So today I turn 35!  What did ya get me? 🙂

I never really think much about my birthday.  Since it falls in between Christmas and New Years, it just sorta gets lost in the end of the year holiday shuffle.  This year, for whatever reason, I’m thinking more about it.  Where I am in life, where I want to be, and what I need to do to make it happen.  Also, at the same time, looking back.  Esquire Magazine runs a column every month where they interview somebody called, “What I’ve learned…” It’s always interesting to me what people say.  So, bear with me for this entry, as I tell you what I’ve learned, and hopefully keep it interesting for you…

Knees won’t last forever.  I’m not sure if bad knees are hereditary or I just abuse mine, but I’m not sure how much longer mine will go before they just totally give out on me.

Love will only get you so far.  You need to actually like the person you are with.  I think that is why Dana and I get along so well.  She’s my best friend, and I really do like to spend time with her.

I’m not Indiana Jones with a camera as I thought I would be when I was 16.  I’m not traveling thru some jungle working for National Geographic.  Most of my work consists of working in a confined studio space taking pictures of things that do not move.  Some days it can be a bit boring, but I do get to sleep in my own bed every night.

I’m a bar person, not a club person.  Give me a couple drinks in a nice quiet place with some good friends and I’m there.  As much as I like loud music in my car, or when I’m working, it drives me up a wall trying to have a conversation with people if I feel like I have to yell at them.

Proper planning prevents piss-poor performance.  I’m not sure where I heard this first.  It might have been my dad when I was a kid, but I heard it again the other day and it could not be more true.

I don’t really mind the gray hairs on top of my head.  They’ve slowly been creeping in since I was 23.  It’s the gray hairs in my goatee that bug me.

I’m still completely in awe of how far technology has come in my lifetime.  On Christmas day, we were in Arizona with Dana’s family, but yet, I turned on video Skype on my laptop too see my family 800 miles away.  Just amazing to me still!

Facebook is still wild to me.  It’s fun to see what happened to people I knew from 20-25 years ago.  On the flip side, sometimes people you didn’t like from high school always tend to want to be your friend.  My memory is still pretty good about a lot of stuff.  Obviously, theirs is not!

I don’t hold grudges and I’m not a violent guy.  However, there are a couple people, that if I ever run into them, I will punch them in the face. 🙂

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve received lately comes from Don Draper on “Mad Men”.  He said, “Always move forward.”  I try to do this everyday.  Moving forward keeps you from getting stuck.

And since ya’ll love the pics.  Here is one that Dana shot at me last time we were in New Orleans…

Jeff