I'm legit

I'm two months into year 30. I'm almost at that point where I can't say "I just turned 30." I'm legitimately just plain 30. And I've discovered that it sounds very respectable.

And it's here

Last week I found out I had to travel to Nashville for work. Luckily I have some really great co-worker friends out here and in tow. But who would have thought, here I'd be, spending my 30th with clients and co-workers in Nashville. Everyone kept asking how I felt today. I don't know, the same as yesterday? Maybe after all this wedding and travel hoopla, I'll start feeling something. For now, I'm just tired and want to be in the comforts of home. Even if it's just for a day, before I take off for another wedding weekend.

One Week to B-Day

And I think there will be so much other stuff happening I won't even notice.

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival

Fun discovery: This year's Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival (also known as Moon Festival or Lantern Festival,) lands on my birthday, September 22, 2010. It falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunisolar month.

Mid-Autumn Festival is a time of reuniting with family and celebrating life and happiness. In my family, there is usually a dinner if not party involved the weekend before or after. I've missed more than a few of course.

I've been feeling a bit down and poopy about carving time to celebrate my 30th (as you can tell from this blog). With all the wedding festivities, it just seems like there's enough celebrating (not to mention planning) to manage. What's to celebrate anyway- My eggs drying up? But maybe there is something to celebrate. I never really intend on my birthday get-togethers to be about me. It's just an excuse to get all my friends together and have fun. I like what Mid-Autumn Festival stands for and I think I'd like to carry-out the tradition. After all, I am becoming a real adult (or something like that) and tradition is important to observe.

How did this all come about? From the mini moon cake I ate this morning.

30 days to 30

Sadly I've made no progress and I have nothing to report.

It's especially difficult for a woman to turn 30 when single.

40 days to 30

Found this on an Australian blog. It's a decent list. Let's see what I need to do in the next 40 days...

30 things to try before you turn 30

1.Channel an old school movie and throw a drink in a man's face. Done
2.Delete the words “like, random and totally” from your vocab. Will try
3.Break someone’s heart; similarly, have your own broken. Done
4.Divorce toxic friends. Have done and getting better at it
5.Drink a champagne cocktail in a Paris bar. Isn't the fact that I've been to Paris good enough?
6.Master the art of choosing the perfect wine. Done
7.Confess that (present or past) crush on your best male friend. Well shit I guess I need to do this. This requires some brain power.
8.Drive a wickedly cool car, even if you have to rent it. I think test driving a GT-R counts
9.Use an alias for a day. I use the name Brittney at bars sometimes when I don't care to give my real name. Brittney because I couldn't look more opposite than a Brittney and I like the juxtaposition.
10.Visit a strip club. Done (female, duh)
11.Have a favourite book which isn’t chick-lit. Done
12.Quit a job, without having another one to go to. I seriously contemplated this a week ago. But it ain't happening, unless by miracle I suddenly come into a large sum of money in the next 40 days. And by large I mean shitloads.
13.Buy a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and a black-lace bra. That last one- will need to do. This is the year of new bras after all.
14.Learn who you can trust, who you can’t and why you shouldn’t take it personally. I need to learn not to take it personally.
15.Live by yourself (for at least six months). DONE and doing it again.
16.Travel somewhere by yourself – a foreign country, another city or just a road trip to the country. The move to college and LA subsequently was pretty isolating and I did it alone. I consider it done.
17.Forgive someone who wronged you; apologise to someone you've wronged. Hmm, thinking.
18.Master cooking one impressive three-course meal. Adding to the list.
19.Learn to change a tyre. My dad showed me once, does that count? I know how to dial AAA.
20.Buy an original piece of art. I've been meaning to do this! I guess now is the time. See how I need that job to afford these goals?
21.Volunteer for a charity you care about. I want to do this
22.Break-up with a man who you know is bad for you; similarly, have a fling with a man who you know is bad for you! Done
23.Dine solo in a restaurant – no phone, book or notebook allowed. I do this all the time
24.Run a marathon. Sorry, not happening. How about a 5K?
25.Pay off your credit card(s)/HECS debt/car loan. Okay.
26.Spend a whole pay packet on a pair of shoes. That would be so retardedly awesome. I could get myself a pair of Loboutins. Yeah right.
27.Have a killer joke you tell perfectly ready to use for those awkward moments. Will work on this.
28.Try something you always said you’d never do – whether it be sky-driving or eating escargot. Rollercoaster? Yeah, it needs to be done.
29.Learn how to stand up for yourself, rather than silently seething when you receive poor customer service or someone makes a snide remark. Getting better at this.
30.Have a one-night stand (or more than one). Done and done.

