BIRTHDAYS, CARBON COPIES, AND GENERALIZATIONS
I recently had a birthday (So did half of my friends it seems. September and October in the 70’s and 80’s must’ve been very boring months).
A group of us that included some that recently had birthdays were recently sitting around having some beers and catching up. Somehow, the topic came around to what well known public figures we shared a birthday with.
One of them reminded me of the time we’d met Sofia Coppola randomly at a party and it turned out our birthdays were the same day (the topic came up because the party we were at took place a week before our birthdays), she had threatened to assume my identity so that she could be the age I’d be turning instead of hers (which is not old by any means).
I also have a friend who says she’s only friends with me because I share a birthday with George Lucas and another one says he is because I share a birthday with his musical hero David Byrne (I’m not sure what they think that might get them?). I’d never really paid attention to all of the people I share a birthday with (aside from people I know in real life, which there are quite a few of), while I might say that George Lucas and David Byrne are not bad company to keep (I’m not that into Star Wars, but definitely do love the Talking Heads and have respect for everything else Mr. Byrne has touched–I mean seriously, look at his body of work and he’s only a few years older than my parents) the other person that I was definitely ok with sharing a birthday that I knew of was B.C. Forbes (the founder of Forbes magazine).
One of our friends found a site via her phone that listed all of those people born on our birthdays and while of course there were too many to mention for each of us, some of the others that were born on my birth date included Ian Astbury (the Cult), Director Robert Zemeckis, Cate Blanchett, Tim Roth, C.C. DeVille (Poison), Raphael Saadiq, and many others I can’t recall (can you tell the person who was reading us the names is into music and film?)
Soon enough, everyone around us wanted to know who they shared birthdays with. We’d opened a can of worms for sure. If you ever want to make friends with a bunch of people in a bar, this is a good way to do so.
Out of all of the people I know in real life who share my birthday, I can’t really say that all of us are all that alike. I find all of them to be talented in one form or another, but I’m not really sure I’d say we’re all cut from the same cloth. Granted I’ve yet to know one who shared the exact same birth date and birth year as I do. Typically, they’ve always been older with the exception of one who is younger.
Speaking of sharing the same qualities and making generalizations. One of those friends that was having a drink with us had included a print-out of this in a birthday card she’d given me. She’d found it on the Cafe Astrology website.
If You Were Born Today, May 14:
“Creative to an extreme, you are also highly intelligent and possess strong business savvy. Many of your ideas are very marketable. Somewhat unconventional in thought, you quickly become bored with routine thinking. However, that is on a mental level. You can have a few stubborn habits yourself, and when your mind is made up, it can be difficult to steer you off course. Famous people born today: George Lucas, David Byrne, Dante, Cate Blanchett.”
I always find these generalizations amusing. Of course, this describes me to a T. Yep, me and the other thousands of people who share my birthday.
She insisted this really did describe me and proceeded to explain to me with not necessarily flattering examples why, which just made me laugh even more. I won’t include her examples, but I’ll do my own line-by-line breakdown of this generalized description.
“Creative to an extreme”
I am creative, yes this is true. I do constantly have to have some creative project going at all times, but I don’t know about the “extreme” part. I don’t ever wake-up and think “today I must do something creative or else” nor do I challenge anyone to any “creative duels.” What would qualify as “creative to an extreme.” Are those artists who do things like live in a glass box over Times Square (or whatever location) for days and call it an art installation “creative to an extreme?”
“You are also highly intelligent and possess strong business savvy.”
I don’t know about the highly intelligent part. I certainly don’t go around with a snifter full of Brandy à la every film made in the early 1900’s –swirling and sniffing all whilst spewing my thoughts on Modern Rationalism and quoting Descartes, nor do I sit around in an old-world style study smoking a pipe rambling about Nietzche’s school of thought whilst in one haughtily uttered statement successfully manage to insult and praise Sartre to anyone who even in passing utters anything that closely resembles the word Existentialism. I should consider doing both of those just for fun one day though. I’d find it highly entertaining. I actually think most people can be intelligent on some level and everyone is more knowledgeable than I in a multitude of subjects. We all have had different life experiences and also have a preference for various subjects, thus contributing to the retention of information that is related to that which we enjoy or that which we’ve encountered.
