella, so when I saw this i figured I should pass it along. Enjoy!
Oh my gosh, that is incredible! I will definitely check it out– you’re amazing, thank you!
Nice Paul! Just give that trip to Aussa! We all know she has it in the bag! 😀
If you have time in NYC, you should see the immersive show “Sleep No More.” I think it is definitely up your alley. Happy birthday!
Googling it now! We’ve got all our plans pretty jam packed but I’m always up for spontaneity!
I second ‘Sleep No More’. It’s pricey but fucking worth it! Imagine the coolest thing you’ve ever done and multiply it by 12. You have to wear a mask and there are boobs. Cross off all those touristy things on your list and see this show. Have a great time! Don’t take pictures with random Disney characters in Times Square – they’re gonna ask you for money to buy more booze. Serious.
Hahaha oh gosh. Last time I was there they had spiderman and little red riding hood. Is the naked cowboy still there? Maybe I don’t want to know, I can just be… surprised.
Donkey mice. Awesome.
Happy Birthday, Radioactive Girl (I truly think that should be your superhero name)!
!!! Tammy, yes! I mean– by day I am a humble Hacker/Ninja/Hooker/Spy but at night I can become a superhero with a Chernobyl origin story. Yes. This is perfect… now I just need an illustrator. *rushes to Craigslist*
I’ve boycotted birthdays on the grounds that they make me older than I feel. 😛 As for where I’ll go back to: Hiroshima – where I’m sure I died, in another life.
On that happy note, HAVE A GREAT BIRTHDAY, AUSSA! I hope the next year brings you everything you wish for. 😀
Well now this comment is all sorts of intriguing– is there a story behind this Hiroshima theory? I always read things online about children who talk all about their previous lives and include historical events… are you one of those? I may need to study you.
Well then there we go! A magnifying glass will be the perfect birthday present! 😀
Nah, nothing as weird as that. Just a feeling.
Happy birthday! Have a blast in my city!
My birthday is one of the least important days on my calendar.
And I’ve been drunk and/or high in some very entertaining NYC locales.
Maybe I’ll have to do some stalking and trace you and Mark’s IP addresses so that I can creepily show up where you work. Oh, would that not be so horrifying? They could make a movie about us.
I should probably delete this comment.
Hell no.
Come on down!!!
DEW ET….We demand it…and pics are it didn’t happen.
Amazing how often people say that 😉
If you do, wear a big, purple, velvet pimp hat so we can spot you in a crowd.
I’ll have to check a bag then but yes, this is doable.
Have a great birthday. Eat something wonderful, chocolaty and sinful.
I do that on a daily basis, so I’ll have to add something on top.. like sprinkles.
Happy birthday! And, what amazing friends you have!! 🙂
Thanks Roshni! I really do. They put up with all my crazy, which makes them not only amazing but very patient and tolerant 😉
Happy, happy happy Birthday!!
Thank you Jane!
Is it sad that I don’t have much of anything to say about my birthday? It’s just another day, but it’s nice to be appreciated. I have never been to NYC but I’d love to visit. When I do, I won’t be driving. Driving in Chicago is bad enough. As for a place I will always return to… I don’t think I have one of those yet. I’m just wandering around. I mean, I’m not wandering around 17 countries, but I’m wandering nonetheless.
Nah, it’s not sad unless you feel sad.
Driving– haaa haaaa yeah I’ve driven in NYC, Boston, Mexico… it’s definitely special. The worst driving I’ve ever seen was definitely in Istanbul! It’s pretty bad in China too, but they drive suuuuper slow so it’s not so bad. I kind of like city driving– everyone is prepared for crazy so you can kind of do whatever.
Huh. My birthday is April 27th. I’ll be turning 30. I did have an interesting thing that happened in NYC, my husband at the time was asked for his cellphone so some dude could make a call. The only reason he handed it over was because it was still a shitty flip phone that no one in their right mind would run off with. After a weird conversation, almost coming to blows and a lot of crying on my end, we ended up in Hells Kitchen (the bar) and toasted to “Fuck New York”. It was a weird night.
