Well, I’ve finally reached my forty-eighth year on this
Earth.
I remember when I was young birthdays were a major event. We
had the entire family come around and have a party on a birthday. The thing was
my dad and I used to have our birthday party on the same day, since he was born
on August 12th and me on August 13th. Those were
wonderful days. We’d have a huge BBQ and cook burgers, hot dogs, and chicken.
We’d have a big cake, because we used to have up to thirty people at our
parties. My dad and I would blow out the candles together, though I think he
had me to most of that work.
Then, we bought our cabin in Clear Lake
and our parties got a bit smaller. We still had plenty of family, because my
Aunt Skippy (I still don’t know her real name…I think it was Mavis) lived up
there. Also we would invite our friends that lived in the cove our cabin was
located in.
But then in 1986 my dad died and the large parties we had
ended. From that point on we simply had our present family. I had started
working so I started buying my own birthday cake. I had a bakery that made
awesome cakes, but they were very expensive. This was the time when I had my
Star Trek cake, Freddy Krueger cake, and ET cake. We’d also still have a family
BBQ but our numbers were reduced to five to six people, but it was still fun. Also,
during this time I was going out with K and she always did something special
for my birthday. I remember a special picnic in Central
Park with KFC (It was Kentucky Fried Chicken then) and she made
strawberry shortcakes…(tears). Then K lost me and my mom died. After that for a
few years my birthday party ended up at Fresh Choice (I’m not complaining) and
a Safeway rum cake after.
Then I started working at my document research job and I
started buying my own sheet cakes again. Then document research projects died
down and I started working as a concession assistant manager at Cinemark
Theatres. It was at this time I had the worst birthday experience of my
life…seriously. It was my forty-first birthday. Cory Stevens had complete work
on the film adaption of my novel Friday the 13th: Mother’s Day and I
had decided to have a combination premiere party and birthday party. I invited
all my friends from the San Mateo Courthouse and Cinemark Century Redwood City
Theatre, around forty-five people to the party. I got thirty RSVPs. I ended up
spending $400 on food, soda, beer, and a huge full sheet cake with the Mother’s
Day poster art on it. On that birthday I got up at 6am and set things up and
filled our huge formal dining room table with food, including, my special sweet
and sour meatballs, chicken wings in BBQ sauce, a meat and cheese platter,
veggie platter (I used to do catering for Togos), and mini sandwiches… I had
all the chairs set up in our living room for the premiere and put out four big
bowls of popcorn. Then I waited. One hour turned into two hours. Two hours
turned into three hours. I started calling people but no one answered. My
sister and my niece and two of her friends ended up watching the film. I was
completely and utterly crushed. I went to work at Cinemark the next day and got
nothing but lame and insulting excuses from all my supposed friends. Even my
supposed best bud that I works with in our document research firm, BRASS, said
he didn’t come because he and his wife didn’t want to spend the $4 in all to
take the bus to and from the party (which they would catch in front of his
house and would let them off one house away from my house…). I have to say I’ve
never forgiven any of them and none of those assholes made it up to me….
After the birthday of knives, as I call it, I completely
stopped having birthdays for three years. During those years, my birthday was
not a pleasant day. All I did all day was feel sorry for myself and think about
how people didn’t give a shit about me after I had done stuff for them all year.
And, during that time none of my friends did anything to turn that around, not
even say “Happy Birthday”. Nice. My sister would try to make me feel better by
buying me a cake but I would ignore it until the day after. This, of course,
lead to arguments that didn’t help the situation.
In 2010 my niece and sister finally pushed me into having a
birthday party. I didn’t take part in the planning except to invite my new
friend at the time Jordan
“The Eye” Moller and his wife Michelle. My sister had put together a Tiki
themed party (complete with Tiki torches) and we actually had it in our front
yard. I had a wonderful time.
Last year money was really tight so we saw a movie had lunch
at Togos
and I bought myself a red velvet cake. This year my sister paid for us to go to
an 80s style dance party and I’ll be getting a chocolate mouse cake for myself
when I get paid…The biggest thing for me this birthday is that my Facebook,
Google+, and even My Space friends are sending me birthday wishes in droves. At
the time of this writing I stopped counting at 200. At least in this case they
are showing some humanity…which means a lot…
