If Jeremy doesn't wake up soon to give me my present, I'm going to go dump ice in his bed.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Answers

A Poem For Your Birthday:
Itsy-bitsy Spider
climbed up the birthday cake.
"Itsy" quickly learned
that he'd made a big mistake.
He climbed upon a candle
before the cake was cut...
Then Itsy-Bitsy Spider--
he burned his little butt.

Happy Birthday!!!

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Hey, if you want to fly out to Washington D.C. and attack me with an ice bucket, more power to you.

Happy 30th. You still have ten years to go until you're middle-aged.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Beth... you are no where near middle age. Women live well into their 80's ... 30 is a great age... you only feel old when you start approching 40... Wait I don't feel old yet and I am 44...

Have a great Birthday!!!

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Happy birthday!

I've told you this before, but you're a great inspiration to me, and I'm really glad you're writing again.

Thanks, Molly

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Happy Birthday! I vaguely remember 30.... make Zoe shaddup about that 40 thing! It's moving toward me like a freight train.

As far as resilient skin goes, who wants silly putty hands anyway?!

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Beth,

Best of birthday wishes to you. I've still got three months of my twenties left, but I'll be damned if I can come up with any good use for them.

As far as the hands go, I'm pretty happy somewhere between silly putty and crackling parchment. But we all know my penchant for fence sitting. ;)

DinoNeil

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Happy Birthday, Beth!

And good lord, I LOVE my thirties. Love 'em.

I'm serious. I look better, I feel better, I have more fun, I have tons more friends.

I'm not a pollyanna (anyone reading my journal would, I hope, realize that), but at the same time, I really, genuniely love where I am in life.

I hope this for you, as well.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Happy birthday.

I recommend Nobody Knows Anything for more baby-related angst.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Happy Birthday. Feel free to come to Brisbane and dump iced water on me...it's winter here and I may get warmer.

Happy 30th, I hated mine. 31 is worse. I am in complete denial. I no longer age...I never thought I'd be like this. Who knew ? I now get birthday cards that make fun of your age...Oh goodee. Can you feel the bitterness...All I can say is, you get used to it.Eventually.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Happy Birthday Beth, Enjoy your 30's, they are a lot of fun and that's for sure. It is good to know that you're back, I really like your style.

Francesco Scofano Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

this weekend philadelphia has reached a heat index of 126 degrees, so i sure hope someone is on their way with an ice bucket!!

anyway... glad your back! hope you're having a swell birthday!

- shobhana

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Happy Birthday, Beth!

Funny, when I turned 30 I was so relieved. Finally, my age had caught up to my life. I've been living the life of a middle-aged woman since I was 25. And can you believe Valvis is only 30? I had him pegged for early 40's.

It's more than age that makes us old.

Geez, that came out WAY more depressing than I intended.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Happy Birthday, Beth! You are one smart-ass funny girl! Think of it this way:
Like good wine, you get better as you get older!!

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

deb -- re: Valvis -- agreed. Wow. Amazing writing. Makes you believe in old souls...

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

THIRTY ISN'T OLD! It's not, it's not, it's not! Of course I may be only saying that because I recently hit FORTY a few months back. But even forty can't be said to be old. Enjoy your thirties. Have a happy birthday!

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Christ..!! I hadn't ever checked the skin on my knuckles before. I don't think it counts..

Anyway, don't worry Beth. You only have to put up with being thirty for a year before you can officially implement the "Reverse Birthday Policy"

This year I'll be 27 (which actually makes me younger than you. See how great it is..!!)

As George Costanza says 'It's not a lie if you believe it'

Happy Birthday

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Beth,

It's wonderful to have you back. I hope you had a great birthday.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Happy birthday, Beth.

