jenn schiffer's live laugh blog

weekly retro #54: failing to be birthday neutral

birthday weeks are tough because i feel like everyone either puts a lot of pressure on me to enjoy it or they project their fear of aging and dying onto me about it. i very much want to be neutral on birthdays, but i also want to celebrate that i lived far longer than i was told i would or should by adults in my life growing up. here's to 41 years of i lived, bitch, bitch.

patent drawing of someone with arms outstretched shouting "mcdonald's" but i put "blog's" over it, and they are shouting it at a tv that had a burger commercial but i put a screenshot of this blog on the tv instead

before my actual birthday, it was the the first birthday of these weekly retros. i streamed for a few hours to celebrate, which was fun. did i forget to hit record? yes. thanks to everyone who joined me and sorry to everyone who missed out and will have to make it next year because i was born to blog.

photo of a wooden bin on a sink that says "shark week" and on one side are tampons and the other side are cotton rounds

someone at my gym took "compartment for pads" in a very interesting, different direction this week - the one week where i actually needed a pad at the gym. that's right, i spent my birthday week on my period.

a blurry photo of me, with the background removed. i am wearing red tinted glasses

yeah, so my actual birthday was kind of a wash because i felt like shit physically. oh, and then i had to take care of a family situation that absolutely could have been brought to my attention on NOT my birthday lmao 🫩 anyway i know i normally do a birthday post with a selfie, but i honestly couldn't be fucked so this one is all i've got.

photo of my wheel setup at the ceramics studio, with three baked mugs and two bowls i'm in the process of trimming

i was blessed by the kiln though, as my 3 mugs survived bisque firing. i trimmed some bowls and made some new pieces that i hope aren't cracked when i go back to the studio.

ugly bland gym art framed on the wall that says "work hard it will pay off" in three different fonts

drama, cramps and comedy of errors all aside, i was truly blessed for the opportunties to be at my happiest: making a mess at the ceramics wheel,making candles and packing orders - thanks to everyone who made my birthday sweeter by buying stuff btw - and eating eggplant parm with my guy on a day commemorating the night i joined this bitch of a planet.

things i enjoyed this week

  • we finally got to see nirvanna the band the show the movie and it was so good
  • we are about halfway through the episoding super-hero game dispatch and i've been enjoying it. the pop culture references are a bit pander-y but i love the stats during the credits of each episode.
  • the best eggplant parm i've ever had is at just friends here in jersey city!

now that i'm coming out of the fog of my cycle, i've got cool things to make, postponed birthday celebrations to be had and two more weeks to figure out my aerial yoga practice once my studio shuts down. every day is a winding road!

xoxo jenn

this was published February 15, 2026 under living health art weekly-retro ceramics wheel-throwing birthday bugs-rock period gym