online diary for the masses

There has, since 2006, been an unspoken contest that takes place each November on my facebook dot com wall. The sixth of November is my birthday, and for as long as I can remember, facebook has notified its users of their friends’ birthdays. This reminder brings in an onslaught of wall postings that communicate in one way or another, “happy birthday” to the person whose birthday it is.

Each year I decide (and sometimes publish) whose birthday well-wishes was the best. This year I’ve decided to compile a list of the top five from 2009. And here they are:

5. Maggie C. — Sure, it goes without saying that Maggie C’s content is somewhat unoriginal, but the sincerity and excitement with which her message was delivered catapulted her otherwise forgettable post into my top 5. And those who pay attention to detail will take note that the number of exclamation points in her post are equal to the number of years I’ve been alive — a fact I’m confident even Maggie herself was unaware of.

4. Linley J. — Again, one might see this post and never think twice about it. But considering imitation is the highest form of flattery, this post had me blushing. Indeed it was I, months and months ago, who pioneered (and brilliantly so) the abbreviation of “birthday” to “b” for facebook dot com purposes. Linley J’s obvious good taste shines though brightly in this finely constructed wall post.

3. Pat C. — If you guys don’t know Pat C, then you have no idea how much weight the last six words of her post carry. For a person of her caliper to even take the time to write a message on my wall at all is incredible. But for her to place me under the umbrella of “favorite person[s]” is beyond words. I’m humbled, honored, and I think I’ve figured out what on my tombstone. (“One of Pat C’s Favorite People”… for you who may’ve missed it.)

2. Robby R. — The personal touch of “it was good seeing you” was a nice one, but what really did it for me with Robby R’s post was the liberties he took with nicknaming. I’ve had lots of nicknames over the years: D.O., D, Babe, Big Red, Cute Boy From My Business Class… but never Deeski. I’m not even sure I like the nickname, but I respect the confidence with which Robby gave it to me.

And the winner of the unspoken contest of November 2009 is…

1. Chaney N. — Chaney, affectionately known to me as Chunky (an evolution of her family-given nickname “Chunkers”), absolutely blew the top off the competition this year. She came in early, only two hours into my birthday, and I knew upon reading her post that it wouldn’t easily be topped. Its intentional misspellings, spotty capitalization/punctuation and the censored naughty word communicate love in its purest form.

So thank you to everybody who made me feel special on my birthday . Wall posts on facebook, mentions on twitter, blog comments, texts, phone calls, cream cheese delight and the rooftop movie time… I’m sincerely thankful. So thankful in fact, that I’m giving you a full-sized version of Chaney N’s picture above.