Oh wow! We are in sync 😉 And I just checked the historical significance of your birthday as well and apparently over 70 inches of snow fell on Red Lake Montana, so that’s pretty significant. Hehe
That sounds like a bit of a frightening NYC experience… though I have definitely made a fair number of toasts in my life that started with “fuck.”
Happy Birthday, Aussa! I remember hearing about the explosion at Chernobyl, though not where I was. Perhaps the explosion people were really talking about was the birth of the most interesting person in the world, or at least the most interesting I know of. BTW, you should know that I know spell awesome as follows:A U S S A M
Hahahaha that’s so funny Cimmy! Everyone is so funny and witty, the Chernobyl responses have been cracking me up all day! AND! A couple other bloggers and I have been joking around on twitter with the hashtag #Aussome hahahahaha
Hi Aussa, I will watch the news from N.Y. to see if you are on it. I was born on the day a massive great rock that kept sinking ships was blown to rat-shit…story of my life. Never stop roaring about.
That’s a good idea! Surely something catastrophic or awkward will occur near me and make the news. And– what is this rock you speak of?
Worzel here again, it was called Ripple Rock, at the time the worlds biggest peace time explosion. The quack who delivered me was called away from his supper, muttered that I had the right number of limbs and senses of went back to his chicken A La King..I was in England for Chernobyl, ah such reckless youth..
I’ve always looked forward to birthdays!!! being the youngest in my circle of friends, its great when i finally get older!!i am totally looking forward to this birthday especially cause i’ll be turning 18!!! what your friends did for you was so awesome!! hope you have a great time at NYC!! i’m sure you’ll make some great stories for the blog while you’re there too!! Happy birthday to you!!! you are awesome! 😀
Oooo 18, you are just a youngin’! They didn’t have blogs or the twitter when I was 18 (saw you on there earlier, ha). It’s a brave new world to be excited to age in.
Thank you 🙂
Have a most excellent birthday (so, er, 1986… is that too young to remember Phil and Ted’s excellent adventure?) and hope you make the sort of sketchy decisions this trip which are totally hilarious but only mildly inconvenient.
Thank you! It was a pretty damn good birthday. I don’t think I’ve actually seen Phil and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but! I’ve seen enough pop culture references to feel like I have.
I go back and forth as to how I feel about birthdays. Mostly, I fear being forgotten. This year, we’ll be at a wedding on my birthday…so I’ll celebrate before and after 🙂
Have fun in New York!
Oh that’s perfect! You can pretend like it’s all for you! “This is the most amazing birthday cake EVER!”
I should have written a birthday-related post about my association and infatuation with Jack Kerouac; we share the same birthday, the same desire for adventure and spontaneous travel… unfortunately, travel costs more than it did back 50+ years ago, and hitchhikers are frowned upon. My roommate, Ryan, (this probably has been said in numerous posts) got me interested in Kerouac. After I fell in love the the author’s style and personality (despite my being significantly less bi-curious than he), he got me into reading and writing more often than I had been. I was 21, which meant I was able to drink legally and make bad decisions surrounding the elixirs that are beer and booze.
I have a strong desire to revisit everyplace I’ve been. My delusion or optimism considers New Orleans to be simply “an across town visit.” As big as the U-S-of-A is, it’s not all that big. New York City, however, is my home-away-from-home. It’s a miraculous place where everything hits especially hard–the smell of a used bookstore, falling in love with a simple glare (or the girl who takes initiative by grabbing you by the tie), the food a million times over… and the simplicity of making some kind of memory. It’s impossible not to make memories.
Keep up the wonderful storytelling, Aussa.
That’s interesting that you feel compelled to return to the places you have visited! Very interesting indeed… I mostly feel like they are to be checked off a list of experiences unless they just reach in and grab hold.
And I love how you describe New York as a place where “everything hits especially hard.” That is perfect.
You REALLY know how to do birthdays! I am sure this year was no less special than all the others. And we really should count each year as a major celebration. They go by so quickly!
