January 24, 2007
State employee Pauline Gregory's birthday, which was not celebrated until three days after the official January 12 date, is being observed every month for the next year.
The twelfth of every month between now and June 2008 will be "Pauline's Birthday" with her fellow staff to usher in the day with cakes, mixed nuts and other refreshment.
"Yeah, I mean, they always do things for other people's birthdays but either they forgot or I wasn't part of their clique," Gregory said. "So I whined a little and got the division director to make sure no one forgot about me again."
The "they" she speaks, or the so-called "clique," is in reality the unofficial Customer Service Unit Party Posse, three or four people the rest of the staff have appointed to be in charge of such things, one that everyone assumes will organize and take care of such things.
Party Posses representative, James "Lupe" Spears, says that his group was told "not to worry" about Gregory's birthday.
"Pauline's friend, Crystal Andersen, told us she wanted to organize something so we let her," Spears said. "But then nothing happened and we were pointed at as being negligent. My band of merry men and women gets really peeved when people assume we do it all the time. I think the only reason people think we organize parties is because we bought some brownies for that one woman no one likes. And this whole notion we do it for clique members is bull-dink as well."
However Andersen sees things differently. "Yeah, you know, like, I really wanted to organize something but my car was, like, you know: busted. Yeah and so, dude, like I had to do that first and then I just took Pauline out to lunch over the weekend 'cos we're friends. She likes her drink with some real friends. AN’ hey...didja know...that...if you go the club on your birthday, that they’ll have to give you one! You know, they’ll give you a free drink, an’ so.... So I did do something, you know but the posse didn't do anything. They should, you know."
Gregory says the fact she was out on her birthday is not an excuse for not getting the same thing everyone else gets. "Really, I mean, Darla and Courtney got some ice cream and imitation brownie desert. I told them to save me a plate if they did anything. I didn't get a plate and I didn't get any recognition."
As part of the year-and-a-half long run of "Pauline's Birthday," Pauline will get to be first in line for all other birthday celebrations and a new card must be routed at least a week before to ensure everyone gets a chance to wish her another happy birthday.
Is Pauline tired of it? "Not at all,” she says, hinting that she’s the one getting old, not her attempts at self-promotion. “By the time this is all said and done, you better know my birthday and remember to either get me a card or some decent tasting food. It's all about me!"
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