I do however, hope I possess at least some business savvy as there are a few things that depend on me to do so.
“Many of your ideas are very marketable”
Oh finally! Validation. Since my professional career primarily falls under Marketing and I very often have to contribute ideas, the next time I change positions or apply for a position within a new company I will be sure to include that statement in my resume. If the highly-credible Cafe Astrology says that “Many of my ideas are very marketable” it must be so.
“Somewhat unconventional in thought, you quickly become bored with routine thinking”
I do tend to get bored and my close friends can attest to the fact that every now and then they hear the statement “I need new” come out of my mouth. Funny enough, if you google my name and the word unconventional, somewhere among the top results you should find some info (probably this) on a fashion show that I put on with Gülbin Yavuz (the owner of Indie Collective), which we’d actually titled “Unconventional.”
“You can have a few stubborn habits yourself, and when your mind is made up, it can be difficult to steer you off course.”
Hmmm. Well, I am a Taurus after all. Stubbornness is a given. Actually, I’m not necessarily that stubborn. It’s only when I know exactly how to achieve the end-result that I’m looking for, that I find it pointless to take a different path. Aside from that, if you can show me a better more efficient way to accomplish something then I have no problem taking on your way of doing something.
While I don’t necessarily take these things all that seriously, they are amusing and I just like everyone else get sucked into reading them every now and then when I’m either sent these by friends or when I myself happen to stumble across them on my own. If you want to read the description for those born on your birthday click here. Please note that the descriptions are only up for those birth dates that have already occurred (meaning they are only up through today, June 1st), if your birthday has yet to happen you’ll need to check back once it has passed. I’m curious to hear if you can relate to your description at all.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! THIS TIME IT’S PERSONAL…
I recently had a birthday.
My birthday to me has never been a big deal, half of the time it falls on Mother’s Day and the older I get the more people that I know personally that share my birthday. I enjoy throwing everyone else parties and usually only succumb to having a party for my own birthday if I get bugged enough about it. Despite having grown up having the typical big birthday parties as a child, the part I dreaded was the attention as I’ve never been a big fan of having the spotlight on myself. I always enjoy the social aspect of parties and catching up with everyone and am appreciative when my friends make time to get together for my birthday– but I hate the “Happy Birthday” song and blow out the candles part.
Anyhow, as is typical with birthdays I was flooded with birthday cards, phone calls, text messages, balloons, flowers, and of course Facebook wall posts from friends, family, and colleagues/co-workers. I also received the standard birthday cards from my accountant. hair stylists, and a couple of different boutiques I frequent.
The one thing I wasn’t expecting, however, was personal attention from bigger corporations. I was somewhat startled to find voicemails from managers at places like The Body Shop, Sephora, a clothing store, a bookstore, and from Guest Relations at a mall in another city that I never even frequent (nor did I know I was on their mailing list) to let me know that I either had a free gift, store credit, or a gift card waiting for me. I also received e-mail reminders from some of them as well. The e-mail birthday greetings from corporations are more typical and I received many of those as well offering discounts on purchases or free shipping.
This seems to be a sign of the times as it’s no secret that most businesses (big or small) have been affected by our economic situation and are really stepping up their game on the customer service/relations side to ensure that their clientele sees them in a positive light. I know I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the messages, who wouldn’t want a free gift card to a place they frequent? Even if it is just a $10 token of their appreciation of your past, present, and future business.
What is $10 to a business most of the time anyhow? Chances are most people will not even retrieve it (like myself and that mall gift card) –this would be a case of it’s the thought that counts — and if they do they will probably spend a lot more than $10 in your store. Even if they only spend the $10, you are still getting them into your store or online site where they may discover a product you specialize in that they love or have such a positive shopping experience that they’ll be back soon.
Never in my lifetime, nor in most of yours, has it seemed like we’re living in such a consumer’s world. (more…)