yeah so my bday is tomorrow.  i’ll be 31.  soon things will get going in my life.  buying a house.  growing up.  getting married maybe?  yeah all of that stuff is in the cards for sure in the next year.

but, before all of that happens, i wanted to do something stupid.  one last salvo at age before i guess it really sets its hooks in me and i have to “grow up” (or something)

so what did i do, you might ask?

i went out and got this:

yes it is ohio.  yes it is my first tattoo.  no it is not on my calf (hard to tell from the picture i know).  it is on my right forearm, just below the elbow.  probably 4ish inches across.

i dig it.  it was done by dino at fate tattoo here in cbus.  if you want a tat, go see this guy.  he’s got some amazing art work and is very easy to talk to.  he’s also completely self taught (and has that hardcore neck tattoo).

anyways, happy birthday to me!

had a birthday over the weekend. i’m officially 28 now (28 and 2 days really). i don’t feel any different. i haven’t felt different from a birthday in a long time. 25 seemed like a milestone of some kind. i mean, quarter of a century, right? a blink in the global timeline, maybe an hour in one life. not that long but long enough. as a child, they all seem like milestones (well once you are old enough to grasp the concept of aging) and as a teenager, 16, 18, 21 all seem so important. but what happens then?

28 isn’t very special. there’s not much to turning 28 really. 30 might mean something. it’s always like you pick years that should mean something to you. 30 is when you get married. 35 is when you have kids. 55 or 65 and you retire. you don’t really hear about someone making plans for 28. it’s kind of this weird, between age; not really a kid but not really an adult either.

i do feel different though. i feel older and wiser, but not because of my birthday. my birthday somehow lost that all powerful significance. i find myself thinking about things i never thought i would… marriage, kids, buying a house. i even find myself looking forward to those things. but it’s not like these thoughts magically appeared the day after my birthday. they’ve been creeping in over the last few months, or maybe years even.

i think the real significance of your birthday is the way it makes you think back on your life. to take notice of what you’ve done, where you’ve gone, what you’ve seen. to think back on what your life is, what it isn’t, and what you wish/want it to be. your birthday isn’t so much about getting presents and getting wasted and having fun (although i think it’s an excellent excuse to do all those things) but more about taking stock of who you are and evaluating yourself.

it’s about growing up.