#315 When someone decorates your locker or cubicle for your birthday

Neil Pasricha

It’s your second home.

Sure, you might shower and sleep on a suburban street but you probably spend most of your waking hours somewhere else — at a high school, in a cubicle, at the factory, on a  farm. Maybe your second home is a dimly-lit and dusty hallway or maybe it’s a dirty desk near the bathroom.

That’s why it’s such a beautiful moment when you arrive at that second home and find it completely decorated for your birthday. Yes, the gang all pitched in to tie streamers around your monitor, tape Hubba Bubba wrappers to your locker, or drape a spraypainted bedsheet reading “Happy 40th!!!” around the grain silo.

It’s a sign behind all those marathon meetings, late-night projects, and crazy deadlines there’s a bunch of great folks who care about you. When your daytime pals celebrate another year of your life it’s another moment of smiles, another moment of laughs, and another big moment of

AWESOME!

Photos from: here and here

50 thoughts to “#315 When someone decorates your locker or cubicle for your birthday”

  1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN ORDER…FOR REAL?!*
    A FELLOW AQUARIAN…THAT’S THE BEST. APPARENTLY WE ARE “IN” THE AGE OF AQUARIUS. IT’S SAID THAT’S WHAT’S AWAKENING ALL THIS AWESOMENESS!!!
    LONG MAY YOU LIVE AWESOME! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND ON CHINESE NEW YEARS TOO…WOOHOO:)

  2. There are 30 minutes left of my birthday. Normally that ‘let down’ feeling at the end of something special would be coming on, but then this was posted. Awesome!

    1. Happy Birthday Amy! This is not the end of the party, it is the first day of the rest of your life party:)

    2. Happy birthday Amy! I was late, but anyway I want to say happy birthday :) Have a great day, Awesome!

  3. Help? I am the one, not long ago, who was looking for “Red Green at the Possum Lodge, in Ontario! “I’m a gullible believer!!”
    If this is for real, there should be a party going on here and now, all over the world. Where is everybody?!*
    Are they all at a 12 step for bloggism? or your party?
    T or F… thanks for the light you shine… it gets brighter and brighter with every year…more candles:)) More to Celebrate! Enjoy!

  4. I read about your blog in Reader’s Digest Asia January issue… This site is totally awesome!!!!
    Happy birthday!

    1. Yes, this is “A small world after-all”…and you’ve entered one of the best and most beautiful parts of it right here in the land of Awesome:)

  5. I went to an all girl’s school that had an average of 27 girls per grade, so this was a common occurrence. But I don’t think it ever happened to me, because I was the weird one in the school. :p It was still cute to see though.

    At my former job, I would cook whatever meal that fit whatever shift that person was on, and it was usually pretty awesome…or at least passable.

  7. My all time favourite story relating to this was when I was working a split shift on my birthday and during my break I came home to find my entire bedroom filled with balloons. It may not have been at work/school but it still makes you feel special when you’re stuck working a job you less-than-love.

    1. You know, filling an entire room with balloons is a lot of work, so you definitely have people that care alot about you! I once intended to do that, but settled for covering the bed with a layer of balloons.

      Wow, it must have been fun popping them all!

    1. Hi qwerty,
      I hope someday someone decorates your cube/locker/whereever-you-go even when it’s not your birthday. It will be even a BIGGER surprise then! (where do you work, anyway? I’m not asking for any particular reason… ;-) )

    2. Hi qwerty, my birthday is always during mid-term exam so I almost never got to experience this. Cheer you up! One day, an awesome day, will come to us.

  9. We used to decorate each other’s lockers. A little bit of sunshine in an otherwise dull and boring place.
    Thanks Neil! (and Happy Birthday if it is indeed your day)

  10. I thought that #321 & #317 were coincidental, but this is just TOO coincidental. Yesterday was my Bday and someone decorated my door and I’m still trying to find out who did it. Are we having the same awesome life or something?

  11. TAKING A POLL:

    When your co-workers bust out the ole ‘Happy Birthday,’ do you love it or secretly CRINGE?

