On 200+ Birthday Anniversary Greeters: Who Enlivened my Last ‘Junior’ Year Celebration

Summary

When I celebrated my 59th birthday anniversary last 24 January 2021, I was ecstatic when 200+ co-workers, family members, friends, professional associates, relatives, and students greeted me. Although the majority came from the Philippines, some 50 well-wishers were from overseas. They conveyed their greetings through emails, face-to-face greetings, messenger, phone calls, and text notes. Their messages revolved around these themes: health, happiness, longevity, safety, and success. I sincerely thank them for making my last year as a ‘junior’ truly memorable – as I will become a ‘senior’ by 2022!

Birthday Context

“How many people will remember me during my 59th birthday anniversary on 24 January 2021?”

That was the question that I kept on posing to myself as the event date became closer. I remember a cousin – a medical doctor – who mentioned that turning 59 years old is critical in a man’s life. Earlier, I obtained a medical leave of absence from work (as a Professor and Dean of Graduate School) at the Palawan State University (PSU) in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines.

 

I need to undergo a Myocardial Perfusion Scintigraphy (MPS) for my heart condition and consult more medical specialists for my other ailments. The MPS procedure would be undertaken at a hospital in Quezon City (QC), which was near where we stay. Incidentally, QC is a component city within the Philippines’ Metropolitan Manila. Health-wise, I was apprehensive as the COVID-19 cases in QC are relatively higher than the almost nil cases in PPC.

On the personal side, I, of course, preferred to celebrate my 59th birthday anniversary with the family. My wife Lita (a former nurse) and second son Jr (a freelance architect) are staying at a QC rented apartment. The plan was to connect through our family group chat (GC) with our eldest son Robert (visiting his wife in Texas, USA) and our only daughter Hannah (a medical student in Darwin, Australia). A separate blog will come out concerning this birthday celebration with my family.

 

Thus, in the late afternoon of 23 January 2021, I flew from PPC to QC in time for my birthday the next day. After dinner, I wanted to stay awake until the stroke of the midnight clock. I eagerly awaited who would be the first greeters. Feeling gratified, I re-read Jake Canfield’s Count Your Blessings while lying down, a book that forms part of the ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ series (Figure 1). This book is a collection of 101 true stories of gratitude, fortitude, and silver linings. Due to travel exhaustion, though, I eventually fell asleep before midnight while reading.

Figure 1. Front cover of Jake Canfield’s book titled Count Your Blessings.
Figure 2. Birthday greeting card from a former administrator at Palawan State University, Philippines.

Morning Episode

Feeling refreshed and well-rested, I leisurely woke up around 0800. It was a lazy Sunday, and there was no pressure from work. I first thanked The Almighty that I was still alive, and in many ways, even incredibly blessed. Lita was the first to greet me face-to-face (FTF).

 

As I was about to go down, text messages kept coming into my mobile phone which resulted into the continuous sound of notifications. I read some 20 messages before I joined my wife for breakfast. After partaking in my second cup of strong coffee and purple yum dessert, I went back upstairs and opened my laptop. I looked at my Facebook (FB) Messenger and was surprised that there were at least 50 private messages (PM) by that mid-morning time.

 

Except for the family FTF and GC gathering, I expected 24 January 2021 to be just an ordinary day. I anticipated greetings only from family members, a few relatives, and the rest from some close friends or professional associates. But the outpouring of messages simply continued. Thus, I decided to do an inventory of greetings as they came within the day.

 

As an academic, I projected that I would exceed 100 greeters. If by incredible luck my greeters would reach 200 – I would consider myself incredibly blessed! Only then would I stop doing the inventory and would instead write a blog. Attaining 200 greeters around six in the evening, I did stop counting and started writing this blog about such an experience.

 

Profile of Greeters

Greeters belong to five categories. Such a classification is arbitrary, though, as a person may belong to more than one category. I describe them here in descending order.

 

The first category is ‘co-workers’ of whom over 100 sent their best wishes. The majority of them are current co-workers at PSU, my academic workplace that I have described earlier. These included fellow administrators as well as faculty and staff members particularly from the Graduate School. Among others, a former dean sent me a birthday greeting card (Figure 2). This card became one of the Messenger threads for other birthday message greetings.

Other well-wishers were co-workers from my previous employers. These included: (1) Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), Quezon City, Philippines, where I served as a Technical Officer (Integrated Coastal Management) from 2000-2002; (2) WorldFish (then called International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management or ICLARM) now based in Penang, Malaysia where I worked as a Research Associate from 1991-1995; and (3) Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff where I served as a Development Project Evaluator from 1981-1990.

 

The second category pertains to ‘professional associates’ from my professional and other civic organizations. Greetings came from fellow members from the Asian Fisheries Society, Organization of Zoology Majors (OZOOMS), and Rotary Club of Puerto Princesa. The OZOOMS is an academic organization that caters to the zoology majors at the University of the Philippines at los Baños (UPLB).

 

I refer broadly to ‘friends’ as the next category. They vary in degree of affinity to me – from the casual friends to the more intimate or special friends. My closest female classmate at UPLB sent a PM with this touching note: “the day one of the best people I know was born… greetings from the music city 🎹🎷🎸🎼… hope you had a blast celebrating!” Her PM is accompanied by a card (Figure 3). 

Figure 3. Birthday greeting card from a college classmate in Florida, USA.
Figure 4. Birthday greeting card from a ‘Hijacker’ in Metro Manila, Philippines.

