Hi everyone,

it feels a bit weird coming back here after quite some time due to having covid and, well, getting slammed with PhD work and learning how to deal with that - I hope it's okay that I'm here again, now that I finally have some time for myself again and can get back to cards.

I'm here with a little request: It was my 25th birthday on August 21, and just about everyone forgot save like my closest family - even my colleagues initially forgot despite our birthday calendar for the research group and only remembered when I brought cake. I know I probably shouldn't care and tried to push it aside, but somehow, having my birthday go this unnoticed is making me a bit sad. It's probably also in part due to the high pressure and the isolation of a PhD (don't get me wrong, I love doing what I do (searching for Dark Matter with particle physics), but I often work long hours, have to prepare stuff on a short notice and have to travel sometimes to conferences, meaning that I can't meet up with friends as often as I'd like), and people not understanding that or using that against me.

I guess I kind of looked forward to my birthday a bit as a "reward" given that I am going through a stressful time (my prof is handing in a grant application and needed plots from me and a bunch of conferences are coming up so there's a lot to do). So if anyone could send a little card my way with some encouragement or some funny story or even just "happy birthday", that would be amazing! If you'd like a card back, just let me know and I'll be happy to send you one back.

Thank you all and I hope you have an amazing day!