How to turn 30?

Here's an instructional article from eHow. Difficulty is categorized at "Moderately Challenging." Things needed, according to Andreya, are moisturizer, sleep, and plenty of cash. I've got the first two covered. The latter I'm working on.

How to Turn 30 With Grace and Aplomb

By Andreya G.

When you're in your 20's, you are allowed to mess up, party often, make youthful indiscretions, date wildly and party recklessly, wear glitter and dye your hair pink, stay out all night, throw money away, defer student loans. Turning 30 marks official adulthood. It is no longer "cute" to behave that way. Thirty means SPF 30 (religiously), IRA's, Retin-A, and 2.5 (kids, that is.) Time to face aging, family, and responsiblity. Career and finances are taken quite seriously, or should be anyway. Time to trade in the little sporty coupe for a nice, reliable sedan... or is it??

1. Step 1
   Buy earplugs. Not literally, but it is more than okay to suddenly become annoyed by the loud music you previously could not live without. If you find yourself shouting "God, it's too loud in here, I can't even talk!" to your friend at the local pub, it's perfectly normal.
   
   
2. 
   
   
   Step 2
   Re-evaluate sleep. Remember being able to stay up until 4 A.M. without a problem? Oh man, that isn't going to be so easy anymore. Even if you are a night owl like me, you may also find yourself falling asleep to movies after 10 P.M. Yeah, and you thought only you're grandma does that. So did I. Another word of warning, this is the time when snoring may manifest.
   
   
3. 
   
   
   Step 3
   Moisturize. Eye cream, face cream, body lotion, foot lotion... (When did I get dry heels?) You didn't need all this stuff before, but it's hell getting older.
   
   
4. 
   
   
   Step 4
   Take inventory. The fun, cool, "pretty" people in your twenties may have been a blast to go out with, but now you may see that some (or most) of them are superficial, selfish, fake, and/or never going to grow up. Friendship in your thirties is different. Don't be surprised if you want to associate with real, "together" people who are intelligent, interesting, and have integrity.
   
   
5. 
   
   
   Step 5
   Embrace restlessness. It's a big world out there with tons of options: Stay together or break up? Get married or stay single? Kids now or later? Career or family? Family or travel? Fast track or slow down? Stay here or move there? I feel your pain.
   
   
6. 
   
   
   Step 6
   Upgrade. Now is the time to enjoy the fruits of adulthood... Sheets with a high thread count, wine that costs more than $40, nice kitchenware and gadgets, furniture that you don't put together yourself, clothes that are not on sale. Go ahead, enjoy the good stuff.
   
   
7. 
   
   
   Step 7
   Ask yourself what you want. In your twenties you were probably trying to figure out what the opposite sex wants. If you are single, now is the time to figure out what exactly YOU want.
   
   
8. 
   
   
   Step 8
   Love yourself. Love 30. As cheesy as it sounds, now is the time to enjoy being in your own skin. You know yourself better now than in your twenties, and should be more comforable being you. The twenties are not by any means easy... Trying to figure who you are, what you want to be, who to love, where to live. Ask anyone a few decades older, and they will tell you that your thirties are the perfect mix of youth and wisdom. Enjoy.
   

