I suppose it is time to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak. Only a few of my closest friends and family knew the truth about last Friday. Yes, I ditched work to mow my lawn. Oh, and I attended the 5th annual ACL Festival. But why would I write about that? Yes the Yankees played the Red Sox. I recall this being the 2nd time in my life they did this on the 15th of September (although it could be more).
Last Friday I had a birthday. Yep another one. This time it was the big 3-0.
I try not to make a big deal of it. I often will go out to dinner, by myself, and have a really nice meal. Last year I went to a local steak house called Reed’s and they gave me a free desert. That was nice. This year, because of ACL, I have not made the same pilgrimage.
I did go see a few friends and do a few shots. I think 4 in about 2 hours. By the time I hit the pillow about 1am, I was pretty buzzed but was more worn out from sitting in the sun all day. There were a few phone calls and text messages. It is nice to here from family and friends although I didn’t get to talk to anyone until I called my sister on Saturday.
All in all. Nothing Special. Just the way I like it.
Now for the past. I have done a fair amount in my 3 decades. I moved to college 700 miles from home and basically only visited on holidays. During college I worked all over including the sticks of Tennessee (is there anything else :-)) and the big cities of Washington and Seattle. I have an FBI file because I spent more than a couple of days working for them in the Hoover building. I moved to Seattle, Redmond actually, and working for the “Company” for awhile. I met some of the coolest people and some great friends- although I have not talked to them in eons. In the summer of 2000 I moved to Austin. I really like it here. It *feels* like home, even though I knew *no one* when I moved here-I even rented my apartment sight-unseen. 6 years now, two jobs, one IPO, one acquisition, one layoff, and one home purchase later I have no intention of leaving. The people here are just good, the food is great, the woman are hot (this *is* Texas after all).
The Future? Who the hell knows. I know I need a new job next year for starters. If that is an internal transfer, or a new company outright has yet to be determined, but it is inevitable. I’m sticking around. I’m not going anywhere for awhile. And I truly hope that I can keep the friends I have here. But where to go from here? I just want to keep going. I can’t spout off life lessons because, although I have had a pretty good life, it isn’t like I *planned* it all out. This is really all I want to do:
- Drop that 30 or 40 extra pounds I have been toting around. I was skinny once, not that you would know it now.
- Enjoy the hell out of my friends: take trips, have great meals, hell just enjoy the football game and a few cold beers.
- Learn something new, anything. Once you stop learning the slope begins to lean forward- hard to stop momentum.
- Don’t get all stressed out over details. I lead a pretty blessed life with a solid paycheck and a great friends and family network. There really isn’t anything in my life getting an ulcer over.
OK, I’m done spouting self realization shit now. At least until next year.
Oh, and how did I know the Red Sox/Yankees have played at least one other time on September 15th? My folks took me to a game on my birthday when I was in grade school on a Thursday back in the day. The Sox lost. At least they only got rained out this year.
PS: Happy Birthday Dad! and Happy Birthday Grampa!