Best-

sara

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1999

Thirty is NOT old. Thirty is when life begins. At thirty I stopped wearing nylons and caring about what other people thought about my hair. Believe me, it's a lot more fun this way!

karen

-- Anonymous, July 19, 1999

Just don't drink on your thirtieth birthday. I was not too bothered about turning 30....that is, until I got drunk that night. Then, I cried! Now I'm looking at 60 a year from tomorrow and wondering what the hell I was crying about! I'm so glad you're back, Xeney and happy belated birthday. Yours is the only journal besides my daughter's that I always read. Heather's Mom, Linda

-- Anonymous, July 19, 1999

Ahhhh, thirty ain't so bad, Beth. I was damn glad to hit thirty -- with my "youth over", I was at least closer to an age that matched my state of mind. I'm sure that probably doesn't help you much, but there it is.

Rick

-- Anonymous, July 19, 1999

Happy Birthday Beth.

Thirty. That's not old. Thirty-one. Now that's old.

I'm kidding. Quit freaking out. You're only old when you stop playing.

-- Anonymous, July 19, 1999

Beth, Beth, Beth. Thirty is so young! I didn't start really having fun until my 30's, and the forties have been the best so far. My daughter is 12, old enough to do more things with me, and we have so much fun. Plus I have to say that sex gets better the older I get. I wonder why? Older lovers? Well....anyway..... Happy Birthday! Joy

-- Anonymous, July 19, 1999

Happy Belated Birthday Beth.

I'm in the midst of my own countdown to 30 - look at it this way - we finally get to kiss the angst-filled 20's goodbye.

Here's to a stunning new decade, Chrstine

-- Anonymous, July 19, 1999

Happy belated birthday, with no spiders.

Thirty is nothing. Thirty is also great, when you consider that the alternative is being DEAD.

enjoy!

-- Anonymous, July 19, 1999

Happy first day of being thirty!

I hope I'm as accomplished - laywer, wit, home/beau/pup-owner - as you are when I turn the corner next year.

But why oh why did you think that you wouldn't have enough friends to populate a party? Certainly I'd be willing to make the drive to eyeball-sizzling Sacramento, that's how highly I think of you (i.e., you *do* have friends, if I may be so bold). Perhaps at your thirty-first?

Rock steady,

-- Anonymous, July 19, 1999

Thank you all! And Evany, had you made the trek to Sacramento, you would have been rewarded with an 86 degree day. It was beautiful.

But that sounds like a plan. Big party next year? Maybe we'll have a patio and -- dare I say it -- a stove by then.

-- Anonymous, July 19, 1999

Hmmm, I just read that thread about quitting things, and I think one of the best things one can quit wasting time on is obsessing about one's chronological age...

So with that thought, happy birthday!

I agree with Kirk about some things getting better with age, and as a younger guy I was very close to once told me "You can never have too much *experience*."

Judy

http://www.judywatt.com

-- Anonymous, July 19, 1999

...cheers for a happy birthday....a quote for you:

"If you're upset about turning 30, consider this: If you were a dog, you'd be 210. In cat years, you'd be 150. As a fish? 112.

So relax, you're practically a kid!"

...happy birthday, beth!!...from my childish heart to yours....

xo, e.

-- Anonymous, July 19, 1999

Xeney,

I envy you, turning 30. I look forward to the wisdom of age, the serenity of a less hectic life, the weight of responsibility keeping me on track.

Thank you for continuing to document parts of your life online. Not only is your writing witty, but you approach life's trials realistically, with neither a sugar-coated happy face nor a wailing mask of tragedy. Your sarcasm and grit leaves us all with a sense of commraderie - we're all going through it, and we're gonna survive each in our own way.

Thanks for writing honestly. Happy 30th!

(Linda's daughter, Heather)

-- Anonymous, July 20, 1999

Oh dear, I am late on this one. But Happy Birthday! Don't worry about the skin thing, mine doesn't spring back on my knuckles either, and I'm 22. And Jeremy's hands looked ancient when he was 16, so they haven't changed at all.

-- Anonymous, July 22, 1999

Happy Birthday Beth! When I think about what my thirties were like I wish I had been keeping a journal so I could remember! I do think they were wonderful - better than my twenties - I'm now keeping a journal so that I remember my forties when I'm in my fifties which is coming up real soon. Gail

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999