Read more: How to Turn 30 With Grace and Aplomb | eHow.com

Plus Zero

Formal invites to both weddings are in and I have the option to bring a guest. Well guess what? I don't have a plus one. Apparently I'll be the only bridesmaid that doesn't plan on having a guest.

Chippendales: check

Cheesy, I certainly was expecting. Kinda of hot, I was not. This is a must-do for every woman before turning 30: watch an adult male revue, preferably in Vegas. Just do it. Of course, you'll need a birthday or bachelorette party as a legitimate reason to go.

Silly Bands all the rage

Apparently Silly Bandz are the new fad, and I had no idea until I was educated by the early-twenties group in the office this week.

I can still hang

Exciting achievements this past weekend. Drank 10 straight hours, having one meal in between, and only suffered mild hangover. This extravaganza involved a house party where the gays and the girls took turns whirling around a stripper pole in the living room. The evening lead me to my first WeHo gay club experience where I got to dance the night away w/ out the worry of bad dancing sleezy dudes trying to thrust their pelvis in every chick the dance floor. Instead it's just me and the G's, dancing the night away and letting go every inhibition. Because it just doesn't matter! By the way, why can't God make the straight ones hot and rhythmically capable?
Peeled myself off of my friend's couch at 6am and stopped by the grocery store to pick up pasta salad ingredients for the Sunday Funday picnic I was hosting in a matter of hours. Now THAT is a big girl move. I can party my ass off and still host a proper picnic. I'm almost ready to be a big girl. Almost.

When I Grow Up

At work I'm one of the "older" ones on the team. Granted I work in a very young industry, but wow, I'm already that person. When I was at my first job, I remember looking up to my now friend, then co-worker MLE who was 27 years old. I thought to myself "Wow I hope to be just like her when I grow up." In many ways I succeeded the dream but it's weird to think I'm in that position now. Well I could only hope the younglings see an aspirational quality in me, but I wouldn't be offended if they didn't. Ha.
MLE is now happily married and with newborn. Reading one of MLE's favorite quotes puts it in larger, more honest perspective for me:

“The definition of success: To laugh much; to win respect of intelligent persons and the affections of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give one's self; to leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition.; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm, and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived--this is to have succeeded.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Outgrowing Outfits

I get really into themed occasions. I have this patriotic shirt that an ex-boyfriend's friend made. He bought it for me. She was an aspiring clothing designer. I was 24 and loved the funkiness of it. I wear it once a year for July 4th, along with this necklace that has a stars and stripes flip-flop pendant. Last weekend I wore this ensemble to the fourth of July party. I got a lot of comments on the shirt but for the first time it made me feel juvenile. Especially when every other person (literally) was holding a baby or toddler. I decided this would be the last time I wear this shirt, for several reasons. (I'm keeping the flip-flop pendant.) Plus it just doesn't fit the way it used to (I'm too womanly for it now). The stars and stripes shirt retires for a good cause. What that cause is I haven't quite figured out. Becoming an adult, not dating emotionally unavailable guys, or something like that. Don't get me wrong, I'll always have weird clothing. This one I've just out grown. Just like that boyfriend.

For Dudes - What to expect

One man's take on life after you turn 30. This is for the guys.
http://www.blacktable.com/ajbirthday.htm

"HERE ARE 10 THINGS TO EXPECT AFTER YOU TURN 30."

