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Woman crushed to be born on 'the worst day ever' gets help planning a wonderful birthday

She decided to turn her "horrible" birthday into something special this year.

via Canva

A woman who is sad and alone on her birthday.

It 's inarguably terrible when the day that is supposed to be the best one of the year ends up a total disappointment. What’s worse is realizing that next year, and all the years after, may be just as big a letdown. A TikToker who posts videos about her travel adventures shared a video about how she believes she has had one of the worst birthdays, and this year, she wants to make a change.

"I am born on one of, if not the worst, day of the year," she said. "I genuinely believe there are probably only one or two other dates to have a birthday that are worse than mine. My birthday is the third of January." The woman used to enjoy having a birthday right after New Year’s when she was a child because she and her friends had the time off from school. "But as I've got older, I've realized it's just horrible,” she said. She juxtaposed her birthday with her boyfriend's, who was born on August 1st, a great time to have a party or see the world.

Why is it bad to have a January 3rd birthday?

"But for my birthday, nobody wants to do anything. Everyone's going back to work or school the next day," she continued. "Nobody has any money. Everyone's on Dry January, Veganuary, or just simply on a diet. It just means that nobody wants to celebrate with me."


@sightseeingsantisooks

I need your help!! #wheretogo #helpme #holidaytiktok #traveleurope #traveltok

"I just never really seem to have an amazing day," she said before announcing that this year was going to be different. She wants to take a trip to Europe for a few days to make the best of her special day. However, she's not sure where in Europe to go that won’t be too cold or suffer from post-holiday burnout. She was considering Prague in the Czech Republic, but wasn’t entirely sure. So, she asked her fellow TikTokers for some advice.

prague, czech republic, europe, european travel destinations, european history, Prague in the Czech Republicvia Pixabay

Where's a nice place to travel in Europe in January?

“I went to Baden-Baden in Germany two years ago. They have a big Russian population so the Christmas Market goes to their Christmas (January 7th??) Also, you can soak in the baths there,” Calsacienne suggested. “Copenhagen is cold but cosy during winter, all the restaurants have candles and blankets in the evening and lots of things to see and do,” Rosie added.

“Go to Iceland, see the northern lights swim in the blue lagoon, see the black sands beach, it’s beautiful there,” Raabitsarefun21 said. “Prague is always beautiful to visit, an absolutely stunning city! Alternatively, I'd suggest Budapest, also a gem. And, at the start of January, the Christmas decorations are usually still up,” Lexia.Lea added.

iceland, iceland mountain, iceland landscape, iceland tourism, travel to iceland A mountian in Iceland.via Pixabay

While it's lamentable that the woman was born on such a terrible day to hang out with friends or get out and see the world, you’ve got to hand it to her for living with a bad situation for years and finally striking out to do something about it. January 3rd may not be the most opportune time to travel around Europe, but it’s much better than hanging around the house and wishing you were born on another day.

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Jack Black surprises 13-year-old girl battling cancer with 'Lava Chicken' duet

Sasha Friedman and the actor jammed out to the 'Minecraft Movie' hit.

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Jack Black surprises girl battling cancer on her birthday, sing "Lave Chicken" together.

Actor Jack Black made sure Sasha Friedman's 13th birthday was one she will always remember. The School of Rock actor surprised Friedman (@officialsashf), who has battled Ewing's Sarcoma cancer since 2022, with the help of Instagrammer Isaiah Garza (@isaiahgarza).

The two connected via video for an epic chat and some singing. Specifically, they bonded over his recent film A Minecraft Movie, and his viral song "Steve's Lava Chicken".

"@jackblack surprised a 13 year old fan battling cancer on her birthday 🥹❤️ Can we wish her a happy birthday, insta?!" Garza captioned the post.

In the video, Garza first surprises Friedman with some birthday cash, before telling her he has a second surprise. "I have someone who wants to meet you right now. Will you come with me right now to meet him?" In the next clip, Friedman is sitting in front of a computer screen, when Jack Black appears.

"Oh my god!" Friedman says, and Black excitedly raises the roof with his hands and says, "Yeahhhh! What's up, Sasha?! Oh my god, is it your birthday? Is it true?" Friedman is smiling from ear-to-ear, and says yes while thanking him.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Black adds that it is great to meet her, and Garza jumps in saying, "She was just talking about you yesterday!" And Garza adds in the caption that it has been Friedman's dream to meet Black. "No way!" Black says, and Friedman replies, "I was singing your song!" Black asks, "Were you singing 'Lava Chicken'?!"

