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Drink to xJane!

Posted by John on February 11th, 2009 at 10:11 am · 19 Comments

I believe that birthdays are opportunities to celebrate individuals, and I hope xJane doesn’t mind if I take this opportunity to celebrate one of my most cherished friends online.

I met xJane a few years ago on this blog. Between email, chat logs, flickr and blog archives, it’s amazing how well documented our friendship is:

  • Here’s xJane’s first comment on Mind on Fire, under her original pseudonym, Miko.
  • Here’s her initial post as MoF’s first official guest blogger.

I’ve been blogging here since August 2001. In that time, xJane’s the only person I’ve invited to join me as a permanent addition (there was the possibility of Jana coming on board, but she and I decided that we share enough and our blogging styles/purposes are different enough that there’s no need to write together in this venue).

It’s been a strange pilgrimage ever since. We’ve celebrated German Saints, gotten drunk on the Green Fairy, worshipped alongside blue-haired transvestite schoolgirls in leg warmers and scanned the horizon through our brass goggles.  And that’s just offline! In the pixelated veil, she’s filled in long gaps when I felt unable to write–essentially keeping Mind on Fire from fading away, survived my fickle and hair-brained schemes for blogging grandeur, and listened while I’ve struggled with career woes, frustrated dreams and existential despair. She also helped me to navigate the bewildering world of BevMo. :P

So here’s to xJane–Happy Birthday! May your digital and RL star burn bright and long. I’ll tip back a glass of absinthe to you tonight.

I encourage the rest of you to share your favorite drink and toast xJane today. Cheers!

Tags: Uncategorized

19 responses so far ↓

  • 1 angryyoungwoman // Feb 11, 2009 at 10:44 am

    Happy Birthday!

  • 2 Rich // Feb 11, 2009 at 10:52 am

    Happy B-day xJane; I believe this is a first real (non-sketch) pic of you posted here too, eh? The real you looks fab!

  • 3 Lessie // Feb 11, 2009 at 11:10 am

    Happy Birthday, xJane! There’s a shot of rum waiting in your honor :)

  • 4 marta // Feb 11, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Happy Birthday xJane.

  • 5 xJane // Feb 11, 2009 at 1:04 pm

    thank you, every one!

    And, thank you, John, for finding me worthy of sharing your space and getting a tribute post! I r awesum

    Rich—I try to manage my RL image by keeping my atheism, feminism, and swearing behind closed doors. A google for my name(s) returns innocuous stuff…or stuff not relating to me at all. I actually think the comic-ized icon on the right of the page looks more like me than me in cos above :-p but that is how we first met (and freaked the hell out of my friend).

    I shall be sharing a bottle of cheap champagne with a re-discovered friend of old, mixed with creme de cassis (black currant liqueur), while we make Valentine’s cookies. I shall think of you all & toast you :)

  • 6 jana // Feb 11, 2009 at 1:09 pm

    Oh, and one funny Miko/xJane tidbit:
    Several people have thought John was both Miko and himself…I guess they just thought he was expressing his ‘feminine’ side with the pseudo?

    So glad to know XJane and her spouse both virtually and IRL. Fun, smart peeps. :)

  • 7 G // Feb 11, 2009 at 2:09 pm

    Happy Birthday xJane!

  • 8 Cobwebs // Feb 11, 2009 at 4:05 pm

    Happy birthday, xJane! Hope your day is fabulous!

  • 9 Eric // Feb 11, 2009 at 4:54 pm

    Happy Birthday, I love your posts

  • 10 Craig // Feb 11, 2009 at 6:42 pm

    Happy Birthday. I always look forward to your posts, which either make me think or make me laugh, and very often both. :)

  • 11 Elaine // Feb 12, 2009 at 8:23 am

    Well, of course this is late, but happy birthday xJane. Hope it was a good day for you.

  • 12 xJane // Feb 12, 2009 at 11:38 am

    Thank you all, again :) It’s been wonderful forming these quote-unquote virtual friendships. For those of you I haven’t met IRL, I hope to do so soon and for those of you I have, I love taking relationships off the screen.

    I think it’s hysterical when people think John and I are the same (since I don’t think we write similarly at all), but also quite flattered.

    Finally, thank you all for baring with my schizophrenic inability to post under the RL name…

  • 13 chosha // Feb 12, 2009 at 10:24 pm

    Happy Birthday! Pretty yukata, by the way.

  • 14 Chandelle // Feb 16, 2009 at 4:39 pm

    Belated, but happy b-day! I am staunchly refusing to gush today, since I do it almost all the time since this is my favorite blog and you guys are my favorite writers and you’re just so awesome and inspiring and beautiful…aw, shit.

    Have a good one.

  • 15 xJane // Feb 16, 2009 at 6:27 pm

    :) thank you Chandelle! I had a belated birthday day on Saturday (got to spend time not at school, wheeee!) and most years extend “my birthday” to encompass most of the month (“It’s a short one,” I often justify), at least in terms of buying myself little gifties!

  • 16 xJane // Feb 16, 2009 at 6:29 pm

    to everyone:

    My sister’s in-laws come from a culture that wishes a birthday to everyone on the day of the birthday of one. This is hard to describe in English, but apparently it would be along the lines of
    “Happy Bob’s Birthday, George!”
    “Thanks, Jill, Happy Bob’s Birthday to you, too!”

    So, in that spirit, Happy my Birthday, everyone :)

  • 17 Craig // Feb 16, 2009 at 6:32 pm

    So do I get a present for Bob’s birthday?

  • 18 xJane // Feb 16, 2009 at 8:53 pm

    No, I think you only get a “Happy”…

  • 19 Craig // Feb 16, 2009 at 9:44 pm

    Well, that’s good enough for me.

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