It's your birthday!

Oh well, it's my birthday. Yaaay so how will I celebrate it?

I will get on a plane and travel for over 16 hours to Taiwan to visit a showcase and conference. What did you think that I would have a party? You know what I actually spent my last four birthdays either alone on a hotel room on this conference or on a plane to it or back from it. Just by myself.

I should point out though that my business friend has always been nice to me and got me out on a dinner. The crew at the conference brought me presents. Also, the hotel always sends up a slice of cake which is nice. Last year I even got my own little bottle of champagne from KLM when I was in the air.

But, no I haven't had a birthday party in years. To the extent that my friends only remember that it is my birthday on facebook. Which means since I'm abroad I need to turn off my roaming since there are too many people I don't know who they are, that says congratulations on social media and clogs the system for me. I usually spend an hour on the hotel taking off messages.

Am I bitter?

No way. This is my choice. I love what I'm doing. It's part of my job. And I take my career seriously. The conference is one of the most important ones. My birthday has to come second. And that is not a problem. I can easily have a party later on this summer when I'm home and invite my friends. I really don't need any birthday presents. And I can have cake if I want to.

This is where you see if artists lose their game. Can they sacrifice such a simple thing as a birthday to do something important for their career? The family vacation? Can they sacrifice their best friends wedding? Their kids birth? Can they go over everything to get to the point they want?

Yes, it's really not hard to be away on your birthday or even Christmas or new years eve if you compare. But I had artist crushing their own career for just their own birthday and the will to be home and celebrate with their friends saying no to an opportunity taking the celebration before the duty. That is the first sign to think about dropping an artist.

In the end, it's not that hard this year. For the first time, my girlfriend is going with me, so I will have someone beside me on this flight. I won't be alone, even if I don't mind.

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