Friedman says, "Sadly yes," as Black laughs and responds, "I'm sorry about that. It is everywhere! You can't escape my 'Lava Chicken'!" Then, Friedman starts singing it to Black, who starts dancing and mouthing the words with her. "Oh my god, that was the most beautiful rendition!" he tells her.

The two continue to chat, and Friedman shares more about her cancer journey with him. "I've been fighting cancer for three years now. I had three ribs removed," she says, and Black replies, "Wow." She continues, "And I had part of my skull removed." Blacks says "wow" again, before Freidman shares, "And that was probably the hardest part, is losing a part of yourself."

Black tells her, "You're an amazing kid, and it was really great getting to talk to you and hang out with you for a little while." Before they end the call, Friedman asks him, "Can I get a 'Chicken Jockey' before you leave?!" And Black happily gives her one in dramatic fashion. "Wait a second, someone just came in the room...who is that? CHICKEN JOCKEY!" They all laugh together, and the video ends.

And the video of their meeting received so many positive comments. Friedman herself wrote, "Thank you so much @isaiahgarza and @jackblack. You made it one of the best days of my whole life." Another viewer added, "Jack is one of the best people in Hollywood seems to actually care for his fans." And another wrote, "Jack Black will forever be a legend. Great guy all around." And another also commented, "I appreciate when public figures do this. You can tell that Jack made this girl’s day. I hope she continues to fight cancer courageously. ❤️"

Friedman's family has created a GoFundMe to help raise funds for her cancer treatment.

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Woman asks friends to bring gossip to her party instead of gifts, and wow, did they deliver

The 'tea' party brought people together from all walks of life.

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Everyone brought their own tea.

As you start to get older, it's inevitable that your birthday begins to lose a bit of luster. Sometimes it's because of the other things you have going on in life. Parents usually focus more on their kids' birthdays and holidays, so their own birthdays become a bit of an afterthought. Others just get tired of doing the same kind of things year after year: throwing an unimaginative party to celebrate getting a year older. Yay, I guess? There's also the small matter of our diverse relationships. Most of us have different friend groups, family, in-laws—what are we supposed to do? Mix them all together in an awkward stew of forced small talk?

And let's not even get started on presents. What does a 30- or 40-something-year-old really need when it comes to birthday presents? Maybe something meaningful or thoughtful from a spouse or a close loved one, but certainly most adults have no desire for all their friends to shower them with random gifts they don't want, need, or could buy themselves.

One woman, Liz Migliaccio, decided to reimagine the grown-up birthday party. For her 36th, she invited all her family and close friends and asked them, in lieu of gifts, to bring something far more interesting.

Migliaccio and her wife, Cayla DeRegis, recounted the invitation to Newsweek:

"For my birthday...join me for some cozy wine and please come tell me your insane co-worker gossip or how your boss is the worst," it read. "Regale me with your salacious romantic encounter or unhinged dating story. Get really detailed about someone else's business and we can full form opinions that no one asked for. I'm 36—the world's hottest age and hot people like hot gossip."

It was a clever way of throwing an entertaining party with family and friends from all walks of life, all while giving the strangers in attendance good icebreakers with one another. As seen in a now-viral TikTok from DeRegis, guests took turns spilling their juiciest bit of tea. The party go-ers are absolutely rapt as you can see in the clip:

@cayladeregis

the greatest gift there is ☕️

11 million people watched the video on TikTok, with commenters unanimously agree: The 'tea party' was absolutely genius.

In the interview with Newsweek, Migliaccio said the best story of the night came from a guest who attended a wedding that never happened.

"A friend of a friend went to a family wedding a while back," Migliaccio said. "[She] had to go buy a long-sleeve dress for the wedding. As the receipt is being printed out, she gets a text that the ceremony is being called off, and instead, the bride and groom are just going to 'celebrate their relationship. ... They got there and found out the bride and her family weren't coming anymore so it ended up just being a celebration of him. My friend said it was the most over-the-top, beautiful wedding she'd ever been to but there was no bride."

gossip, gossip girl, leighton meester, rumors, storytelling, entertainment, dramaThis explains the popularity of Gossip GirlGiphy

Other guests brought stories of dramatic breakups and relationship scandal. Others brought their best watercooler gossip from work. Every single person in attendance was entertained. So were the viewers and commenters on TikTok:

"In this economy this is the best gift to bring"

"I can feel how HEAVY the tea is through the screen"

"You know it’s crazy tea when people have empty glasses but are INVESTED in the story"

"I LOVE this concept- this would make me want to go to a party ... just be messy and then go home to my drama free life"

Dozens of users claimed they would be stealing this idea for their own parties in the near future.

