Upon Turning 40
October 2, 2013
It is no coincidence that I began my first book, Living in Yen: How Not to Move to Japan Gracefully, with the sentence, “I celebrated my thirtieth birthday at the NuWay, the best little seedy bar in town.” Today I begin my new blog.
Today is my fortieth birthday.
It was ten years ago that I began my journey as an author, and forty years ago that I began my journey as a human being.
I shall refrain from dispensing advice to authors. They all know what they are doing at least as much as I do, and I still have not learned what any of the F-keys do. Therefore, I do not feel qualified to give advice to other writers based on my slim ten years of experience. (Damn, you’d think I would’ve learned what at least one of the F-keys does in ten years, but sadly, I do not do well with buttons.)
The beginning of this new series of blogs will be my wisdom passed down to those less experienced on this Earth, a few nuggets of my four decades as a rather clumsy homo sapien. Some of it is meant to be funny, and some serious, but all very, very useful:
10.) Floss.
9.) Defy gravity. Jump out of a plane, at least once.
8.) Be nice to your parents. Even if you make fun of them a lot like I do, they know it’s my awkward way of showing love, so they understand. And they damn well better, because they made me like this.
7.) Don’t be afraid of making a commitment to someone, but realize that a commitment should be something YOU want and not what society or anyone else tells you is best. Don’t be so afraid of being single, either. I rather enjoy it, and my four cats couldn’t be happier.
6.) If you’ve been scratching something for over a month, you need to get it looked at.
5.) Be unpredictable sometimes. This could be in the form of flashing your roommate as she’s walking in the door, singing a karaoke song in a Carl Sagan voice, or spontaneously giving a homeless man a hug. The first two are recommended.
4.) Have a good belly laugh at least once a week. Some people need help in this area. If you are one of those, I recommend Judd Apatow movies. Works for me.
3.) Hang out with little kids every chance you get. They may be annoying, and they may have scabies (see #6) but they have incredible insights, and they will make you laugh and bring out facets of unconditional love you never knew you had.
2) If you have a White Trash Cheeseburger at the NuWay in Spartanburg. South Carolina, or any kind of burger that may resemble this, take the next day off. It is no coincidence that this is number two.
1.) If someone leaves this Earth, take comfort in the fact that they are no longer in pain and/or forced to deal with the human experience. Realize that they are not coming back. It sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised to know how long it took me to get this one.
I’m getting ready to go jump out of a plane now (no, seriously, I am!) so I must adjourn for now. This Friday we’ll be heading across the U.S.A. en route to Denver. Cheers, and see you on the road.
susan sistare
October 4, 2013
Birthdays, Carl Sagan, Forty, Japan, Judd Apatow, Living in Yen: How Not to Move to Japan Gracefully, Road Trip, Wisdom
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