Responding to Facebook Birthday Greetings

I have a curious question that I feel is quite relevant in this day & age - what is the proper protocol for responding to a facebook birthday greeting?

In my personal opinion, I prefer a big, general 'thanks everyone for the birthday wishes' status, at some point the day of or a couple days after said blessed event.  Yes, it's impersonal, but so is a facebook birthday greeting.  Let's be honest here.

I've notice that responding to/acknowledging each individual birthday greeting has become the common practice.  Although I appreciate the sentiment, I must wonder - is this really necessary?  I wasn't thinking too much about the facebook birthday greeting I extended.  It wasn't a $200 wedding gift.  A mere 30 seconds after it happened, I forgot about it.  I wasn't worried that it got lost in the mail or that it, in some way, wasn't received.

Some people choose to 'like' the greeting.  Some comment 'thank you'.  Some do both.  Some comment 'thank you, Jaime' and tag me in the thank you note.  Notifications up the wazoo.  Too much.  Tooooo much.

It's not that I have a problem with people being polite and going the extra mile to show something was appreciated, it's just that, well, as an avid facebook poster like myself, when I see I got a notification or two, I can't help but feel a little bit of a letdown when I see that it's my high school chem lab partner liked my birthday greeting.

What are your thoughts on responding to facebook birthday greetings?  Do you do one mass response? An individual one for each?  Has anyone out there been offended that his/her 'hbd' was not individually acknowledged?  Anyone touched that someone really went the extra mile to Like/Comment "Thank you so much (your name tagged here) for telling me happy birthday - really appreciate it!"

Your thoughts?

Happy Birthday, Now Come Buy Something

So, as my readers know, my 30th birthday has come and gone.  Eeek.

Something I noticed this year (beside the greetings on all forms of social media):

It started mid-March.  A store I frequent sent me a card - Happy Birthday, Jaime - please enjoy an additional $5 off the next $25 you spend.

Then the emails started.  Happy birthday - enjoy 10% any item in the next 90 days.  Enjoy $10 your next purchase during the month of your birthday.  Enjoy 25% off at checkout - enter code 'birthdaygirl'.

Everyone does a birthday coupon these days.  Which is, in theory, genius.  Because we all feel like we're getting a treat.  Only, we have to spend money to receive said treat, and it might be money we weren't planning on spending in the first place.  And, is a part of this preying on our vulnerable emotional side?  Maybe we're feeling a little sad, getting older and all, then all of a sudden we get a message from an old 'friend' (or store), and suddenly we want to go feel the love?  They wished us a happy birthday, it made us feel good for a bit, so maybe it's ok to go spend a little something on ourselves there.  Ok, maybe I'm being cynical here.

Have too many places adopted this practice?  Is it becoming white noise (i.e. daily deals)?  It's starting to feel that way.

Have you all bought yourself a birthday gift with a coupon?  No judgment if so.  I'm curious how successful these efforts are.   I prefer Sephora's free birthday gift.  Just sayin'.

It's Coming....

So, I am knocking on the door of 30.

Now, last year, I made an executive decision to not make a big deal of my birthday.  I had a nice dinner with two girlfriends, but otherwise, there was no major celebration.

Anyhow.  This year I'm going to do something big.  I want it to be casual and comfortable.  I want it to be easy for people to come and go as they please.  I want it to be inexpensive and chill.  I can't quite have people over, because my apartment is too small.  So I'm thinking of doing a local bar or restaurant.     Any suggestions?  What did you all do for your 30th?  Are there any cheap yet-still-decent bar rentals in Chicago?  What do you think I should do?

Happy Birthday?

Something I always wondered.

How good of a birthday is it if it is spent responding to facebook birthday greetings?

Just wondering.  No judgment.  Been there.

A Knife, A Penny....

This is a set of nice kitchen knives I received for my birthday (per my request).  As you can see, there is a penny affixed to the package.

