they say it's your birthday

this is me today.

today i am 28 years old.

i would say the past year or so has been pretty good. i launched myself out of a plane, experienced life as a roadie, saw a wonder of the world, ran a board, voted for a winner, baked a lot of cakes, hiked mountains and national parks and, of course, made a big and scary and rewarding move to a big and scary and rewarding new city, where i have taken on a big and scary and rewarding new job, and made close personal friends with the president.

my birthday goal last year was to live a little more boldly and push a little closer and a little harder to the edge of my comfort and understanding. of course, that is something we should always be doing, but at the risk of committing a george w.-style faux pas i am going to say: mission accomplished!

and in the spirit of that goal, i decided to kick it up a notch for my birthday goal this year, so instead of one goal i made 28 goals. for 28 years. you guys are in charge of making sure i do them. so here they are. (in no particular order, other than the order in which they came into my head.)

1. pay off my student loan

2. read the book of mormon every day

3. do another 100-mile bike ride

4. learn to surf

5. take a japanese class

6. take an art class

7. send a letter once a week

8. visit every smithsonian museum (including the zoo)

9. grow something (like an herb garden. not like "a pair.")

10. start a new hobby/develop a new skill (i am leaning towards sewing, but am taking suggestions)

11. fall in love

12. attend the temple once a month

13. make a home cooked meal once a week

14. celebrate new year's eve in times square

15. make a micro-loan

16. find a family history name for temple work

17. finish my mission scrapbook

18. buy a nice pair of jeans that fits perfectly

19. take a trip outside the country

20. visit somewhere in the country i have never been

21. learn to cook something from a julia child cookbook

22. learn how to drive to at least one place in d.c. without using my gps

23. make an unexpected friend

24. revive frances cake

25. revive documentary movie night

26. when an idea pops into my head, like to call someone just to see how they are doing, do it right then that second instead of feeling sorry later that i didn't follow through

27. sing more often

28. find somewhere to volunteer

i would also like to learn to love the early morning and complete an olympic length triathlon, but i am not willing to be held accountable for either of those, so they're in reserve.

welcome to the party, 28. i think we'll get along just fine.