Happy Birthday to Me
I called my Mom one day when I was twenty-two, to complain about how totally sucky my life was. I don't remember exactly what was so awful -- I think maybe I was frustrated with a new boss or something. Whatever. I had just graduated college, spent a year on the Clinton campaign, and was sharing a 2,000 square foot apartment/recording studio in Georgetown. My job was fun, my circle of frineds was huge, my bank account wasn't over-drawn, and I had recently spent a half-hour, solo, with Nelson Mandela. In short, I had absolutely zero to whine about.
In her polite, rosy way, Mom told me told shut the fuck up, and enjoy what I had. Great moments don't last forever, she said, and you better enjoy them while they're going on.
I still struggle to remember that simplest of lessons. But birthdays have a way of forcing you to stop and take an inventory of your life -- especially milestone birthdays, like number 35.
So with Mom's advice in mind, here's a list of some of the things I've done since I turned 34.
- Hung backstage with Snoop
- Shot guns with Xeni
- Got shot at by Iraqis
- Climbed Chichen Itza
- Caught the dunk by Iguodala (and Knicks/Sixers with Uncle Steve)
- Rode the rapids upstate
- Got choked in Krav Maga
- Tested a killer robot
- Blew up an IED
- Threw parties
- Threw up at parties
- Rode a Black Hawk and a C-130
- Flew a Joint Strike Fighter sim
- Fasted
- Gorged
- Snowshoed
- Snorkled
- Hiked
- Spellunked
- Sinned
- Atoned
- Prayed
- Cursed
- Cried
- Comforted
- Visited:
* Brooklyn
* San Fran
* L.A.
* London
* Leeds
* Chi-town
* H-town
* Tulum
* Cozumel
* Philly
* Baghdad
* Kuwait City
* Deadwood
* DC
* Sedona
* Manchester, VT
* Norfolk
* The 'burgh
* Ft. Irwin, CA
* Ft. Monmouth, NJ
* Ft. Huachuca, AZ
* Picatinny Arsenal, NJ
* Eglin AFB, FL
* Pentagon, VA
* And THREE laser weapon labs
- Chased crooks (A few weeks before the 34th, technically. Still counts.)
- Filed about 750 blog posts
- Wrote for Wired, Newsweek, the Times, the Forward, Pop Sci, Pop Mech, Wired News, the Times mag, the National Post, and Fast Company.
- Blabbed on CNN, NPR, and the BBC
- Had four albums come out with my name on 'em
- Learned a nice chunk of Hebrew
- Reconnected with my brother
- Raised some Katrina cash
- And, of course, got engaged
You know what? That seems like a pretty good year to me. Thanks, Mom. You were right.
Happy Belated B-day. If you ever need an amateur photographer to go back to the sandbox with you, let me know. I'd love to tag along and get shot at. for serious.
Posted by: Nick Hawkins at March 13, 2006 4:01 PM