Three Birthday Parties and One Supposed Judgment Day

We're heading into a big weekend here in the land of All Things Sassy. Three of my friends are celebrating birthdays, and... oh, right, the end of the world is coming. If you don't live in the Bay Area, it's possible you haven't been treated for the last several months to billboards announcing that May 21st, also known as this Saturday, will be Judgment Day. Or perhaps you have, given that this is a world-wide proclamation.

I noticed the billboards, which were paid for by the president of a local radio company who is making the Judgment Day claim, some time ago and pretty much ignored them. Then this week, Facebook started lighting up with people talking about end-of-the-world music mixes and fake looting parties, and I became annoyed by the whole thing. However, I changed my tune when I read this article of frequently asked questions about Judgment Day and the Rapture. I am particularly tickled by the formula that Harold Camping, the man making this prediction, used to determine that Judgment Day will fall on May 21st.

Luckily for me, my social calendar is full leading up to the end of the world; so I can full on party like it's 1999. (Although, according to Camping, the Earth will hang around for a few more months after Saturday; it just won't be a very pleasant place.) Tonight my friend Tom is having a little soiree in the Mission to mark the anniversary of his birth. Tomorrow evening my friend Megan is having a birthday party which she appropriately has dubbed "Megageddon." On Saturday night, assuming this Judgment Day thing doesn't pan out, we can celebrate with karaoke and ice cream in honor of my friend Eric's birthday. And finally, I have cocktail plans with my friend Christine on Sunday. I suppose if she and I are both Raptured, we can enjoy our libations in Heaven. If we've been turned to pillars of salt instead, I guess we'll be out of luck.

By the way, Judgment Day is supposed to begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday. To that end, is it wrong that I intend to spend some of my last carefree hours on Saturday afternoon watching reruns of "Beverly Hills, 90210" on SoapNet? That's not much of a bucket list, I know, but I do what I can.

(photos courtesy of REM and mayawap.com)