Belonging to these special friends were people from my ‘informal’ social groups. I am a member of UPLB’s ‘Hijackers’ Club, a group of male college students in the late 1970s who were jointly cooking in the Men’s Dorm kitchen. Engr. Budi Fernandez, our FB administrator, was the first to greet me with a card. I use the greeting card –  that encapsulates the word ‘Hijackers’ – of one of the closely-knit 26 members (Figure 4). 

 

Other special friends were High School classmates from Colegio De San Sebastian in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. In our closed group’s GC, they addressed me with my childhood nickname: either ‘Chute’ and ‘Chut’. It read both nostalgic and odd as I have been using the moniker ‘Mike’ since my college days.

 

Family is the fourth category. Included here are immediate family members and relatives. My son Jr (who woke up late), elder brother Manny and cousin Lester greeted me FTF around the middle of the day.  

 

The fifth and last category is ‘students’. I have been teaching environment-related courses at PSU at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels since 2002. Frankly, I have always regarded myself as a mediocre teacher but a great researcher. Thus, I was surprised to receive such a touching message from a graduate student who regarded me as among her favorite teachers (Box 1).

“Happy birthday Sir Mike… one of my favorite teachers in Graduate School… Thank you for inspiring me to do well and finish MSEM”

Box 1. A text message of a female graduate student at Palawan State University, Philippines.

Forms and Number of Greetings

Birthday greetings were conveyed through five forms, which I describe here based on greeters’ frequency by category. Note that a few of those incredibly close to me greeted me several times – such as through PM and text messages. Some 180 greetings were relayed as PMs through Messenger: either directly to me or through the GCs.  Over 30 greetings were sent as text messages in my mobile phone. A few text messages about me as a supervisor caught me by surprise (Box 2). A workaholic and slave driver in the workplace, I consider myself not a very popular administrator.

 “Happy birthday to the one who motivates me to be better every day! Your dedication, determination, and vision inspires us to always give our best. We appreciate someone wonderful and generous person like you.”

“Out of all bosses out there, you’re simply the best! Happy Birthday po”!  

 “Thank you for your generosity, your understanding, and for being the kind of leader that you are.”

Box 2. Sample text messages of current and former co-workers.

 

Some 30 family members and relatives greeted me FTF within the apartment block where we stay. Ida Aralar, my sister-in-law, sent a family greeting card from Darwin, Australia (Figure 5). Her PM started the greetings from relatives and friends on my wife’s side. My mother, based in Sablayan, called my mobile, while a few friends contacted me through phone calls. Overseas friends congratulated me through emails. 

Figure 5. Birthday greeting card from sister-in-law’s family in Darwin, Australia

Greetings Themes and Greeters Location

Greeting messages revolved around these thematic areas: gratitude, health, happiness, longevity, safety, and success. Messages varied in length. The shortest and simplest was this traditional two–word greeting: ‘Happy Birthday’. Other notes were lengthy, constituting several sentences that resulted in a paragraph. Some expressions were unfamiliar to me, such as “Have a blast”; this was relayed by my daughter’s close friend, a millennial. A few were intensely personal such as this message from an LGBT confidante: “I love you always and forever. Come what may, you are one of my life’s gems”.

 

Certain friends reminded me to express again gratitude to the Divine Providence for being alive at 59. Those already in their twilight years coveted for me longevity – that I may reach the age of 87 just like my extant mother. Others prayed that I be spared from the wrath of COVID-19 pandemic. Many aspired for me to have more success in my career and family. Some wished me good health: knowing I traveled to QC for my heart ailment. A former close college dean shared a combination of good wishes (Box 3).

“Happiest Birthday Dean Mike… All the best of God’s graces… Good health, happiness in the family and God’s constant protection and guidance. thanks for everything. with you in our prayers.”

Box 3. A private message of a co-worker at Palawan State University, Philippines.

 

Being my home country, the majority of the greetings came from within various parts of the Philippines. There were some 50 overseas greetings from these foreign lands: Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and US. A college classmate in Canada sent a blessing message that depicts our friendship through the years (Box 4).

“May God bless you more as you bless me with your friendship and kindness through the years along with wonderful college memories”

Box 4. A private message of college classmate in British Columbia, Canada. 

Moreover, there were also institutional greetings. The James Cook University (JCU) Alumni Relations Team sent an artistic postcard through email along with its very best wishes for my birthday (Figure 6). Located in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, I obtained my doctorate at JCU in year 2000. 

Figure 6. Birthday postcard from Alumni Relations Team at James Cook University, Queensland, Australia.

Celebrant’s Rejoinder

The 200+ greeters had changed the ambiance of my 59th birthday anniversary. Originally-intentioned as a quiet family affair, these well-wishers indeed dramatically enlivened the event. Some of the messages that I received were overwhelmingly touching.

 

I was not expecting such a number of well-wishers from within the Philippines and overseas. My projection was only over 100 people would remember me. In the end, my numerical estimate was more than doubled. Another upside was a few of my old, and nearly forgotten friends suddenly showed up, albeit virtually.

 

My birthday celebration was nearly perfect amidst the pandemic. My only ‘misgiving’ was I did not get any single greeting from a few ‘special’ persons – as well as social groups – who I thought would at least remember 24 January 2021 as my special day. But I had no real qualms about it; being forgotten by a few was just a relatively minor mishap. After all, I cannot have everything that I desire.

 

May this article serve as a ‘thank you’ blog to all greeters for making my last year as a ‘junior’ genuinely memorable. Why? Because I will chronologically become an official ‘senior’ this coming 24 January 2022!

 

P.S. When I completed writing this blog a week later, I got 50+ more belated birthday greetings. What more can I ask for? 

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