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Posts Tagged ‘birthday’
The following is an e-mail from the past, composed 5 years, 9 months and 29 days ago, on December 20, 2005. It is being delivered from the past through FutureMe.org:
Dear 30-year old self,
Whoa, you’re already 30. What have you been doing with your life?! Haha, just kidding. It’s your 24-year old self writing you a letter. Remember RBJ? You still check up on that site? Well, there was this collaboration project that you decided to participate in – letter to future self. Hence, this letter.
Do you remember what it was like being 24?
Vaguely. Please remind me.
Health:
For the most part, my health is fine. Back kills, but I think it’s from the way I sit. Hopefully I don’t do permanent damage with that. I have several things on my plate of getting checked on. I will be seeing a chiropractor next year. I would like to get Lasik soon, so most likely by 30, you have two eyes instead of four. That underbite also needs some work, so I am planning on getting braces within the next year or two… Did you ever get that underbite taken care of?
The back still kills, but I’m going to a masseuse for that. A relaxed back = a relaxed me. I now have two eyes, instead of four, and that underbite – it was a blip in the timeline too. Did I reach 24 without getting my laservision AND many years of braces? That all happened after 24? Wow, I sure was productive.
Work:
2nd year with [insert company name here]. I’m enjoying it, learning a lot. I don’t foresee any immediate changes to the work situation. Are you at the same company? If so, by now you should be somewhere between manager and senior manager level. If not, what are you up to now?
Due to unforeseen circumstances [aka the economy went to shit], nope, I am not with the same company. I am with a much smaller one with a great schedule and awesome benefits. I’m not sure how long I will be here, but I’m in no way manager or senior manager at [insert company name here], and that might be a good thing.
Family:
I am living at home with the parents, saving money. So how many houses are you counting on those fingers!?Everyone’s doing well in 2005 – grandparents included. Mom and Dad are still hard at work, and they probably still are, even though you are 30 now. They should be retiring soon, yea? And the younger cousins – all grown up, eh?
Two houses, actually. I didn’t realize this, but the headache of a property up in Oregon didn’t show up until after this letter was written. I had no idea. Now I live in my own home that I pay for with my hard-earned dollars. The grandparents are not around, but the family is doing well. Dad is getting close to retirement, and Mom is about to go in for shoulder surgery – work-related injuries. Hopefully that goes well. They are both itching for grandkids, and like 24, I am not yet ready for them. I do have a Sergio and a Sasha now – loving black cat and awesome German Shepherd mix.
Love:
I am madly in love with S who lives in NY! We talk every day on the phone. By age 30, I would expect the two of us to be together… physically. We try to convince each other on a daily basis to move, hoping that one of these days it will just magically happen. So when did it happen? Are you living together? I know I don’t want kids, but did you change your mind? If it didn’t turn out the way that both S and I had originally hoped for, what did happen?
Wrong. Dead wrong. I had to laugh reading this because so much can change in what doesn’t seem like THAT much time. “Madly in love” – really? At the time, probably, and that’s what one needs to understand. I will only know what I have in front of me, and I can only hope for the best. If it doesn’t work out, something and someone else will come along. Things didn’t work out with S. We ended it based solely on that moving somewhere together wasn’t in the cards, and though I floundered a bit afterward, I’m now in the best possible place for me. I met Ryan in 2008, and we’ve been inseparable since.
I’m 24 – still learning to love myself and to love others. How have things progressed since 2005? I’d say, write back, but I don’t think 24-year old self would be able to read the letter. Please say hi to 40-year old self – thanks!
I think that at no matter what age, I will continue learning about me, love, and others. I will definitely say hello to future selves.
Love always,
Your 24-year old self.
*big fat self-hug*
That’s what some people tell me. Something about knowing who you are and being secure as a person. Others tell me that it only goes downhill from here. Your body starts breaking down with aches and pains in places you never thought twice about.
All I know is that life is what I make of it. That’s all I’ve got.
me: I’m turning 20-lame!
Matthew: I’m glad I got over that and made it into 30-meh.
I keep joking that I’ve turned 20-lame. The real reason for being out of the loop is that I’m studying for another failed exam *hangs head in shame* and also wanting to save $$. I recently paid off my car – just decided to lump sum it, so I wouldn’t have to keep track of it. It’s #72 on the list.
072 – Finish making payments on the Prius.
Following along the theme of turning 20-lame, this year’s birthday was a mellow one. I woke up, went to work, ate dinner at home with the parents, played a few games on the Wii, and then grabbed Asian desserts with RV and the sister. No happy hours, no late night drinks. And unlike last year, no ditching work to explore the city. The bigger celebration I had in mind took place a few weeks ago when I thought I’d be getting my jaw broken, but as it turns out, that didn’t really happen.
A small brunch this Sunday has been deemed the celebration. On Tuesday, I walked into work and found a gift bag on my desk. For a moment, I wondered if my coworkers had somehow found out it was my birthday. Of course, I looked around, and there were gift bags on other desks also. One of my coworkers recently came back from a New England trip, and she brought back maple syrup from Vermont for everyone. So we’re having French toast this Sunday!
The weekend after RV’s birthday celebrations, I took him up to Fort Bragg to show him what all the fuss was about. We were originally supposed to attend a music festival from 9pm to 3am and then make the drive up, but there was a mishap with the free tickets, and we ended up not doing that and getting up to Fort Bragg at 1am, instead of at 5am. So rather than a nap, we ended up having to sleep in the car Friday night. Boy was it uncomfortable, and we were so glad to finally check in to the bed and breakfast when Saturday afternoon rolled around!
To kill time between the uncomfortable sleep and check-in, we explored Glass Beach. It was his first time, and while it was my third, we still managed to find some new stuff to look at. On the suggestion of a man in a kayak who had spearfished a ling cod, a black cod, and some other random fish, we wandered over to the southern side of the beach where the glass was at least a foot deep. Where Keane and I had wandered before was just a thin layer of glass!
Of course, took a lot of photos. Here’s a set of a furry friend we came across while at Glass Beach:
I started out pretty far away.
Then got closer.
And closer.
Until I was up in its face.