Why is the gossip party such a brilliant idea? It comes down to the power of storytelling.

It's really stressful and challenging to mingle with people you don't know well or at all, whether you're dragged along to a spouse's work event or attending a party where the guest of honor has several different friend groups. It can be tough to find enough to talk about beyond just surface level small talk.

But one thing all human beings have in common is that we love stories. Not only is a great story super entertaining (even one about mundane but juicy everyday drama), studies show our brain activity syncs up with others when they tell us a story. That's something small talk and get-to-know-you chat can't achieve. So, the genius of the Tea Party is that it offers every guest a perfect icebreaker with all the others, lots of laughs, and a feeling of having made great connections with the other guests by the end of the night.

I think most people on their birthdays just want everyone to have a great time celebrating them with no drama. Well, maybe just a little bit of drama.

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Guests at a Finland Airbnb surprised the host when they saw he was alone on his birthday

This is what human connection is all about.

Photo credit: Canva

Sometimes the simplest gesture can mean the world.

Staying in an Airbnb can be an adventure, sometimes for the worse but often for the better. The Internet is full of both heartwarming and horrible experiences people have had renting spaces from strangers—or having strangers rent spaces from them—but the popular short-term rental platform is a poster child for the "sharing economy" and the human connections that can come along with it.

One example of how staying at a stranger's house can lead to a beautiful interaction comes from two young women who stayed at an Airbnb in Finland. Jessica Judith shared a video of her and her travel companion singing "Happy Birthday" to an elderly man over a cake filled with candles.

"Our Airbnb host was alone on his birthday," Jessica shared in the caption, "and God knew to put two women who care too much about birthdays to celebrate with him." The women clapped and sang, then hugged the man before he blew out his candles.

@jess.judith

Tarmo fue el mejor host que he tenido en airbnb, nos llevo a ver los reindeers y todos los dias nos esperaba en su casa con cafe y galletitas listas, te queremos mucho Tarmo! que honor poder celebrar tu cumpleaños contigo!! kiitos kaikesta


"Tarmo was the best host I ever had on airbnb," the caption reads. "He took us to watch the reindeers and every day he was waiting for us at his house with coffee and cookies ready. We love you so much Tarmo! What an honor to be able to celebrate your birthday with you!!! Kiitos kaikesta."

(Kiitos kaikesta means "thanks for everything" in Finnish.)

The video was viewed over 32 million times as people chimed in with positive feedback on the women's thoughtfulness.

"I learned some people host Airbnb because of loneliness not money. I had the sweetest host one time who was just lonely and wanted company. Y’all made his whole year."

"You guys just gave that man a core memory."

"My soul 😭 he is someone’s baby 😭 I know his late momma was smiling down. All I could see is the little boy in him here. 😭🤍🤎 you two did a beautiful thing that’ll he’ll never forget. 😭💕"

birthday, blow out candles, birthday cake, little boy, babiesHappy Birthday GIFGiphy

"As a mother , knowing he’s someone son and was once just a little boy thank you for being so kind 🩵 I hope if my son was every alone [on] a birthday then someone would show him such kindness as you."

"This is how we’re supposed to live as humans 🥹."

"This should be an airbnb commercial."

"This is literally what airbnb was created for btw to bring people together."

Even Airbnb commented with, "When the guests make the host feel hosted 🥹."

What we don't see in the video is how the women communicated with their host. He didn't speak any English and they didn't speak Finnish, so they used translation apps to talk to one another. In another video, Jessica shared a bit more about their sweet host.


@jess.judith

la experiencia mas bonita


"This is Tarmo," she wrote. "He was our Airbnb host in Finland. He lives alone with his dog Peppi and his daughter set up this Airbnb (little cottage next to his house) which he takes care of the cleaning. He always had the table set with coffee and pastries waiting for us. He doesn't speak English but we used a translator and would have amazing conversations. Everything was so special and at the end of our stay he said, 'I hope this is not the last time I see you in this lifetime.' Best Airbnb experience ever."

As a short-term rental host and someone who has stayed at countless Airbnbs while traveling, I can attest to the fact that some guest-host interactions are truly special. As a host, I once had a guest from China who insisted on cooking my family a 3-course Chinese meal from scratch. As a guest, I rented a home in Greece with my family where the owner's mother, who lived on the property, would bring us fresh-baked Greek pastries from the local bakery every other morning with the warmest smile and most gracious welcome. As both host and guest, my experiences have been overwhelmingly positive.

The sharing economy can be wonderful when people are open and welcoming to the experience of connecting with others, and Tarmo and his kind guests are a perfect example.

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