Today’s your special day, [name]Charlotte[/name], and since [name]Jill[/name] couldn’t be here she asked me to take the wheel of the Birthday Bus to deliver your greetings and virtual pressies!
I dug around in [name]Jill[/name]'s closet this morning and pulled out the following for you: an Easy Bake Oven, a pair of pink leg warmers, 12 gummy bears (4 yellow, 2 orange, 3 lime, and three cherry), the special edition of Clue, a monogrammed melon baller, a potato chip shaped like [name]Larry[/name] [name]King[/name], season one of Punky [name]Brewster[/name] on DVD, a dash of paprika, a Scooby Doo sheet set, the [name]Polly[/name] Pocket play set of your choice (choose wisely, as this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity), a fuzzy teddy bear sticker with a shiny red heart, 3 marbles (one blue, one orange, and one yellow), a pair of green gingham stilts, a pet hamster named [name]Steven[/name], an [name]Oprah[/name] Winfrey bookmark, a ball of totally awesome twine, lunch with [name]Lenny[/name] or Squiggy from [name]Laverne[/name] and [name]Shirley[/name], a bowl of chicken and rice soup, a piece of green felt, a Mr. Potato Head, and last but not least, a lifetime supply of Nutella, the food of champions.
[name]Jill[/name] also sends her fondest birthday hails to you!
[name]May[/name] you have an exceptionally cool day today!
Hm, let’s see what I should give you for your special day. Well, birds are kind of my thing right now, so I’m going to give you one of those! I think a purple parakeet named Sudsy would be perfect, and let’s get you a yellow cockatiel named [name]Faye[/name] to keep Sudsy company. Perfection.
Wow, I feel overwhelmed right now! Nameberry is all new! When did this happen? I haven’t been on or around for ages and ages, I know, a lot of stuff has gone down and I just couldn’t. I have missed it so so much though! I decided on the spur of the moment to go on again today and I find this wonderful surprise! Thank you very much for your birthday wishes! It’s really warming to know I still have friends on NB, I’m so sorry for neglecting it. Your gifts are absolutely delightful, I’ll get on to those in a minute but I thought I’d share some rather interesting info first…
It’s [name]Sunday[/name] afternoon in NZ right now (not sure what it is in US), in the early hours of [name]Saturday[/name] morning, about 4:30ish Christchurch, the city I live in, was struck by a 7.1 (in some reports 7.4) earthquake. It was terrifying beyond words, the whole world seemed to be rocking, it was like being in a washing machine. Needless to say everything around here is a total mess, our power just came back on about two hours ago but we still have no water or cell phone service. Luckily nobody has died so far but several people have been seriously injured and the whole city is effectively ruined. We’re still getting aftershocks even now so it’s a scary time for us.
So anyway, that’s what’s been going on. Now, onto the gifts! (these will make me feel better since the earthquake crashed my b’day celebrations) I’ll start with my new pets. [name]Lemon[/name], Spudsy and [name]Faye[/name] have been flying around a giant aviary in my backyard where they’re safe from falling building parts and proving a great source of entertainment for my still stunned dog, Tsar. [name]Steven[/name] is an adventurous wee thing, he’s scooting around the lounge as we speak, nibbling on the potato chips shaped like [name]Larry[/name] [name]King[/name]. I’ve fashioned myself a hat from the green felt and I’m about to tuck into the Nutella now. The teddy has made my day and I’ve named it [name]Paul[/name]. All the other presents are wonderful too:)
Thanks again so much! [name]Nephele[/name] if you communicate with [name]Jill[/name] please tell her thanks from me and it’d be great if you can give her a hug from me also:) I hope to be around a lot more from now on.
[name]Hi[/name], [name]Charlie[/name]! Yikes – what a birthday! I’d read the news about your earthquake over in NZ, but I had no idea that you were in the middle of it! I’m very, very, very glad that you’re able to drop by here, and hoping that you’re okay. Sending lots of positive energy to you and the people of Christchurch.
