We're gonna party like it's your birthday ...

Now, I'm not the most sentimental of people. I don't send Christmas cards, I in general hate the holidays, I forget to call on birthdays. I recognize those "failings" in my personality and so don't hold it against others when they do the same with me. I feel that a lot of holidays are pretty arbitrary, and those that actually have had meaning in the past have since been hijacked by the rampant commercialism of our culture. I'm also non-religious, so I don't get my panties in a twist over Easter or Hannukah or the Fourth of July. Just another day, as far as I'm concerned.

So anyway, it was my birthday recently, and I appreciated the well wishes from my friends and family. It's nice to know that they're excited I'm alive. But I got something completely pointless from my dad: the Hallmark e-card. As far as I'm concerned, if you're to the point in your relationship with someone that you don't even want to put the time in to go to the store, select a card, purchase the card and then fill it out and send it, then you might as well not bother altogether. To adapt from Mark Twain, I would have rather thought that he didn't care than get evidence that he really doesn't.

As a birthday nod, not so much. As an overture, even worse. Better luck next year.