When I was young, I was taught of a superstition that when one gives another a sharp object (a knife, scissors, pins, etc), the other party needs to give one a penny in return, otherwise a fight will result.  My mom (sorry Mom) supported this with the example of the fact that my boyfriend at the time and I had just had an argument, and the pins from the corsage he gave me at our recent high school dance resided on our counter.

I've been plagued with randomly handing over pennies at various moments when I needed to borrow scissors in a pinch, etc.  When I received this recent gift, it had a penny attached.  My mom explained that the person in front of her in line was also buying a sharp object as a gift (story in question - again, sorry Mom), and the sales lady suggested this person tape a penny to the package to 'negate the energy'.  So my mom followed in suit.  However, she said she is uncertain this effectively 'works', and casually dropped 'or I can give her 14 pennies, whenever convenient' on several occasions.  (There are 14 knives in this set.)

Has anyone else heard of this superstition?  Is there an 'old wives tale' regarding the exchanging of sharp objects being bad luck.  Does a penny really undo it?  Are there others who abide by this superstition?  Your thoughts?

From Southwest, With Love?

Thanks for the first birthday wish, Southwest Airlines.  

Speaking Of Birthdays....

This blog turns four!  That is like 50 in blog years.  That is a very long shelf-life for a blog.  I love you, baby blog!  You make me so very happy!

Birthdays, etc.

So, as my most loyal followers know, I have a birthday coming up.  Every year, I end up doing something big for it (and by something big, I mean dinner and drinks with friends).

I love seeing all my friends, and I especially love the fact that they made the time to come out and celebrate my birthday with me.  I know some of my friends who lead busy lives (and that busyness does not involve hitting up the bar scene) have commented that they like having a reason to have a night out on the town.

However, there are a couple caveats:

1)  I have several different groups of friends (work friends, chicago friends, high school friends, college friends, etc.).  I'm not trying to sound popular, I swear.  But, the issue at hand is moreso that I need to make sure everyone has someone to talk to or is seated by someone he or she knows.  What if only one person shows up from one group of friends, and I'm way at the other end of the table?  Is he or she not going to have anyone to talk to?  The night is going to suck for him/her if that's the case!  Stressful.

2)  I need to make a point of making sure I make the rounds and talk to everyone.  These people made a point to come out and see me for my birthday.  However, this can be difficult and stressful - weaving in and out of conversations at the right time, splitting time evenly with people, etc.  Stressful!

3) Aside from all this, there's the whole 'picking a place that's easy for people to get to/not too expensive/still nice', making sure to invite everyone, making sure no one is accidentally not invited/consequently offended, yadda yadda yadda....

Anyhow - on one hand, a small part of me feels a little bit silly throwing myself a birthday party as an adult.  However, another part of me doesn't care because it's fun for me, and I know most of my friends have said that they like having an excuse to get out and that they have fun at my birthday celebration (so pssshhh to any judgers).   It seems as though, these days, one needs an excuse to get out and party.

So what should I do this year?  Should I plan a dinner/night at a bar like I have the past?   I've thought it would be easier/less stressful to have people over and make some appetizers, but my little chicago apartment is very small.    What is the best plan for my birthday this year?   Your thoughts?  Dear readers - anyone who plans on coming out to celebrate - what do you want to do?  What's a good/lowkey/inexpensive/low pressure/fun plan?!

New Purse

Time to lighten things up.

So one of my very good friends, Nhan, bought me a gift certificate to elemental threads for my birthday. It is a design your own bag website.  Prior to receiving this gift, I had never heard of said company.  However, that being said, I had no trouble just diving right in.  I really like the purse I made; I'm very happy with how it turned out.  There were a good selection of options.

If anyone needs me to make choices for her on bag styles, fabrics, colors, etc. - I would be more than happy to do so for a very nominal fee.  Please inquire within.

Birthday Recap

Birthday Muffin

So my wonderful coworker, Judy, got me this lovely muffin for my bday.  I did not want to go back to work after having the day off, but this made it easier.  How cute is this?  She must know how much I love things with my name on it.

