Zen question for the day

If one goes to all the trouble to buy snacks and write invitations and clean house for a party to celebrate one's birthday, and nobody shows up, does the birthday still happen?


Actually, that's not an entirely accurate summation of what happened. I did buy snacks and send invites and clean the house (with Brian and Ian's help). I got a call from Jeanne midway through the day to tell me that she and Chris weren't going to make it due to the vagaries of their work schedules, which was disappointing, but also nice to know. However, I'd invited several other people both in person and through email, most of whom had said at the time they'd be able to make it...but 5:00 came and went, and then 6:00...and nobody showed up.

A bit depressing, I suppose, but we decided to make the best of it - Ian was here, having been couchsurfing the last couple of nights, and of course Brian and I were here. We played some Munchkin-Fu and put away most of a bottle of wine between the three of us. Then, two and a half hours in, Justin was nice enough to show up and help eat the snacks, so we got to do a four-hand round of Munchkin and generally feel a little more party-ish.

Still, though, I thought it was kind of funny that the whole reason I was trying to have a party was to not feel depressed about getting older - except that I ended up feeling depressed about the apparent lack of importance of my birthday to most of my friends.

That said, some of it's probably my fault - my social tendencies have been pretty insular lately. Brian and I have occasionally gone out with Chris and Jeanne, which was fun, but it's been a long while since I really sought out any of my friends, especially on a one-on-one basis. So perhaps I should make more of an effort to do so.

Oh, well...here's hoping next year goes better.

Zen question for the day

If one goes to all the trouble to buy snacks and write invitations and clean house for a party to celebrate one's birthday, and nobody shows up, does the birthday still happen?


Actually, that's not an entirely accurate summation of what happened. I did buy snacks and send invites and clean the house (with Brian and Ian's help). I got a call from Jeanne midway through the day to tell me that she and Chris weren't going to make it due to the vagaries of their work schedules, which was disappointing, but also nice to know. However, I'd invited several other people both in person and through email, most of whom had said at the time they'd be able to make it...but 5:00 came and went, and then 6:00...and nobody showed up.

A bit depressing, I suppose, but we decided to make the best of it - Ian was here, having been couchsurfing the last couple of nights, and of course Brian and I were here. We played some Munchkin-Fu and put away most of a bottle of wine between the three of us. Then, two and a half hours in, Justin was nice enough to show up and help eat the snacks, so we got to do a four-hand round of Munchkin and generally feel a little more party-ish.

Still, though, I thought it was kind of funny that the whole reason I was trying to have a party was to not feel depressed about getting older - except that I ended up feeling depressed about the apparent lack of importance of my birthday to most of my friends.

That said, some of it's probably my fault - my social tendencies have been pretty insular lately. Brian and I have occasionally gone out with Chris and Jeanne, which was fun, but it's been a long while since I really sought out any of my friends, especially on a one-on-one basis. So perhaps I should make more of an effort to do so.

Oh, well...here's hoping next year goes better.