Club 26

Yesterday was my birthday.  I'm now a member of Club 26 and I seem to have settled in a little easier than I thought I would.

Back in November while scrolling through my calendar at work, I realised how soon it was and felt my heart pound in my chest for a few moments, gentle waves of panic washing over me.

That night, I mentioned to my mother that I didn't feel like I'd achieved anything.  She told me that she hadn't achieved anything by 26.  I pointed out she was married by then and the only thing she could come back with was "Only just..".  She'd actually been married 7 months by her 26th birthday and living with my father for two years prior to that.  This is why I don't ask for any sort of support from my mother.  On the rare occasion that she tries, it doens't work.

By yesterday morning I'd calmed down about it.  It didn't feel like any other day.  It was just like any other Saturday.  I lay in bed watching TNA Wrestling until 1:30pm.  At some point my dad knocked on the door to my bedroom and told me there were cards downstairs.  I knew, I just wasn't that interested in the whole performance.

Eventually I dragged myself downstairs and opened the cards - everyone gave me money (always a bonus) and I also got a birthday cake, likely because of a mock hissy fit I threw last year at not getting one.

What I always find most interesting about birthdays are who remembers and who forgets.  I had lots of Facebook messages from people to wish me a good day, one of the girls at work went out of her way to get me a card and a Boots Gift Card (I was really touched, she didn't have to do that) and I had one text from the friend I went out with to celebrate.

The people who forgot:

My maternal grandmother - no shock, she only addressed the christmas card to my parents.
My godparents - these are people I see regularly, but no card.
The friend who I saw last weekend who I told it was my birthday this weekend.

I should probably stress that I'm not highlighting these people for some sort of miserly reason.  I'm not after more presents and I'm certainly not holding it against anyone.  Everyone has things going on in their lives that get in the way sometimes.

In contrast to those three, there was one friend who I'd invited along to dinner last night.  She didn't text back to say she couldn't make it but when I opened my front door I almost fell over a bunch of flowers and a card.  She explained that she wasn't feeling well but that she hoped I had fun.  Had I not had to rush to get a train, I'd probably have cried - I was so touched that she'd gone to the trouble to do that.

To celebrate, I had a quiet but fun dinner with my friend and his boyfriend at the Mongolian Barbeque in Covent Garden.  If you've never been to one, please go!  The premise is that you get a bowl and a plate and you walk along a counter of raw meat/seafood, fresh vegetables, spices and sauces.  You put together your own dish containing whatever you feel like and they cook it for you on a huge hotplate.  You put a lolly stick in the dish with your name and table number on it so the waiting staff can tell you which dish is yours.  For those among us lacking in maturity, this leaves plenty of room for name changes - at one point my friends became Horatio and Brian, while I stuck with my own name.

The food is absolutely yummy but the service left quite a lot to be desired.  The staff were all very friendsly but as a general rule, if I have to go and chase up my drink order after 20 minutes, I'm less than pleased.  Even more so when you get the bill and they've added an optional 12.5% gratuity.  Fortunately, it wasn't enough to dampen our spirits and we spent the entire evening people watching/people mocking and giggling into our food.

I didn't make any new years resolutions, I never do - but I think I'm going to have a list of things to do for my 26th year.  Starting with (in no particular order!):

• Be grateful for all the wonderful experiences and friends I have - its not that I'm ungrateful, but I should be more conscious of how lucky I am.
• See more of my friends.  There are people I adore that I don't see often enough.
• Start using Google Reader - that way I can keep up to date with my regular blogs on my lunchbreaks at work without having to remember 50 URLs
• Get my suit jackets dry cleaned - there are four that have sitting in a bag for about six months now
• Get my flat black leather boots re-soled/heeled - boring, but needs to be done
• Read at least one "For Dummies" book a month and learn something new
• Remember to put on moisturiser and eye cream every day without fail
• Try harder to stay calm in difficult personnel related issues at work
• Get a pedicure - I've never had one
• Clear my overdraft - starting this month, I need to pay off £50 a month, no excuses
• Record my huge DVD collection on a spreadsheet to avoid duplications
• Get out of the UK - even if it is only for a weekend in Paris!

I'm stealing an idea from the wonderful Kenneth here, but if anyone has any suggestions for other things I should do - please drop me a comment and let me know.

Comments

[peach]

good list and isn't it shit that the older you get, less people really care about birthdays..in time that's a good thing I promise ! And as an older girl, you're damn right about the face cream thing. Please cleanse and moisturise twice a day and drink 2-3 litres of water, oh, and make sure your moisturiser has an spf of at least 15. please. I'm older, I can tell you, please, do it, forever! PLEASE!!!!

[Leah Vanessa]

Happy Belated Birthday! Good goals. By the way... I'm on facebook too! You can find me by using my email, if you want.

[Chelsea Talks Smack]

Happy belated birthday! Just found the blog, I shall come back and see how you're doing on your list. Good list by the way.

[Beth]

Happy belated birthday! I think the only thing you have to accomplish by 26 is just being yourself. Hey, I'm 29 and still working on it! Have a great week!

[ruby]

Happy belated birthday darling! Hope this is a fantastic year for you!

[phil]

I am a bit of a blog troll so dont mind me.....but happy belated birthday. You are spazing about 26, I am 31 and have yet to spaz. I feel young, act young and will forever be young. Its a mind set really, and I never worried about what I have or have not done yet. I will worry about that when I die, until then worry less drink more.

[Beth]

Peach - Cleanse/Tone I've got down to a tee. Its just moisturise that I hate. I don't know why. I'm ultra-pale so I know how important SPF is, i just hate moisturising. I did it today though, so I figure I'll go one day at a time!

Leah - Thank you for letting me know, I'll get you added!

Chelsea - Welcome! I'm a better list maker than blogger unfortunately. I've added your blog to my Google Reader (so I can now check one thing off of my list - hurrah!) and I'll be stopping by regularly!

Beth - Thank you and thats lucky, because thats pretty much all I have accomplished!! You have a good week too.

Ruby - Ditto! I hope you have a great one!

Phil - Welcome! That wasn't a very troll-y post and thank you for the advice. Perhaps being drunk more regularly will help. Or at least get me into some situations worth blogging about!

[KennethSF]

Beth: Happy birthday! Thanks for referencing me by name. I'm flattered, particularly by your choice of the adjective "wonderful." As you probably know, I end up with, among others, "sky dive" and "foursome" on my to-do list when I ask for strangers' suggestions, so take this as fair warning. ;-)

[Clare]

Glad you had a nice birthday Beth and how lovely to receive an unexpected gift :).

[C]

Happy (several days after your) Birthday!

[Bob]

Happy belated birthday ... mine was the 10th ... Capricorns rock!