Almost there

In a couple of days I will be 36. I feel like 36 is like 35. Maybe even 37. I guess when I hit 40 that is when I will feel it. Age at this point seems inconsequential. But in the legal matters of our visa application it actually does.

I’ve been counting. Its going to be the third year when I will not have the capacity to really spend on my birthday. And yes I do feel that I have been denied a luxury I have been able to enjoy for probably almost a decade before the recent turn of events in the previous couple of years. I knew I would be sacrificing a lot of things coming here to Australia but I didn’t really think that celebrating my birthday would be one of the things that I would really “give up.”

I know that it was a luxury but it was something that I really did enjoy. There were some years when I felt that I wasn’t enjoying it as much, but the reality was that eating breakfast buffet at a hotel was one of those splurges that I did for myself that I thoroughly enjoyed. The rest of the day could be spent on a really expensive coffee at Coffee Bean or Starbucks. A full body massage for many years was also included. I would spend an hour sometimes playing a ps3 or xbox 360 because I couldn’t afford to buy one. Then the night would be capped off with a nice dinner with the family. In the past it would be accompanied by some shopping like buying a new shirt.

So the principle there was this: it was about pampering myself. Spending money on myself. Sometimes spending money that I would normally feel guilty spending on such excessiveness.  It was about eating good food. Wearing nice clothes throughout the day. It was my special day. I would try to make it memorable.

I may not be able to spend as much this year, but its still up to me to make it a special day. So what am i going to do about it?