    Tell the truth, awesome people! I’ve got serious money on this!

    And for more on songs and sounds that make us happy check out today’s

    http://1000babysteps.com

    Inspired by 1000 Awesome Things.

  12. It’s not birthday-related, but I decorated my own cubicle two weeks after I started my job. I hated the oppressing tan walls, so I covered them in teal cotton and added some beach-themed lamps I got on sale. It’s so much more cheerful, and I don’t hate it anymore!

    1. Any way you could post a picture of your cubicle? Sounds like the most creative one I’ve heard of! =D

  13. I never usually comment here, but this one is the best one ever!

    Today it’s my birthday!!! :D

    I do not have a locker or a cubicle, but turning a year older is always AWESOME! :)

    Gr, Dennis

  14. Always sort of stunk having a summer birthday. No lockers to make it special but I suppose not having to go to school is a treat in and of itself

  16. My birthday passed on the 21st and for the first time ever two of my best friends decorated my locker. While I shower and sleep on a city street, and while I go to middle school not high school, this is still a great post.

    1. I really hope you read this: WHAT YOU DOING ON THE STREET?
      Get your butt to an Alliance or United Church. United Way, or Salvation Army. Community Resource center, Elizabeth Frye agency, The Back door…there are so many and is so much help out there…non gov’t related, not foster/group home S#!%
      There are FAR better places to shower, sleep and have birthday:)
      YOU DESERVE MORE! Nobody should be without a home and love!
      Cudos to your friends who showed you some. SYS

      1. Actually, I meant that while he sleeps and showers in a house on a suburban street, I sleep and shower on a house (well, apartment) on a CITY street. But thanks for your concern!

  22. My birthday was on February 3rd! Unfortunately I’m in college now so my nonexistent locker was not decorated. But birthdays still rock. :)

    Go Aquarius! (Despite the claims about zodiac signs changing or something this year. Screw that. ;) )

    AWESOME!!

  23. So what does it mean if you’ve never had that done for you before? Even though I’m in college now and have moved on from that, it still kinda hurts to think about it :(

    1. Only in college and you’ve “moved on from it?” Hey, I’m 50 and I haven’t moved on from it! Decorate other people’s cubes (or whatever) and when your birthday comes around, the will do it for you.

  24. My birthday was yesterday, so this made me smile more than usual. An awesome coincidence, I suppose. :)

  25. My 18th birthday officially commences in 35 minutes! Nothing says birthday like going to the Winter Carnival pancake breakfast then writing a history essay for the rest of the day.
    I wonder if my locker will be decorated when I get to school on Monday…

    1. Happy Birthday!…must be “neighbor”, it is winter carnival here!!
      have fun and good luck with exams:)

  26. While extremely dorky, the cubicle decoration is best when it is completely unexpected. The horror on their face is well worth the effort.

  27. In school I always missed out on this tradition because my birthday is in July. But last year my boyfriend proposed, my co-workers found out and decorated the office with a congrats sign, paper links, and a bunch of cute little clip arts with rings and proposals (They were kind of limited in the supplies department). When everybody left the office I took a bunch of pictures, they will never understand how much that little gesture meant to me.

  28. My friend did the whole- “lets decorate Rachel’s locker, so everyone can sign their names and to say happy birthday. lets see whats shes gonna say about that!”- thing. I was so surprised! It totally made my day, it was the best birthday of my 15 years- in school, so far! ;)

  29. Pingback: 1000 Awesome Things.......... | infoplanetarium.com

  31. My co-workers surprised me and did this on my 26th, balloons and all. I kept the balloons under my desk until they were totally deflated. Birthday surprises are awesome!

  32. You, my friend, ROCK! I found just the information I already searched everywhere and just could not find it. What a perfect web-site.

  33. Excellent a single actually even scans your posts, surely this is not the just web site what is the best locations, the problem will be prada? Just like the style had been able to all of us right from an alternative web page.

  35. I am curious to find out what blog system you happen to be using?

    I’m having some minor security issues with my latest website and I’d like to find something more risk-free.
    Do you have any suggestions?

Comments are closed.