Yes, they really do go by quickly! It kind of blows my mind to think that I’ve now celebrated two birthdays with my boyfriend… I love him, but a part of me thinks we “just met” haha!
I hope NYC survives the experience…
Have fun, young lady!
Last I checked, its still standing!
Always wanted to visit NYC. Someday… when I’m less people-phobic.
Oh GIRL I feel ya. The Boyfran asked why on earth I liked that place when I can’t stand being around loads of people, but it’s simple– they’re all invisible. Trust me, it just happens like magic.
Gosh you’re young! Happy Birthday! 🙂 I grew up with Moses. 🙂
Haha! With Moses, pssshhhhh….
Now I feel like making some sort of “Manna” joke or something.
Grrr wordpress just deleted my comment.
What I had written was obviously way wittier, but the gist is – my birthday is January 2nd, so people are usually tired of celebrating by then. Which is fine with me, because I’m not picky when there’s presents involved.
Have a fabulous time in NYC!
There is no furry greater than that which comes after WordPress has shat on your perfectly crafted comment.
January 2nd would make the beginning of the year doubly interesting, I would think. I always have the “New Years Resolution” sort of feeling on my birthday, like “what should I accomplish this year!” Mostly it’s just watching 7 seasons of a new TV show, but I have high hopes for this one.
Haha, you’re so ambitious! Mostly on my birthday, I’m all “I’ll start my resolutions tomorrow – BRING ME THAT BIRTHDAY WINE”. My husband is big on resolutions – writing them down and checking them throughout the year as they’re accomplished. I don’t really have the self discipline for resolutions, but Type A me can be persuaded to do anything that calls for list-making.
I love me some lists! If I don’t have a new one to make, I’ll just rewrite a current one in a more logical order. I’m hopeless.
Happy Birthday! Have a blast in NYC! I love birthdays except for the part where I get older.
Riiight? Let me take a moment to see if I *FEEL* older…
Nope.
All is well, huzzah!
I hate my burfdaze. Things always go wrong. Also, I’m like, what, a hundred years older than you,. Is it creepy I’m regular reader? Great, I’m that guy.
I lurve NYC. I just got back after working there for six weeks. My most adventurous trip was in august 1994. I saw the Rolling Stones (they’re a rock and or roll band from when dinosaurs walked the planet) in the old Meadowlands then drive with my friend into the city and eventually met a stripper (didn’t find that out till later) who took me to CBGBs for the first time (that’s a famous punk bar that explains the black t-shirts you kids ironically wear). Then we won World War II and came back home.
Lance it’s O.K. that you are a creepy old guy…I am most likely older than you….I saw the Stones WAY before you did, and my first pet was a Velociraptor ….Also saw Pink Floyd….The WHOLE band. Don’t pick on old folks…we made the internets so these kids could run amuck and take selfies.
I kind of miss The Great Depression….simpler times
Hahaha! Your last line cracked me UP!
Hahahaha noooo not creepy at all. Is it creepy that I always like your family photos on facebook? Great, I’m that guy.
AND! I knooow who the Rolling Stones are, thank you very much! They’ve played a few concerts in this here hometown of mine! You’re hilarious… So glad you won the war though 😉
You damn kids….running around the interwebs acting the fool! In my day we had to make the kids run on the wheel to get enough juice to download “hamster dance” and send it to our three friends…..
Now with yer fancy no dial up dohickeys……I still unplug my phone to get internets……Harrrumpph
Oh my gosh, I remember that hamster dance thing! I can still sing that song….
“Oh my gosh, I remember that hamster dance thing! I can still sing that song….”
Of course you can….
O Aussa, you funny redheaded wonder…I lurves you….if anyone could, it’d be YOU.
Happy Birthday! From the looks of Instagram, you’ve had an amazing NYC trip. I’ve never been and always wanted to go. I’m a little afraid I might just stay if ever I appear in the city that seems so amazing. Birthdays rock. Birthdays are meant to be a celebration and so I celebrate mine for the entire month, as no one ever gets tired of it….!
