Diary of a Network Geek

The trials and tribulations of a Certified Novell Engineer who's been stranded in Houston, Texas.

12/12/2006

Getting Older

Filed under: Advice from your Uncle Jim,Bavarian Death Cake of Love,Criticism, Marginalia, and Notes,Deep Thoughts,Life, the Universe, and Everything,Personal — Posted by the Network Geek during the Hour of the Monkey which is in the late afternoon or 5:33 pm for you boring, normal people.
The moon is a Third Quarter Moon

I’m 38 today.

Time marches on, with or without our consent, and so, much to my surprise, I find that I’ve survived another year. I think of my birthday as, well, just another day. It’s not like I’m suddenly a year older over night, after all. If I seem older this year, it’s due mainly to over-work and a head cold that decided to move South into my chest. Oh, I suppose my hair is a little grayer than it was last year and the eyes that meet mine in the mirror seem, perhaps, a little more world-weary, but, otherwise, I’m mostly the same as I’ve always been. I plan a low-key evening of bill-paying and an early bed-time, sleep having become the ultimate luxury in my life. I will, however, enjoy a glass of Cask Strength Macallan, as I did last year, before slipping off to the Land of Nod.

Historically, this has been an interesting day, the anniversary of my birth not withstanding. For instance, I share a birthday with such varied luminaries as Frank “Chairman of the Board” Sinatra, Bob Barker, Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary, Edvard Munch, and Wells Fargo founder, Henry Wells. Not to mention, Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues, Tim Hauser of Manhattan Transfer, Dickey Betts of the Allman Bros, jazz musician Grover Washington Jr, and former mayor of New York City, Ed Koch.
Also, it was on this day, in 1901, that Italian physicist and radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi succeeded in sending the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean. But, that’s not all! My birthday is also when, in 1925, Arthur Heinman coined term “motel”, and opened Motel Inn in San Luis Obispo, California. On this day, in 1964, shooting started for the “Star Trek” pilot, The Cage (which was later reused in Menagerie).
A year before I was born, in 1967, the US launched Pioneer 8 into solar orbit. And, on the actual day of my birth, in 1968, the US performed its first nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site. So, obviously, my birthday was, indeed, earth-shattering.

As I figured last year, it was, in fact, an interesting trip again. Try as I might to lead as boring a life as possible, the Universe sees fit to liven things up for me. Well, this year was a little quieter than last, at least in the legal arena, even if it was a little light in the relationship end of things. I still have no idea what the next year will bring, but, as per usual, I’m sure it will be something other than I expect! Remember what your Uncle Jim says, kids, after twenty-one, every year you survive is a victory, no matter how small it may seem at the time.
I’ve survived one more lap around the sun.
How many more before the race is done?


Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Denial is a powerful tool. Never underestimate its ability to cloud your vision."
   --Melody Beattie

9 Comments

  1. Happy Birthday! Looks like I’m kind of late, but hope it was a great day.

    Comment by laanba — 12/12/2006 @ 10:24 pm

  2. Oh, it’s never too late and thank you.
    It was just another day, really, which is just fine with me. Nothing big, outside of paying bills and enjoying that nice Scotch.

    Comment by the Network Geek — 12/13/2006 @ 8:32 am

  3. HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

    I hope you celebrate by taking some time off and …I think you are a scotch drinker …so with a nice tumbler of scotch and cake.

    Comment by sass — 12/13/2006 @ 11:11 am

  4. Yep, scotch was had, right after paying the bills. No cake, though. I’m trying to regain my “girlish figure” so I look decent by the time someone sees me naked again. No time off, either. I think I need to ind another gig so I can actually have time to use my vacation days!

    But, thanks for the warm wishes.

    Comment by the Network Geek — 12/13/2006 @ 11:25 am

  5. Haaaap-py happy happy birth DAY
    Haaaap-py happy happy birth DAY
    (I’m singing this, by the way.)
    (I am composing a new birthday ditty just for YOU!)
    Here’s to another year!

    Comment by Jill — 12/13/2006 @ 12:42 pm

  6. (Sorry I’m a date late, but the sentiment is there!)

    Comment by Jill — 12/13/2006 @ 12:43 pm

  7. It is, in fact, the thought that counts, Jill, so thanks.

    Comment by the Network Geek — 12/13/2006 @ 12:56 pm

  8. Happy Birthday! I wish I had known yesterday when it was still your birthday so I could tell you that birthday cake is fat and calorie free. How can you make a wish without a birthday cake melting under the enormous birthday candle fire that causes you to nearly lose consciousness when you try to blow it out? (reading that sentence out loud may have the same effect) 😉

    Ok, so you sound as though you are doing so much better than I did on my 38th birthday! I spent the whole day crying my eyes out. I guess I really was feeling old. Blowing out the candles was kind of fun though.

    p.s. I love that you say it’s another lap around the sun, that’s what my son says too.

    Comment by Cheri — 12/13/2006 @ 8:01 pm

  9. Thanks, Cheri. I guess I approach aging differently, since many of my relatives lived well past 80. I had a great-grandfather who lived to be 99 and smoked a cigar and drank whisky every day until he died. An amazing man who I’m proud to have actually known. Though, I have to admit, I am starting to plan for my mid-life crisis in another seven years! 😉

    Comment by the Network Geek — 12/13/2006 @ 8:38 pm

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