Birthday Special
Mike celebrates his 32nd birthday hosting an informal virtual gathering in order to consolidate birthday greetings from friends. He shares his love for flavored tea, reflects on his recent move back to Quebec, and discusses the challenges of his work.
Good morning, this is Mike George coming to you from my apartment in Montreal. Today is 17 March 2018, and it is a very special day, because it is my birthday. I woke up at the crack of dawn and I’m starting my morning with some Bengal Spice tea, which is a mix of cinnamon and ginger flavors. It actually reminds me of my last relationship; I was the ginger and Matthew was the cinnamon.
I’m broadcasting from my work laptop instead of my phone for once, and the interface is much nicer. I have to be careful not to spill any tea on it, though!
Hi, Nisha! Nisha is a wonderful friend I met here through my old roommate Philip; we dance together every Sunday.
Scottie “Too Hottie,” thank you for the birthday wishes! Scott was a great friend who helped me through a "she-bbacle" in December.
Hi to Frank in New York, and Todd in Columbus.
I’m doing this livestream, because it’s efficient. It saves everyone the trouble of typing out messages, and as the birthday person, getting hundreds of notifications can be overwhelming. This way, we can have an "in-person" style connection while y'all are having your morning tea.
I have officially made it 32 times around the sun. 32 is an interesting number — it's the $32,000 space on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and the age where you start "driving shit" you don't like.
It’s cold and snowy today, which is depressing because usually, by mid-March in Montreal, spring is starting to emerge with temperatures around 15° (60°F). I lived here for 3 years for grad school at McGill back in the "Obama years," and now I’ve been back for about a month and a half.
A recurring theme here is boys in Montreal. The boys here are beautiful and generally not clingy, which I usually like. However, lately, I’ve found myself getting attached to people quickly, even though I try to pretend I’m "avant-garde" and don't need strings attached. Montreal is a transient city, so people don't tend to get attached easily.
Regarding work, I’ve started a job at CEATI. It’s been kicking my ass and requires a lot of focus, but it keeps me mentally sharp. I love that my colleagues are detail-oriented, which challenges me to keep up. I haven't made it to the gym all week, but I might go today just to be in a climate-controlled environment.
Hi Justin! I’ve been going to a dance class on Sundays called Contact Jam. It’s improvisational dance based purely on touch and communication with a partner—there is no music to set the tempo. It reminds me of the class we took with Nicole Garlando, where we danced to Imogen Heap. I definitely need some new music recommendations for my birthday.
For my birthday/St. Patrick’s Day adventure, I’m heading to The Village. I plan on drinking at Sky during the day and going to Cocktail tonight for karaoke and RuPaul’s Drag Race night. My ideal birthday outcome is drinking green beer and cuddling with a muscular bear man for energy efficiency to save on heating bills.
I see my cousin from Taiwan joined — 你好! You’re all getting a taste of my bastardized French and Mandarin today. I’m going to head out, maybe smoke a bowl, and find something productive to do that doesn't involve freezing. I might go live again later when I'm drunk to show the "birthday evolution". Have a fabulous day, everyone!