I should have known that you would be an all-month-long Birthday celebrater! That’s perfect. And!!! While you are just oh so Nashville, I can very easily picture you in NYC so you may be wise to delay a visit… if you go, you may never return. Be sure to take Ted!
I think Ted and I could really tear NYC up! I will put that on my bucket list…visiting the city that never sleeps with a cat in a papoose.
Awww. Happy late birthday! I hope you are having fun in NYC! I particularly love birthdays. They are special.
Huzzah! Thanks Maurna! You were my bus-emailing-buddy while I was there, ha.
I’m late to the party (pun intended). I hope you had an AWESOME time in NYC and a fantastic birthday, Aussa! Ps. That 27 Awesome Things sounds like something I’d do with friends of mine on their birthdays!. I love to make a big deal and bake cake and force champagne down the birthday boy or gal’s cake hole.
How cool to see you here this morning, Nadia. So glad that I’m not the only one a little late to the party.
Speaking of parties…I’m off to get caught up on your blog 🙂
Seems we ran into each other a few times the other day! Woohoo! Thanks for joining my party, lady!
Aw, let’s be friends IRL– I love when champagne is forced down my cake hole!
I’m a very bad friend having missed your birthday and (almost) this entire post completely!! I hope you’ve had a fabulous time in NYC with the dude who quickly appears to be coming the LoYL and I can’t wait to read the stories that I’m sure you’ll write after having the adventures. I’m far behind on my reading, so I’ll certainly come back to read your guests as they are many of my favorites to.
For right now, I’m off to discover what #dickpunch Thursday is that Deanna referenced this morning. I can I not know about these things? Probably because I’ve already had too many birthdays 🙂
Haha! You are so funny. #DickPunch Thursday is taking the world by storm! And thanks for the Birthday wishes 🙂 We definitely had loads of fun– I’ll be posting about it tonight!
So that’s why you were here in NYC! Happy belated birthday! Hope you had a blast here on your vacation!
Haha, yep! The Boyfran keeps upping the ante on these birthday celebrations, I’m pretty sure that by the time I’m 40 he will have to take me to the moon. And no, that’s not a euphemism. Maybe.
We had an amazing time! Much of that was thanks to you 🙂
So sorry to be so late saying Happy Birthday, but you still have a goodly portion of your birthday MONTH to go.:D
I spied one comment that said their birthday was January 2, and they weren’t excited about it.
Mine is January 1 so i have never, ever worked on my birthday, nor do most people! And on top of that I was born 2 hours and 31 minutes into the year 1960 (yes, I am THAT old, good lord, you could be my daughter, ARRGGH!), so all my big birthdays are on milestone years. I turned 40 on Y2K. I actually had friends that worked in IT that couldn’t come to the party until after the world of computers ended (NOT)…it was a scream.
Celebrate on, Aussa! NYC I am sure was a hoot, will have to find some of those posts…you did post about the trip, right? 😉
Aw, no worries being late– thank you! Now I get to have the birthday happies all over again.
I’m glad you are guaranteed off on your birthday– I firmly believe that no one should ever have to do so. It feels positively criminal. I’m a little jealous about your milestone birthdays though, I like it! I remember Y2K… I stayed at Peeves house and we drank sparkling cider and picked the phone up at midnight to see if the apocalypse had occurred.
And, yes! I did post about NYC! It’s the “5 Things I Learned” post 🙂
🙂
Aw maaaaaan. I missed your birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUSSA!!! All your trips to NY sound fabulous : ) I especially loved the last one and approaching the stranger in the museum haha. You have good friends to arrange for 27 awesome things this year. That means you’re a good friend, too, which I somehow instinctively knew – yay you!
I seriously have amazing friends and I don’t deserve it at all. I suspect that perhaps they’ve just kept me in their lives as some sort of project… like they were testing to see if they could make me a real human by loving me enough or something. Ha. Jury’s still out on that one!
OH! And thanks for the Happy Birthday! I’m going to justify making another wish now.