mark cerqueira well-rounded nerd

Google Calendar and Mortality

Do seemingly random things ever hit unexpected places in unexpected ways?

I have a Birthday calendar that I use to keep track of family and friend’s birthdays. It’s reliable because:

  • Birthdays don’t (normally) change!
  • I don’t have to rely on some social network (and proper privacy settings) to inform me.
  • I can add reminders days or weeks ahead of particular birthdays in case I need to get a gift.

Adding someone’s birthday to my calendar is easy. You create a new event and set it to repeat annually. And then the unexpected part happens:

I go with the DENIAL route and pick NEVER.

Wow! Google Calendar just reminded me of a sobering and morbid truth: everyone dies. Thanks for that! And double thanks for reminding me of that when I’m thinking about people important enough to be added to my special Birthday calendar.

This calendar hit me right in the feels!

Feeling down? Turn that frown around! It’s Monday! Happy Monday! Be happy please! Come on!