Editor's sidenote:  Please keeps Jaime's blog clean - no dirty jokes in response to this post.  Thank you, the management.

28!

So I am now 28.  It's hard to believe.  It hasn't really set in yet.

I'm not really sure what to expect, but I never like to go in blind.  I would have read my horoscope, but I'm not even sure what sign I am these days.  So, I went to the source of all info, google, and searched for 28.  It immediately directed me to 28's Wikipedia page!  I, too, did not know 28 merited its own Wikipedia page, but I guess we learn something new every day!  I am most drawn to the fact that it's the second perfect number and the fourth magic number (perhaps signifying a perfect, magic year?).    I'd like to disregard the fact that someone felt the need to mention it's also the length of the average menstrual cycle.  Sigh.  I guess this is what we get with Wiki.

So what should I expect from 28?  Should I treat this like New Year's and make some resolutions?  Or maybe some goals, since resolutions get broken?  Hmm.  What are your thoughts?  Any wisdom from those who've already been there?  Please share!

...and....

Happy birthday baby blog!!!

Is my blog a boy or a girl?  Hmm...something to ponder.

Speaking of Birthdays....

Next week Thursday, March 17 (also St. Patrick's Day), raise your glass of beer and make a luck o' the Irish toast in honor of this blog - it turns 3!!

Suggestions on what to get my blog for her birthday?  I am thinking more readers.  Or more subscribers. Or more commenters.  Hint hint.

Birthday.

So, as some of my good friends know - my birthday is coming up soon.  

The past couple years, I have celebrated like a 9 year-old at Chuck E Cheese.  I have invited almost all my friends, let people know weeks in advance, researched bars and restaurants, etc.  Sidenote - most of the people who come those this annual event will ask about it week in advance, before I bring it up.  I take it people enjoy this - we all need a reason to go out and celebrate.

Anyhow.  The one thing about this is that, regardless for how stupid this sounds, it ends up being stressful.  I worry that one or two of my friends won't know anyone else there and will feel uncomfortable.  I worry about having my apartment clean.  I worry about no one showing up and then feeling like a loser.   

Anyhow.  I was thinking, for the aforementioned reasons, that I wouldn't really do anything for my birthday this year - that I wouldn't plan something; maybe I'd have dinner with one or two of my closest friends, but that'd be it.

Well, as my mom so aptly put it - sometimes life happens while you're making other plans.  I was in a conversation the other day with another April birthday and the spouse of an April birthday.  It turns out, there very well may be a bar backroom rented out.  Stay tuned.  All my readers are invited.  

Get excited.

Groupon?

So, I will be honest.  I don't really know what groupon is.  But I do know that it's popular.  I could easily google it and look it up, but I'm lazy/not really THAT interested.

Anyhow.  I am now the proud owner of a 'groupon'.  I have an upcoming jewelry-making class at Caravan Beads, thanks to Emily!  Woohoo!

Pictures of my self-designed jewelry to come.

A Lovely Birthday Gift From My Mother

Undateable.  311 Things Guys do that Guarantee They Won't be Dating or Having Sex
By:  Ellen Rakieten & Anne Coyle

Elaine:  So basically, what you're saying is that 95% of the population is undateable?

Jerry:  UNDATEABLE!

Elaine:  So how are all these people getting together?

Jerry:  Alcohol!

I can't wait to read it!

Big Milestone....

My blog turns 2 this Wednesday. I'm going to celebrate by...going to work and getting a haircut? Or something like that. Hopefully I'll have a couple good posts to put out there by then. Sorry, I've had quite the blogger's block lately. I will do my best to change that.

Birthday Alert!!

So tomorrow is one of my very best friend's b-days! Happy 27th Emily!!

I'm glad Emily turns 27 before I do. She can tell me how it is. Like when you hear a loud noise outside and send someone else to check it out - let me know how it goes, Em, and if I should try to avoid it or not!

Two Birthdays!

My roommate Jessica and my lovely dog, Louie!