Calm down, it’s my birthday

birthday cake
My birthday cake I made myself in 2018.

Today it’s my birthday 🥳 49 of them.

Next year it’s going to be 50. Yikes. So from now on, I’m 38 years old until I die, OK?

It’s not that I’m afraid that I’m getting older. It’s what others see when you’re 50. You’re too old for a lot of things. Some see you as a failure because you don’t have a life they have. You know a job, a family, and those things.

But I don’t care. I just dodged a bullet. Not everyone wants a life like everyone else. You don’t need to ask anyone for permission, and you save money, too.

Birthdays haven’t been important for years, and they get less important. I have no one to celebrate it with, either. I never liked parties anyway. And I hate alcohol and people who drink too much. I don’t care about presents either. I have too much stuff anyway.

I already got a present.

So calm down, it’s my birthday. It’s just one step closer to death, as I put it.

The yikes factor

There are a couple of yikes factors. I entered this Gurushots photo challenge by mistake. As always, I was only supposed to participate in the challenge and not enter the exhibition. The entrance fee for the photo exhibition was about 9 euros. But what was done is done. I entered with 4 photos, and this got the most votes. So now I’ve been selected to be one of the over 1000 digital photos to be displayed in the exhibition. I got an invitation to the opening night in November in India. But of course I won’t go. I’m just happy to be part of the photo exhibition.

a heart shaped keyhole on an old wooden door
Photo: Yours truly, 2025. Taken with Canon EOS 40D

The other yikes factor is that my birthday is around the corner, on June 2. How time goes fast. In two years, I’m turning the big 5 0. That’s even more yikes, but I prefer not to think that far ahead. Age is nothing but a number anyway. I won’t be celebrating that day, but the next day. I will see Duran Duran in concert for the second time. This time, it’s indoors, so there won’t be weather problems like it was in 2022. That was a wet one, but I still had a good time. I can’t wait for this one. I’ve got a good seat. Or it’s standing since it’s on the floor.

The most yikes factor is the Kylie Minogue concert on June 23. It’s in a more difficult place to get to. First, I need to drive to Espoo, Finland, to the hotel and then take the tube from the hotel to the concert hall. I have never been in that part of the country. It’s close to Helsinki, but there was too much hustle with public transport from there, so I decided to go by car. At least then I don’t need to go by schedule. That’s going to be another travelling adventure.

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 23

Christmas balls, stars and light part 23
Made with Canva

Share what you know about the year you were born.

Daily Writing Prompt

Day 23

I was born in 1977, and I know it was the year Elvis died and Star Wars began. The latter was before I was born (in May), and Elvis died in August. Then, a bunch of celebrities were born that year, like Orlando Bloom, Chris Martin, lead singer in Coldplay, and my celeb twin, Zachary Quinto. I say this in an amative way because, let’s face it, it’s pretty cool to share a birthday with someone famous. Many are born on the same year or day, but not many with the same year and day. It feels like you’re twins but from another mother.

And then, of course, I was born. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing. I feel I was born at the right time. I lived my childhood in the 1980s and my youth in the 1990s. I lived at a time when there were no mobiles or computers. Then in an era when modern technology developed and into what it is today. So I’ve seen both worlds. I’m not too young or too old. I’m at the right age. Hopefully, I’ll be part of the future, at least for 30 more years. But you’ll never know.