On riding the Earth around the sun 31 times!

On 11 April 2008 I turned thirty. It was not a big event, it did not freak me out, it just happened, the world spun madly on, and I spun with it, around the sun for another year.

Then on 11 April 2009 I turned 31. During the days leading up to the calendar date that marks my birth I started to get introspective. I became very occupied comparing where I was a year ago, to where I was now.

Here is a summery of my thoughts.

Education: I’m closer to having a Masters Degree (a Masters in Social Work for those who care). I loath the masters program that I’m in. I really hate it. I often think about not finishing it, yet I keep on going.

Job: It feel like I’m good at what I do, better at it than I was a year ago. I’m making more money doing it. There are more days where I like going to work than days where I hate going to work.

Money Stuff: I have paid off my car. I managed to stick a bunch of money into a Money Market savings account. My 401K is fucked, but… I don’t know… whatever. Everyone’s 401k is fucked. It will get better or it will not, but there is not that much that I can do to have an effect on that.

Travel: I went to places I had not been to. I hope to do more of this during year number 31. I love to travel around. I had wanted to go to Europe, but things never lined up. Maybe this year I’ll get to go to Europe! That would be nice.

Public Speaking: I totally sucked at this. I want to get better at public speaking.

Love life: Fucking nightmare. I fall into the same traps/patterns over and over.

Twitter: I gained tons of followers on Twitter. Then lots a bunch of followers on Twitter. Now I’m at about 500 followers. (I wonder how much time I spent on Twitter between 30 and 31.)

NGdC (the blog): You know… Whenever someone says the words “personal branding” I hear the ghost of Hunter S. Thompson telling me to light their iPod on fire. I think that would be a really fun thing to do, but I if 31 years has taught me anything it has taught me that listening to the ghost of Hunter S. Thompson is often a bad fucking idea. Lots of people talk about how their blogs are a tool for their “personal brand”. Not me. The way I see it: People are people. Brands are brands. People are not brands. Brands are not people. Lots of folks disagree with me, and that’s fine.

Health: I don’t smoke, or drink. I suck at eating things that are good for me. I’m great at eating things that are bad for me. Nonetheless I somehow manage to stay very thin. (Which is to say that I have the physical fortitude of a freeze pop.) My health goals for 31 are to eat more plants, drink less pop, and work out more.

Podcast: I started the Text Edit Podcast. I like doing it.

Friends: I have the gretest friends that anyone could ask for. Most of them live near Chicago, or in Canada. A few live out on the West & East coasts. Having friends all over the damn place is one of the things that makes it easy to travel.

-N