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August 5th, 2009
It's birthday time again today. I turned 47 this
morning. I remember 30 years ago how excited I
would be for a birthday. My dad once told me
"there are 7 birthdays that you can look forward
to: 13 when you're a teenager, 14 to get a
motorcycle license, 16 to get a drivers license,
18 to buy beer, 21 to drink liquor, 25 when your
insurance drops then 65 when you get to retire."
As I've gotten older I've learned how accurate
he was. I'm not a big birthday party kinda
guy. My ex threw a killer "surprise" party for
me on my 40th. I had a hunch something was up
and was thinking "strippers". No strippers but
it was still a helluva party. I think that was
actually the last time I got excited about a
birthday. Speaking of my dad, next year I will
be the same age as he was when he was killed in
an accident. Time sure flies. This evening I'm
going go-karting with Gregg Fuette and Robin,
Austin Luttmer and Lindy, Verlin Gibson and
Michelle, then maybe for some dinner. As I've
said many times - I may not have any real family
but I've got something just as good, sometimes
even better: great friends.
One of things I do every year on August 5th is
to take an honest look at the past year of my
life and give it a "grade". I thought about this
a lot during dinner tonight. Here's what I came
up with: Financial: C-, the first 2 months were
average, the next 4 were horrible and the final
6 outstanding but still in recovery mode.
Employment: B, I love what I'm doing and in many
ways I have a dream job. Probably would be a A
if not for last fall dragging things down.
Dating/Social: D-, last August I split up with
Amy and while there have been a few average and
a couple of great dates since there's no women
that will be calling today. Adventure: A, once
again I'm pretty lucky in this department. This
year there were trips to Notre Dame, Turkey
Night, Las Vegas and New York for fun plus a lot
of business trips where I always manage to have
some fun. Racing: D, We've been fast at times
and won a few heat races, been quick in the
mains most of the time but have not won a main
event in almost 2 years. Not winning is not
acceptable. Health: F, I have done a lousy job
of taking care of myself this year,
Friends/Family: B, I have the best friends that
a person can ask for but there is still a
"void". Overall I'd rate the year as a D. I'm
determined however that my 47th year is going to
improve at least a couple of letters
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