AJ:

Somebody we know told me you're turning 30 tomorrow. I'd congratulate you, but frankly, I don't have a goddamn nice thing to say about it. I do, however, take perverse delight in telling you what you can expect or should keep in mind:
1. Lest you forget, everyone you know will remind you that you indeed are fucking old. They're not just giving you a hard time. This in fact is true. You are old.
2. You are now officially too old to be characterized in the press and in critical circles as a "rising star" of avant guard journalism or cultural commentary. That plaudit is for young guys -- guys in their 20s -- whose genius is so precocious they actually develop a sphere of influence all to themselves. College co-eds -- English majors and journalism students -- secretly doodle in their journals about fellating those guys just to be close to the genius. They also make notes in their journals about how guys like you creep them out. They wonder why you're not married.
3. On the upside, you needn't be too concerned about those co-eds anymore. As you progress from 30 to 31 and on to 32, your desire to actually sleep with them will drop precipitously. The healthy post-college-aged guy you once were -- cruising Manhattan any night of the week on booze-fueled sex junkets -- is now the cautious, chronically tired guy of Rolaids commercials and NPR call-in shows. I would tell you this change happens gradually, that you still have 18 months of Wednesday night beer specials and post-2 a.m. bong hits with Kelly and Christina, but in fact you should start feeling the effects by Tuesday.
4. 401K. These four characters were nothing more than unique keys on your Dell yesterday. Tomorrow they will take on a daunting significance that clouds your creativity like charcoal-grey cumulonimbi threatening the Merry Retirement Trailer Community in western Pennsylvania. Overnight, financial desparation switches from sexy artist cachet to a mark of blandness and failure. Is it true you don't yet own a condo?
5. You're only 5 years away from your first prostrate exam. Let's get fired up!
6. Speaking of doctors, start scheduling more time for them in your Microsoft Outlook calendar. Organized sports are out of the question at your age, and yes, it's true, you really have been smoking for almost two decades now.
7. No, what you're hearing on that kid's radio in Washington Park is not some Outkast B-side. It's actually a whole new breed of hip hop/trance fusion that you had no idea exists. Yes, I agree, it does sound awfully loud.
8. Remember when you laughed your ass off at Chris Rock's "old guy in the club" bit? (No seriously, I'm asking you... do you remember that? I mean it was quite some time ago. Sometimes those things slip.)
9. Hangovers: they're more than just myth.
10. Starting in 24 hours, you are officially closer to 40 than to 20. How're they hanging now, kid?


R A Miller is the editor of Will Leitch's Life As a Loser book. He remembers turning 30 -- and hasn't remembered a thing since.

150 Things To do Before you Turn Thirty

Year 30 is quickly approaching for me and I feel like I'm wasting away my last summer in my twenties, so it's time I develop some tasks to accomplish before 9.22.2010. This first exercise is a popular list from the bloggersphere. You can tell from a few that this originated from a computer geek.

150 Things To Do Before You Turn Thirty
Bold= Done
Italics= Want to do
*Personal commentary

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink *Anyone know of a 10 person capacity bar?
02. Swam with dolphins *I was in the ocean when dolphins swam by, does that count?
03. Climbed a mountain *I climbed The Great Wall of China. It beats a mountain.
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula *Hell no
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk *More than my share
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sang karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football *Yes people, in middle school =)
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theatre
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie *Does music video count?
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on a television news program as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children *Not before I'm 30 obviously
97. Followed your favourite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken a bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking with the windows open
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication *The Rancho Bernardo Sun counts right?
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart *I really don't know
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating *Fish!
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Welcome to my pity party

I'll be in two weddings the week of my 30th birthday. They're sandwiching my birthday (it's a Wednesday) which means I won't be able to celebrate until the following weekend. I don't even know if I feel my 30th year in life warrants a celebration but I just wanted to point it out.

The first wedding- a bridesmaid, the second- the Maid of Honor.

When I was a pubescent pre-teen, playing MASH, I never imagined that I would be single and a bridesmaid in two weddings on the week of my 30th birthday. The Universe can be so cruel sometimes.
Yes, this is my pity party. Welcome.

Confronting 30

The fact that I'm turning 30 very soon as been ever present in my mind since I turned 29, but with 73 days left of my twenties, I'm realizing that I really haven't been doing anything that I set out to do when I turned 29. So now until September 22, 2010, I'll be doing some reflecting, goal setting, and documenting accomplishments.