Okay so my birthday was officially a month ago; I am officially behind on Internet Things. I’m sorry, Internet; I still love you. I’ve just not really, you know, slowed down much since my birthday… While still in birthday recovery mode I traveled to Austin, Texas to attend SXSW Interactive (fun!), and now that I’ve been back for a scant two weeks it’s up to Seattle for Emerald City Comicon (nerd!). All this activity just has my schedule out of whack and I’m not always sure which way is Thurdsay. On the plus side I think my body has built up a good amount of momentum because I don’t feel inclined to slow down any time soon! Doin’ it and doin’ it. Anyway: Birthday!
If you’re unfamiliar with the origins of Leap Day, or are curious about its role throughout history, I highly recommend taking a gander at the Wikipedia article for February 29. Do you think it’s a reasonable life goal to some day be added to the list of notable persons born on that day? I DO.
Since I’ve not had a proper birthday celebration in some time (*cough*), I called upon the many lovely people I know to help me celebrate this one in style. Call me narcissistic if you must, but I planned a rather full week of celebration. The big day itself started with heading to my favourite public soak & sauna for an hour of relaxation and quiet conversation. As a Piscean it was pretty much requisite that my celebrations included lots of water, sparkly objects, and good food.
I ate a lot (emphasis on LOT) throughout the day to help keep my energy levels up (Cthulhu knows I needed it). Eating food and making merry with your friends is a great way to celebrate the bonds of friendship and trust.
I expected nothing more than hugs and smiles from the day, but I did receive a few lovely surprises… nekkid mermaids, alchemical oils, decadent treats, tiny spellbooks, and perhaps one of the most beautiful and thoughtful bouquets of floral sex organs I’ve ever received. I was so in love with the whimsy of it (she said she asked for something like looked like it came from the bottom of the ocean), I refused any offers of help to transport it and insisted on carrying it around with me on the back of Kaebel’s scooter. I wonder what other people on the road thought!
The day also included something I’ve been working towards for the past several weeks: new ink. It’s a bit of a tradition with me, albeit a sporadically observed one, to do some sort of body modification on my birthday, and I think this is the first time the stars have aligned to give me an actual Leap Day birthday mod. It’s a very special tattoo and one I’ve had in mind for years; worth waiting for the right day to do. I’m putting together a full post on the tattoo and it’s process—from brain storming through several sketches and finally getting it inked—and I can’t wait to show you guys this amazing piece of art that is now a part of my body forever.
People are always very amused to learn that I was born on the elusive February 29; the phrase “well that explains a lot” is not uncommon! But it’s a quirk that I embrace, and that I feel has taught me a lot from a very early age. While most people celebrate their birthday on the day of, my perception has always been much more flexible and I celebrate whenever feels most appropriate. This is a concept that has transferred to other holidays: after all, it’s not the date that you’re celebrating, but the sentiment that should be present in the celebration. There a certain zen quality to being a leapling that bleeds over into many other aspects of life, and I absolutely love it.
I spent the whole day—well, the whole week really!—surrounded by such ridiculously awesome people. Everyone brought a gift to my own personal holiday by merely being a part of it, whether through digital wishes or meatspace hugs. I’m not really a “stuff” person, so creating an environment for my friends to relax and have fun in was really my goal for not just the 29th but the entire week of festivities. February 29th doesn’t have to be a holiday just for me!
Someone asked me what it was like to have an entire night of people gathered in my honor, which is definitely a foreign concept to me. Honestly, it’s kind of weird! The fluidity of the 29th’s presence on the calendar has meant that even my fake birthday hasn’t always registered on people’s radars. But that suits me. I’m just thankful that, when called upon, the people in my life are willing to devote themselves to making it such a special day for me. It truly was one of the most heartwarming, love-filled 24 hours I have ever experienced.
While my birthday was made up of so, so, so many people, it would not have been the magical, time-flux of a day that it was were it not for a core group of people. Thank you Sera for your witching-hour dances and sparkle magic, thank you Molly for being my sister, thank you Tony for creating beautiful things, thank you Ximena for your backbreaking dedication to art, thank you Lynn for your insight and instruction. And most of all, thank you Kaebel for being completely & continuously awesome, for playing Merrick wrangler for a day, and for having my back.
Happy new year, guys, and here’s to the next four! To round up the birthday post, here’s a bunch of pics from the last night of my birthday week, at the Lovecraft. <3
