I turned 35 last month. I had a pretty low key celebration. My wife and I drank a bottle of Bordeaux, ate some bread and cheese, and watched my favorite film, Sideways. Nothing fancy. I would say I had a good time being a 34 year old. I traveled quite a bit, spent time with friends, watched some good TV series, and had some funny encounters.
Here are 34 things I learned about or experienced over the past year.
Wall St. Journal - Signed up for a yearly subscription using my wife’s student email so we could get a nice discount. I love the paper. Read it daily.
iPhone - Bought a new one finally. I have the new 14 Pro Max. It’s too big, but it’s better than my previous phone, iPhone 6s.
French book - I read one French book. It was a children’s book, but nonetheless it was all in French.
Fanny Pack - I bought one and love it. It’s corduroy. I hate having keys, wallet, pocket knife, and phone all in my pant pockets. Now I can store it all in my cool hip pack.
Movie Star - In New Orleans, I was waiting outside a store for my wife. I was near a group of people. One of the people was holding a sign. She looked at me and said “You look like a movie star”. I smiled and said “Thanks”. I then looked down at the sign she was holding and it said “Free words of encouragement”.
Duolingo - Tried learning German. Was on a nice lil streak then lost touch.
Wordle - I play this word game daily. Most of my guesses fall within the range of 4 and 5.
Roth IRA - Maxed out my Roth IRA once again.
Throw up - At my friend’s wedding I drank way too many cocktails. The next day my wife drove us home. We picked up some Raising Canes. Ten minutes later, I began throwing up in the Raising Canes bag which then started to leak so I rolled down the window and threw up all over the car as she was driving. It was disgusting.
Suit - "Whether socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down." - Warren Buffett - I told my wife that quote after I bought a new suit that she told me not to buy. The suit was marked down so I felt I needed it.
Citizen - Celebrated my wife becoming a U.S. citizen. It took about five years, thousands of dollars, and quite a bit of stress for her to become an American.
Mr. Wonderful - At a work conference over the summer, one of the presenters was Mr. Wonderful from the show Shark Tank. I enjoyed his speech.
Suit #2 - Different suit story. I bought a suit online, when it arrived I opened the box and found a XXL button down shirt and 42" shorts. For perspective, I wear a size small shirt and 30" shorts. I sent the items back and the company I ordered the suit from said they sold out of the suit.
Covid - I caught Covid for the first time at the end of 2022. I was sick for about a week.
Soccer - I watched the 2022 World Cup and noticed several times a player would lie down on the field during a free kick. I thought this was weird, but apparently it prevents the kicker from shooting the ball under the wall of players when they jump.
Credit Card - I opened a credit card solely for the purpose of getting the sign-up bonus which equated to two or three free hotel nights depending where you stay. I’ve done this in the past with other credit cards. Get the sign-up bonus and then never use the card again.
House Hunters - This show is pretty old but I recently discovered it. I can watch it for hours. It’s fun to see all the different homes and how couples think during the buying process.
Bill Burr - Definitely my favorite comedian. I began listening to his podcast and it’s so funny. He basically just talks to himself, reads the advertisements, and answers letters people write to him.
Independent - I changed my party affiliation from Democrat to Independent. It’s nothing against Democrats and I’m not leaning hardcore Republican. I find both parties have some good arguments. Though they can both be a bit ridiculous at times.
Michelin Star - My wife and I ate a Michelin Star restaurant in Denmark. It was delicious.
Brutalism - Learned about this style of architecture via a Twitter thread. I never heard about Brutalism but I find it fascinating. There are several brutalist buildings around Baton Rouge.
Dentist - I didn’t have any cavities but I did have tartar stuck in a few of my teeth. I need to floss. I do use mouthwash though. The anti-cavity one.
Rear Ended - Our car was in a rear-end collision. There wasn’t too much damage to the back of the car. Just a dent. The insurance company sent us a check for just under $3,000. We did not fix the car. Deposited it in our bank account and I put most of it in the stock market. High five ✋🏻
Series - Good TV shows I watched: Fleishman Is In Trouble, The Bear, WeCrashed, Severance.
No show - I was filming a wedding and I’m standing near the groom videoing the bride walk down the aisle. The dad hands off the bride to the groom and they are ready to begin. And that’s when we all realize there is no officiant. He never showed up. Someone in the crowd had to officiate the wedding.
Apples - Cosmic Crisp Apples are my favorite. I buy five of them each trip to the grocery.
Walking - I walk to work. My commute is .6 miles or 1.2 miles roundtrip. I usually work four days a week. So that is 4.8 miles I walk each week. A month that is 19.2 miles and a year is 230.4 miles I walk to and from work.
Lost Wallet - I’m at work and I receive a call on my cell. It’s some guy saying he has my wallet. I thought this was a scam. I look for my wallet in my tote bag (pre-fanny pack purchase) and it’s not there. He says he cleans the parking garage and he found it near my car. He then delivered my wallet to me at my work. And he didn’t even want a reward. I tried but he said nope.
Puzzles - My wife and I completed a 1,000 piece puzzle and we had a good time. It took us about a week.
Litter Box - Why does our cat use the litter box right after we clean it? Why?
MRI Scan - I signed up for a few medical trials at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge. One of the trials was a MRI scan. I went three times. Each time I had to lie still in the machine and move a joystick in different directions depending on what was shown on the screen above me. It lasted an hour each time with a 30 minute break. I was paid $50 each visit.
Govt. I.D. - I used my government ID to book a hotel online. I show up at the hotel and the clerk asked for my ID. I forgot it at my apartment. She said I could not get the government rate. So I asked her to Google: Louisiana Legislature, Communications Office, Staff, and there she found a photo of me. She then gave me the government rate.
Mansion - I went to the governor’s mansion twice to take photos. One was for a Senate Democrat Breakfast and the other was for lunch between the Senate President and the Governor.
Window Watcher - From my apartment window, I saw a car park in a “Police Only” area and then shortly after the car received a ticket. About an hour later the car received another ticket. And then shortly after that the car was towed. Also, from my apartment window, I saw someone attempt to parallel park only to hit the car in the front and behind and then give up on trying to park in the spot.
My wife and I completing a 1,000 piece puzzle.