Awh, thank-you [name]Nephele[/name] Yes, all my family and I are uninjured and safe. Our house hasn’t been structurally damaged and we now are connected back with power and water so things are looking up. Although our house was only about 20kms from the epicenter we hardly had any damage at all compared to others, just some broken statues, glasses and fallen over bookcases, one cupboard fell over blocking the doorway of my bedroom which was frightening cause I couldn’t get out. Definitely nothing as bad as the centre of town though, we really are the lucky ones and for that we are thankful.
Hey [name]Charlie[/name] (: [name]Happy[/name] belated birthday!! I’ve missed you and your alphabet polls!
Wow, so sorry to hear about the earthquake, I can’t imagine how scary that would have been, glad you and your family are okay though.
Hmm I’m not so great at this bit, but I’ll give you a midnight blue velvet party dress, a cherry tree and a tortoise called [name]Igor[/name] (:
[name]Hope[/name] to see you around Nameberry more now,
I’ve missed you too! and everyone on NB. [name]Ah[/name], yes those alphabet polls… they were great but they ended up developing a life of their own and at times it was hard to keep up with them and everyone’s thoughts on them. I really regret not coming back sooner but to start with I just got snow balled with stuff, then the longer I left it the harder it seemed. I didn’t want to just pop back up and leave people thinking I’d abandoned the polls but I didn’t want people to think I was ignoring them either… Anyway, I’m back now. And I hope to be able to stick around this time:) [name]How[/name]'ve you been? Is school getting crazy busy for you yet too? We just finished our first lot of exams about two weeks ago and now we can look forward to the next ones.
Lets see, pressies… Ooooo I love the dress:) I’ll wear that to my (now postponed) bday party. The cherry tree is wonderful, I shall plant it immediately and as for the tortoise named [name]Igor[/name], he’s perfect! Happily making friends with my new hamster, [name]Steven[/name]. [name]How[/name] did you know I’m loving the name [name]Igor[/name] right now?
[name]Ah[/name], wow, [name]Charlie[/name]! What a mess, and on your birthday, too? So sad. I’m glad to hear that you and your family are safe and uninjured and that your house is still okay. Things are looking up, yeah? That’s so good to hear! What a nightmare! Well, I’ll be thinking of you and hoping everything settles down soon.
It was in the early hours of the morning after my birthday actually but it did ruin the whole spirit of things, and stopped all celebrations. Yes, things are looking better. It’s just a different feeling now, the adrenaline is gone, the shock’s worn off and now it’s a new kind of devastation, realising things are going to be a mess for the foreseeable future. I guess it’s like putting your life on hold, you know? And we live in constant fear of another one, even a worse earthquake hitting.
Your thoughts and warm wishes are definitely mood-lifting, everyone has been so lovely:) [name]How[/name]'ve you been?
I’m good thanks, school got pretty hectic before I got back because I got a ton of summer work and now I’m sure I’ll have to hit the ground running! [name]Hope[/name] things get much better for you soon!
[name]Lemon[/name] and [name]Elena[/name], I’m glad to hear school is going well for both of you:) Thanks again for the birthday wishes, I’ll be seeing you round!
[name]Happy[/name] belated birthday, charliehotsox! So sorry to hear about the terrible earthquake you went through. I hope you are doing okay. I’ll definitely keep you in my prayers!
God bless,
~*~Nameseeker3
P.S. [name]Love[/name] that your full name is [name]Charlotte[/name]-I should have guessed that, but didn’t! :oops: [name]Charlotte[/name]'s another name I really love
Your thoughts are very much appreciated:) [name]Don[/name]'t beat yourself up over the nickname thing, they’re being used more and more now, along with unisex names and since [name]Charlie[/name] comes under both those categories it easily could have been my full name. I’m glad it’s [name]Charlotte[/name] though:)
[name]Hi[/name], [name]Charlie[/name]!
I’m so sorry to hear about the earthquake. Hopefully things are getting better now. [name]Happy[/name] Belated Birthday!
love, [name]Susan[/name]
I hope you are doing okay. I’ll definitely keep you in my prayers!