Tuesday, November 06, 2007

...happy unbirthday to me.

An Unbirthday is described as an event that is typically celebrated on any of the 364 or 365 days in which it is not the person's birthday.

I think Lewis Carroll is a genius with wordplay. I had so much fun reading Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I have always thought that they were just storybooks for kids. I remember snatches of stories, when I was young, about the mad hatter and the horrible queen of hearts. But at that time, I didn't realise the meanings in the words. Well, that was probably because I was reading a simplified children's version then.

Do you know what the funny thing was? It was some desktop wallpapers with quotations from Alice in Wonderland that pique my interest to finally lift the book off my shelf and start thumbing through its pages. I have no regrets.

Well, "unbirthday" is one of my favourite. I bet you love the meaning too, right? So this is my unbirthday present to you... an excerpt...

'I mean, what is an un-birthday present?'
'A present given when it isn't your birthday, of course.'
Alice considered a little. 'I like birthday presents best,' she said at last.
'You don't know what you're talking about!' cried Humpty Dumpty. 'How many days are there in a year?'
'Three hundred and sixty-five,' said Alice.
'And how many birthdays have you?'
'One.'
'And if you take one from three hundred and sixty-five, what remains?'
'Three hundred and sixty-four, of course.'
... ... ...
'...and that shows that there are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents - '
'Certainly,' said Alice.
'And only one for birthday presents, you know. There's glory for you!'


Now, who wants to give me an unbirthday present today?

1 comment:

ev said...

i like this un-birthday present business very much :D