Well, no caviar, actually. Yuck.
But birthday wishes aplenty, as I got 16 Happy Birthday wishes sent to me on Facebook today.
The interesting thing being, this isn’t actually my birthday. Maybe. Given that birthdate is one of those (woefully insecure but still used) identifying questions that some companies use to verify that You Are Who You Say You Are, I usually don’t put the actual date online. Someone with an urge to do so could probably drill through my blog and figure it out, but when asked to put my birthdate into something, I usually do +/- a day and/or +/- a year. If I ever become famous, I have little doubt it will be tabloid-fodder.
Regardless, actually, all those wishes were … maybe … a day off. Or two. Or on target.
But the interesting thing is that the nature of Facebook is such that you can easily see when someone’s birthday comes up. If I were a more diligent FB users (I’m not), I’d know when all my “friends” birthdays are. I’d get reminders, and see it on my Wall or my News or my Other Screen I Can Never Consistently Locate.
And I could wish people happy birthday, too. So maybe I should, because it’s kind of nice.
So that all said, thanks to everyone who wished me one. It is appreciated. And (since I was notified of each wish), I tried to say thank you to each person.
Still, it was a little weird getting so many birthday wishes. It would be even weirder if it weren’t my birthday.
I’m sorry to have to say this, but I didn’t wish you a happy birthday because I always confuse your birthday and my ex-wife’s. I know the dates, but it’s been so long since the divorce I can’t remember if hers is two days before or after yours. Facebook doesn’t remind me of birthdays, so I may have that function disabled. I did actually look back two years on your blog, and found no clear indications, so you’re safe there.
Anyway, happy birth month!
Which reminds me of late October, when my wife, my mother, and my sis-in-law all have birthdays within the same week. Which also reminds me of (early in our marriage) my mentioning my ex-wife’s birthday to my new wife as hers; that’s generally considered a fairly serious gaffe, though Margie found it (mostly) amusing.
One year, I flipped my older niece’s birthday with her younger twin sisters’ birthday. They were months apart, the only similarity was the day of the month.
I actually noticed the date discrepancy of your B-day with the date on my Outlook contact information for you. I slipped into, “Well, it’s public on FB, so it must be true.”
I will not make the same mistake (at least for you) again.
I don’t get a lot of time-sensitive gifts, so the gap by a day or two isn’t a big worry of mine.
On the other hand, if I was really born on 6 Jan 1960 as advertised, I’d be celebrating my 50th, which would probably be a bit bigger deal … 😉
Happy whenever it is!
Thanks!
Also happy whenever it is! It seems that an ersatz birthday is a perfectly good excuse to eat cake.
When I fill out websites that impertinently ask for my birthday, I always lie. But it’s always the same lie, so perhaps that birthday is recorded in more places than my real one.
I wonder about that sometimes, which is why I mix it up.
“Your birthday, sir, is January 12, 1962.”
“No, actually, it’s not.”
“We’ve done our research. That’s what you said for this bank, this shopping site, and these twenty-five websites.”
“I was lying.”
“Well, consensual reality makes it now truth. It is, after all, on the Internet.”