Six Cakes, One Milestone Journey: Reflections on My 62nd Birthday
Summary
I only expected one group post-birthday cake for my 62nd birthday on 24 January 2024. Surprisingly, I received five more birthday cakes: one before my birthday; two during my birthday; and two more after my birthday. This blog provides the chronology of my birthday-related events and my gratitude reflection for being blessed with these six amazing birthday cakes.
Table of Contents
- Birthday Signature Dishes: From Noodles to Cakes
- The Prelude: A Cake to Anticipate the Celebration
- Double Delight: Two Cakes to Celebrate the Day
- Sweet Surprises: Three Cakes to Extend the Celebration
- A Heartfelt Thank You: Reflecting on the Gift of Cakes
1. Birthday’s Signature Dishes: From Noodles to Cakes
Like almost everyone else, I celebrate each birthday as a life’s major milestone – and as a reference date for the remaining 364 more days until the next cycle. A cake represents the modern signature dish used in western culture for birthday celebrations. And it appears that such a contemporary culinary practice is gaining more adherents worldwide.
Traditionally, however, most Asians prepare noodles as the main dish for a birthday celebration. (In the Philippines where I hail, the dish is popularly called pansit, where various types of noodles are mixed with meat products and/or assorted vegetables.) Culturally, the noodles represent longevity. Hence, being gifted with a noodle-based dish is a good tiding for the celebrant to attain a long and prosperous life.
Although Asians in general – and Filipinos in particular still cook noodles these days – cakes are becoming the focal celebratory dish. There’s the symbolic candle lighting followed by Happy Birthday hymns. Is the cake’s apparent takeover of noodles as the signature dish for a birthday celebration a case of the West’s triumph over the Eastern tradition? Hence, being gifted with a cake is a definitive recognition of one’s importance – an affirmative expression of the love and care accorded by the giver to the birthday celebrant.
I only expected one birthday cake on my 62nd birthday (a year ago on 24 January 2024). I refer to a traditional post-birthday group cake, not even a solo one. Nothing more.
As an incorrigible day-dream believer, I was more concerned about who – and how many – will greet me on that special day (Figure 1). Surprisingly, I received five more birthday cakes! I mean one before my birthday; two during my birthday; and two more after my birthday. This blog (under Theme 7 – Happiness & Lucky Moments) provides both the chronology of my birthday-related events and my reflection for being blessed with these six amazing birthday cakes.
2. The Prelude: A Cake to Anticipate the Celebration
Chronologically, I received the first unexpected birthday cake (Figure 2) on 19 January 2024 during a regional fisheries workshop. I refer to the “2024 South China Sea Regional Technical Exchange on Fisheries Governance (SCS REX)” held at Seda Vertis North Hotel, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, from 16-19 January 2024. Embellished with a red-lighted candle, it was an appetizing combo of moist and succulent dark chocolates. The period was four days before my actual anniversary birthdate.
I served as a resource person during that SCS REX. This was a regional consultative event that provided an innovative forum for dialogue among different policy, management and scientific actors in the fisheries in the sub-region to start the conversation on regional fisheries management. Some 80 participants from various organizations coming from six countries attended. Therefore, I was surprised during a break when former colleagues suddenly called me to blow my birthday cake (Figure 3).
3. Double Delight: Two Cakes to Celebrate the Day
During my actual birthday on 24 January 2024, the only plan was a dine-out around Robinsons Magnolia in Quezon City. (It’s a shopping complex that used to house a popular ice cream house.) At that time, our eldest son (Mikhail Robert) was still recuperating in the US for his brain tumor operation, while our only daughter (Zarina Hannah) was working as a medical doctor in Darwin, Australia.
It was supposed to be a typical buffet family dinner among my wife (Lita), our second son (Jr), and myself. We only invited Jr’s best friend (Von) and his wife (Imee) to join us.
Although the scheduled dinner was at six, I began to wonder why my wife, at five o’clock noon, was still agitated in texting and calling a food delivery person. I did not pay attention, thinking she was just ordering some extra food from outside. Wives, after all, make decisions on their own. By 5:30 p.m., when the food box finally arrived, I had a pleasant surprise. Why? Because it was my second birthday cake coming from Zarina Hannah – a pricy chocolate cake with a thick sugary icing (Figure 4)! Our daughter’s dedication of ‘Best Dad’ coupled with a smiling emoji truly touched my heart.
It came late because Zarina Hannah ordered it from Caloocan City, a faraway component city in Metro Manila. My wife and I blew the cake together (Figure 5). Then, with Jr, we proceeded for a dinner at Robinsons Magnolia.
We settled at the 201-established Jiang Nan Hotpot, which provides an authentic Chinese cuisine buffet. We met there our invited couple friend, Von and Imee, for that sumptuous dinner experience (Figure 6).
After our leisurely dinner, we proceeded to the nearby Cafe Mary Grace for some coffee and tea. This home-grown restaurant serves specialty traditional cakes and pastries. Lo and behold, I received my surprise third birthday cake, an expensive almond-laden square cake (Figure 7), courtesy of Von and Imee. Aside from being huge and yummy, we had to take home the cake’s large chunk because the five of us couldn’t consume it all there!
