go shawty. it's your birthday.

ohhey.
what's up?
it's tuesday. and i am proud to report that i am both prepared and very excited about this playlist.
because i think it might be the coolest thing ever.
but before we dive into that pool of awesome, let's chat.

as i've mentioned before (here, here, here and here...to name a few..) i hate the idea of getting old.
and that i have a severe case of what i refer to as peter pan complex.
i've sort of always kept it a secret, but i guess that's not really a secret at all.
especially when you take into account the considerable amount of groaning i do when someone mentions my age or my impending doomsday birthday.
and yes, i get it.
debbie downer. no one likes it. cheer up. be happy. it's your day. at least you get presents. blah blah blah.
really, i do get it. and don't get me wrong. i love other people's birthdays. i've thrown surprise parties, i've spent hours slaving away in a kitchen to make cakes and treats and i may not know how to reign myself in when it comes to spending money on someone else for their special day.
i love other people's birthday.

and i love the idea of celebrating my birthday. i like being the center of attention for a day and getting fun presents and going out to dinner and eating derricious foods/desserts.
i really love the concept of a birthday.
and truth be told, i really love my date of birth.
i think everyone who isn't born in april is missing out.
it's a spectacular time to be born and to celebrate.
so my qualms don't lie there, either.
i just really hate the idea of getting older.

i used to cry myself to sleep every year on my birthday when i was a kid/teenager.
i was so cinema-chic in those days.
but for cereal. my birthday is just a tough day for me.
it just makes my aging so in-yo-face and ugly.
being older is scary. i feel like now, more than ever before, i have to prove myself.
i mean...
i'm going to be twenty four years old and i feel like i have nothing to show for myself.
i don't have a real person job. i don't have a college degree. i don't have any children. and my hair doesn't grow.
by all darwinian accounts, i am a useless individual and i deserve no celebration.

but, despite my continuance to groan on occasion and make sad/ugly/pain-ridden faces at the mention of my birthday, i am trying to have a better-less darwinian- view on my birthday this year.

because somewhere, deep down, i know i'm being completely ridiculous and sort of extreme. (what? me?! shocking.) and i will have my sisters here. and i will probably force someone to see the hunger games with me. and i will likely enjoy the presents i get because yes, i really do love presents.
and maybe i might even eat something deliciously and wickedly filled with refined sugars and some amount of high-fructose corn syrup.

so where do tunes come into all of this?
i'll tell you.

a while ago there was a big facebook trend going on.
it was all to do with finding the song that was the number one hit the day you were born.
i was mildly entertained by the idea of it, but far too lazy to go spelunking about the interweb to find out what my birthday anthem was.
(also, i feared it would be something tragic like The Loco-Motion, which, as we all know, is just a feathered bang and mom jeans version of the Hoedown Throw Down. thank you, Miley Cyrus. feel free to invest in some orthodontia now.)

my friend kaycie did me the favor of looking my birthday song up for me though.
and despite all my fears, my heart did soar and my eyes may or may not have welled up with tears when i found that michael jackson's Man in the Mirror was the glorious song to which i made my earthly debut.

oh, michael. i knew we had a bond that neither time nor complete lack of talent on my part could ever break.

(for cereal. i love that man and his music. may he rest in pieces.)

after making a discovery nearly akin to that of Sir Christopher Columbus, i decided a playlist would be in store. and thus we have today's Tune in Tuesday.

yes, that's right, kids.
this is a playlist of the number one songs on my birthday/birthday week every year from birth to this week.
glory be.
i can't help but laugh at about 3/4 of the songs.
the playlist begins with the sweet melodies of MJ.
but for about 5 years after it's just sappy, lady love ballads.
(and i guess, if i'm being completely honest, Michael was an effective little half-step into that genre of music.)
and then after that it gets a little wonky.
and then it just gets ghetto.
and then sort of awesome.
and then real ghetto.
and then sort of awesome again.

and probably if i ever wrote an auto-biography,that is essentially the same jargon i would use in my synopsis on the back of the book.
a little wonky. sort of awesome and real ghetto.
what's up Barnes and Noble? let's make it happen.

but until then. here's the playlist of a birthday girl.

and if you don't have spotify or you can't figure it out, meet grooveshark.
you can just listen to it here.



happy birthday week.
love,
kate.

lyrics: tonight, we are young. so let's set the world on fire. we can burn brighter than the sun.