And here we go again...

It's the twelfth of January, already. How did that happen? We're almost two full weeks into the year, just like that.

This year promises to be a big one, too. I'm not talking about any of you, I mean for me. I was born in 1969 so this is the year I turn 40.

Thank heavens there's a couple of mates who'll hit the big Four-Oh before me ;)
Don't bother clicking their links, the slack buggers haven't updated their Blogs in donkey's :P

40 years old.

Technically I'm already in my 40th year, because each birthday actually celebrates the culmination of another year since you were born. And because I was born on August 30th, and there's just 7 1/2 months until my birthday, if you believe life begins at conception then I'm already over 40 years old.

What have I done during these past 40 years that's actually note worthy?

When I was about 4-5 I fell out of a tree, dropping approximately 15' to the ground where I struck my head on a concrete lawn edging. Oh yes, there was blood.

At maybe 8-10 years old I pushed a basketball out to my little sister and probably saved her from drowning.

As a teenager I won a couple of ribbons for athletics in High School, and even represented my school in an inter-school tournament.

I also finished second in a regional marathon (my first & only), then waited around for the presentation ceremony where I discovered that just as in life, there's no prize for coming in second; you're just the first loser.

At 19 years old I crashed my grandparents' car into a very large tree. The tree survived, the car did not.

At 20 years old I competed in the Victorian State Karate Championships, where I had the dubious distinction of being eliminated by the eventual Winner of my Division. It wasn't really that big of a deal. Just like in Karate Kid, anyone with their Sensei's approval could compete :P

In my late 20s I flew to the U.S. to meet a woman I'd met on the internet. Later we got married, and eventually had two kids.

I also completed my University degree here in the States. I graduated in absentia, but my parents were still proud of me.

And that's been my life, so far.

What haven't I done?

The only goal I set for myself (that I recall) which I never actually accomplished was to race Puffing Billy.

I also don't own a classic (pre-70's) Ford Mustang, but there's still time for that ;)

Oh, I also never became a millionaire by 30 years of age, because the system I had for betting on Horse Races worked brilliantly in the data gathering stages, but failed miserably when it was actually put into practice.