Almost the Start of a Year

I admit that, although I much prefer to be the host of a gathering - working in the kitchen, setting out the napkins, helping the conversation flow - I also do enjoy being the occasional center of attention.

(Yes, I know some of you reading this are probably saying "occasional?" but as many of you also know I have some friends with really big personalities, and so it's best if we all sort of trade-off from time to time. That way no one gets too tired, and no one else gets too tired of us.)

I enjoy telling stories to a crowd. I like when people notice me in good ways. I even enjoy being taken out for dinner by good friends and toasted for my birthday.

With that in mind, I would like to add a caveat: I really dislike celebrating my birthday at work.

Which is not to say that I haven't had some really great at-work birthdays in the past. Among other things, I have some pictures from my time at CenterStage in Baltimore with which I can prove that (thanks, in part, to my sisters and my parents who helped supply the food and favors from at least half-way across the country).

At my current job, though, there is a common calendar which lists everyone's birthdays on it. And, like clockwork, we all get herded into the conference room at 12:30 on the day of a birthday to sing (badly) and eat (frequently mediocre) cake of some kind or another. Yes, the thought is nice. But the execution is usually pretty bad. And the half hour of sitting around trying to make conversation is usually pretty painful.

Maybe my dislike of "communal" birthdays comes because I have a summer birthday, and was never the focus of attention in school while everyone sang and someone passed out homemade treats. But I suspect that it's because birthdays have always felt like a time for personal reflection - something I don't feel like having while hanging out with people I'm more "acquaintances" with, instead of friends.

I'm kind of hoping that, since my birthday is actually on Saturday, they'll forget to celebrate it. If they happen to remember it, though, please keep your fingers crossed that the cake is good.

Good cake can make up for almost anything.

Almost.

**Unrelated endnote** I was checking out "The Writer's Almanac" today and absolutely loved today's (May 27th) poem. You can click through to their site in the lefthand column of this page. I highly recommend it.