4. Sweet Surprises: Three Cakes to Extend the Celebration
The following day, 25 January 2024, I flew back in the afternoon to my home base, Puerto Princesa City, in the province of Palawan. By six o’clock in the evening, I was at the house of Rotarian Maida Gabarda in Barangay San Jose for an organizational event: the Fellowship of the Rotary Club of Puerto Princesa for January 2024. (At that time, I was the club’s Top Gun President for Rotary Year 2023-24.) Such a fellowship – often held every last Thursday of the month – provides bonding and getting-to-know-you moments among club members in an informal and jovial setting (Figure 8). Members voluntarily shared various dishes and drinks on a pot luck arrangement.
The event also provides an opportunity to celebrate the members’ birthdays for a particular month. A group cake is often provided with their names listed with icing. Since I was the only one physically present, I received the birthday cake on behalf of all other January celebrants (Figure 9). Count-wise, this was my fourth birthday cake – the sole one that I expected to receive.
I thought my fellow Rotarians’ fourth birthday cake was the culmination. But I was dead wrong, as I was in for another surprise before January 2024 chronologically ended.
In the early morning of 31 January 2024, I received an unexpected call from Associate Professor Eva Marie Ponce de Leon of the Palawan State University (PSU), a public-funded academic institution where I then worked. (I used to work at PSU as its former Vice President for Research and Extension and Dean of the Graduate School.) Eva, who’s quite close to me, was my fellow faculty member at the Graduate School. She relayed over the phone that I must come for lunch at the Office of the University and Board Secretary (OUBS). Since the invitation sounded casual, I simply went there expecting a typical lunch menu.
When I arrived at OUBS, however, I was amazed by two scenes: (1) the meeting table was overflowing with food that was extended to the adjacent conference table of the Office of the Vice President of Finance and Administration (OVPFA); and (2) hordes of staff and faculty members were getting in-and-out between the two offices. They organized a pot-luck of lunch food to celebrate my birthday and that of Ian Cadiz (a staff member). There was so much variety of dishes – beef, chicken, dessert, noodles, pork, seafoods and veggies – that attendees brought home substantial leftover foods!
Before the smorgasbord lunch commenced, they called Ian and me, accompanied by a jovial Happy Birthday song. We blew together the birthday cake (Figure 10), which was my fifth on the list.
Just when I presumed the cake gifting was over, Eva suddenly reappeared from nowhere. She was carrying a custard cake – her personal gift – that became my 6th birthday cake! During the photo op with Eva still holding the custard cake, I requested Dr Venzon Limpiada, the Vice President for Finance and Administration, to join. Grabbing hold also of the other cake, the three of us posed for my final two birthday cakes (Figure 11).
5. A Heartfelt Thank You: Reflecting on the Gift of Cakes
I marked my 62nd birthday on 24 January 2024 as an iconic milestone. My life’s journey as a mortal had significantly come this far – with all my accomplishments as well as failings.
Going back to this blog’s topic, I only expected one birthday cake. More precisely, I anticipated a group birthday cake as part of the Rotary Club of Puerto Princesa’s monthly fellowship gathering. Nothing more.
In between 19 and 31 January 2024, though, I received five more unexpected birthday cakes! If my 62nd birthday is likened to a movie script, these five extra birthday cakes were not part of the original script. Hence, the script’s story line has been revised from ‘one cake’ to ‘six cakes’!
Were these extra five birthday cakes something short of a ‘minor’ miracle? My agnostic friends claimed to the contrary: a resounding no. It was just a statistical fluke; simply told, I was just damn lucky that the timing of cake-giving rolled the dice in my favor.
Nonetheless, I disagree rather vehemently. I can’t help but express my earnest gratitude to The Almighty for the total of six birthday cakes that I received (Figure 12). These cakes’ values go beyond food (or unwanted calories on the negative side!).
These birthday cakes represent the milestone celebration of another year – of another lease on my life’s mortality. Given that my caring family members and esteemed co-workers and friends freely gifted them, I am genuinely an incredibly blessed human being.
No further argument is needed.
***** END OF BLOG *****
REFLECTION FOR READERS
Dear Reader,
Thank you for joining me on this sweet journey through my 62nd birthday celebration! Your presence here means so much to me.
Have you ever been surprised with multiple birthday cakes from loved ones? What did these cakes mean to you? I’d love to hear about your most memorable birthday celebration!
Do you agree that receiving six cakes is an incredible blessing? Or do you have a different perspective? I’m eager to hear your thoughts!
Please share your stories, feedback, or even your favorite birthday cake flavors in the comments below. Let’s make this space a lively celebration of birthdays and blessings!
Your stories and insights make this blog truly special!
Copyright © 2025 by Michael D Pido
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Belated Happy Birthday Sir Mike.
Praying for your good health and blessed years to come for you and your family.
Hi AJ – Thanks a lot for your greetings and well wishes. Look forward to meeting you in Manila. Take care for now.
Belated happy birthday Doc Mike and Congratulations on your retirement! I wish you all the best in life that you truly deserve. I guess the number of cakes we receive increases as we age, but must be sugarfree or at least less sugar for your health.hehe! God bless po.
Hi Director Jake – Thanks a lot for your well wishes. Will always remember the sugar free or less sugar cake!
Belated happy birthday, Sir Mike!
Thanks a lot for your greetings, Atty Collen