Forty Eve

Well, here I am on the day before my fortieth birthday. It's St Patrick's Day in Sydney. Not yet noon. Alan is at work. I am in my bathrobe. The dogs are asleep behind me. There's plenty to do.

But I thought I'd write instead.

This morning I woke to a slight sore throat. Maybe it's not that slight. It is definitely a sore throat. I'm also feeling very tired. I think the partying and entertaining has caught up with me a bit. It has nothing to do with age, it has to do with lack of sleep. I remember feeling this way at 16, too.

"Forty is the new 20!" That's what people have said on most of my birthday cards. Well, I don't really know about that.... I'm just pretty happy to be healthy and employed and in love and surrounded by friends. My age doesn't matter. Those things matter a lot. I think people are just trying to say that we're as young as we feel, but we all know that's not really true. We're as young as our birth certificates say we are and that's really all there is to it.

So I'm about to be 40.

At least it was a great excuse for a party!

Here's a list of things you might want to know.

• I just redesigned my office. It's not complete yet, but the old furniture is gone, the walls have been painted, and most of the new furniture is in place. Walls need more stuff on them, attached sunroom needs painting, and one more piece of furniture is needed, but all is working and I'm really happy.
• Mogy has lost weight. He is now a healthy 30 kilos. He was almost 36. That is a great accomplishment and one that does have a good lesson for us all. If you want to lose weight... eat less. It works.
• Copper is hard to groom. He doesn't shed at all, but his hair is very hard to keep untangled. I work on a section each day, but I'm constantly playing catch-up, not doing preventative maintenance.
• Alan has started playing touch rugby. His team is called the Waboritas (after Sammy Hagar's recipe for Cabo Wabo Margaritas). They are good. He doesn't think I need to go see how good, though.... No witnesses.... Hmmmmm!?!?
• We are going on a two week holiday to the Alps and Italy in May. While in Italy we will be part of a group of 18 people in a Tuscan villa. My parents, my cousins, my friends, their siblings, their cousins. I anticipate seeing some beautiful countries and landscapes, fun, laughter, food, wine, and the continued development of lifelong friendships.
• Angela and I have both earned another free overseas vacation from PartyLite. This year we are going to Hawaii. Alan and Ben are coming, too, of course. I've not been to Hawaii before, so I'm looking forward to relaxing there for 4 nights. Short, sweet, free, and 5 star! Yippee!
• My calendar has appointments in it all the way through 2009. I feel as busy as I've ever been. I need to improve how I use time.
• My music stopped. My gigs dried up after January and that is the problem. Gigs are deadlines. Deadlines are my lifeblood. Without them, I am lost. I feel lost musically. (BTW, I do recognise the irrationality in that, too. I know that it takes practice and learning and practice to play well so that I can even get the gigs. I KNOW! Just do it, Wendy!)

And that's all I can think to tell you right now. If I think of anything else to say, I'll write another post. If you subscribe to this blog, you'll get an email whenever I add a posting. I don't write too often, so it won't fill up your email box or anything. Or you can subscribe via RSS if you're RSS-savvy.

Chow for now! WLC.