On Milestones

My best friend is turning 30 on Saturday. 30! This seems somewhat unbelievable to me since I've known him since I was 11. The worst part of him turning 30 is... I'm not far behind. Granted, I'll be turning 29 this summer, and not 3-0, but when I take a step back and look at the bigger picture, it's the last year of my twenties (gasp.)

Age is just a number right? Well, certain numbers can certainly make you feel shitty right? While I've got some accomplishments under my belt for a person of my age, ie: I work in an office, I own my own home, I bought my first ever brand new car a few months ago, I'm married, I've got three pets, oh, and I published a book. Not too shabby for a 28 year old. (I apologize for the horn tooting.) These accomplishments are wonderful, but I still feel as though I'm lacking somewhere. I can't help but fixate on my flaws and I think a 28 year old shouldn't be like this.

I've only got a few passions in my life, which may never take me anywhere. Books, writing, and photography. Now, I suppose I could take off with writing or taking pictures, but I'm not entirely sure I've got the wherewithal the actually push myself. I mean, I love these things, shouldn't I find a way to live off of them? Or maybe I'm not pushing myself too hard because deep down I feel like if I get paid to do something I love, it might take the love out of the activity. Anyone else ever feel this way?

But let me get back to my pal. He's had a shitty go of things within the last three years. There have been plenty of good times sprinkled in, but I think right now, the bad is overpowering the good. The rest of my friends and I have been plotting and planning for months what to do for this guy's big birthday. We thought, oh we'll throw a surprise birthday party. Well, he's had like four surprise parties in a row, I think we've played that out. So, I just talked to him about it, I said: "What do you want to do for your birthday?" He just wanted a simple bash at his place. Sounds simple enough... done.

It's been hard lately for me to be excited about anything at all, but I find myself increasingly excited about this guy's birthday party. It will be a celebration with all out friends, and hopefully some laughs and memorable times. Wahoo.

On a completely separate note, I hate it when people stop at my cube to "chat." Jeez, I've got my back turned to the hallway for a reason people.

On The Simple Things

There isn't much I get excited about anymore. Nothing is as nearly intense as it was a decade ago. That being said, here are a few things which delight me:

• Being on vacation (the planning part and the actual vacation are what I enjoy. I hate leaving my pets. I always feel guilty.)


• Sleeping in until 9:00 (when the cat lets me.)


• Receiving new books!!!!

Yes, it may be nerdy, but it's like Christmas when I see that little Amazon box arrive with my goods inside. As I pulled into the driveway on Friday, the UPS truck was pulling up simultaneously, and I thought... maybe he's got my books. And he did. He walked right up and handed me my package. I was utterly geeked out. Not only was it the end of the day Friday, but I had three more books lined up in my quene. EEK!

What are the books I've gotten so excited about you ask? Well to be honest, I don't remember the name of the other two, as I found them on a whim, but one of them is Gerald's Game by Stephen King. I'm sort of a huge King fan. The other two are supposedly true haunting stories a la The Amityville Horror which thoroughly creeped me out and I enjoyed, so I'm hoping these other two deliver. The reviews were good, with only a few not so stellar comments, so I thought I'd give them a chance.

Which reminds me, while my husband and I were on vacation, I found this adorable little used book shop in South Haven called Black River Books. It was the coolest bookstore I've been in in a while. The stacks were high and close together, it felt like another world, a world a could get lost inside for hours. However, it would have been torture for my husband, so I think I spent a max of 15 minutes in there. I did find a couple of King books. One, I already have on e-Book, The Dark Half but since I loved it so much, and it was so cheap for the hardcover, I bought it. I love older hardcovers with their dust jackets, I don't know why. There were some other ones, but I've got the paperbacks and couldn't justify buying them. The other one is also a King book, but it's essays on writing, and I've never seen it before, so I grabbed it. Two hardcovers for $15.00, can't beat it.

One would think that since I love books so much that I should work in a book store, and I've thought about it, but I don't think I'd want to work in a chain book store like Barnes & Noble, though I love Barnes & Noble. I'd rather work in some small little Indie store, but I know I wouldn't make diddly squat, so... here I sit. So, instead of selling other people's books, I'll write my own and sell those. Same difference right? Ha.