29 - The Best Decade of My Life (or: How I Became Alterdestiny's Bastard Middle Child)

While last year was a momentous birthday for me, this year, I'm merely 29. There's nothing cool that comes with that, like getting to be eligible for the presidency or anything. Instead, a "3" looms ahead of me, with the expectations of maturity, decency, reserve, and employment foisted upon me (fortunately, I should be able to defer on at least the employment part of that equation with the continued explanation "I'm in grad school," which always elicits knowing and sympathetic nods). I'd suggest that at least I could still claim to being the youngest on this blog, and therefore, the X-factor that kept us cool, but the arrival of Sarah J, Yann, Karthika, and Kim has rendered even that claim obsolete, leaving me more of the forgotten middle child of Alterdestiny. Indeed, none of my birthday compatriots - Nolan Ryan, (the late) Jackie Robinson, Kenzaburo Oe, Philip Glass, Piper Perabo, or former Miss Idaho 1997 Brandi Sherwood, has a major age to celebrate today (although Sherwood may be plotting her own Vice-Presidential run, given her qualifications as former state beauty queen).

That said, at the end of the day, I can't complain too much - I've made it through one of the more stressful years of my life, and, as with every remaining year of my life, I'll be able to be satisfied and relieved that I avoided sharing a birthday with Dick Cheney and Phil Collins, even if by just one day.