And the day after Halloween...

[LMNO]

So, here we are.  Halloween, 2012.  In a few hours, it will be midnight, and I'll officially be 40 years old.  Or, it will be the fifth anniversary of my 35th birthday.  Depends on my mood, really.

Perhaps this might sound melodramatic, but I honestly could never picture myself at 40 when I was younger.  Little boys playing at Nihilism, I suppose, but sometimes I didn't think I'd make it.  Or, maybe it's that I didn't know what I wanted, so I didn't know what to envision.

Certainly, I had no idea I'd end up at a major financial/insurance company when I was 19.  Or even at 23.  Or 28.  It was an inexorable pull of events that led me from driving trucks around Boston to mastering regulations and processes revolving around a small section of the tax code... hey, wake up.

One thing I WAS sure I'd be doing at forty is making and playing music.  I'm in two great bands, and working on a third.  I've been lucky enough to study audio engineering, and I manage to carve out enough time in my day to keep those skills fresh.  Music has been such a large part of my life for so long, I don't see any possible way I could give it up. 

I've also been amazed at the amount of awesome people I've managed to meet so far.  They've come from all over, and managed to go all over once again.  They've shaped my life, my music, and my ideas.  They've ranged from squatting punkers to Entomologist post-grads, artists to software developers, DJs to tech writers.  When I look back at the line of friends I've made, the one thing that stands out is that they've all been INTERESTING.  And that's the best you can hope for.

But the biggest and best part of these forty years for me is the person who has been with me for over a third of them.  She's been there through the craziness, through the boring bits, through two apartments and a condo; and she's always had my back, encouraging me when I was down, and laughing with me when I was happy.  She's someone with whom I can go on adventures, and we've had our fair share of that.  I'm incredibly lucky she agreed to marry me.

So never mind the grey hairs, the strange aches, or the desk job.  In the past forty years, I've made friends, I've recorded albums – hell, I even self published a book – and I found someone who can love me for who I am.  So, yeah.  It's been a good life so far.  I think I'll stick around for more.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Well said sir. Happy early birthday to you as well.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Happy birthday.

And may I just add, being 40 was supposed to happen to other people.  EVERYONE feels that way.

On the other hand, it's far easier to get idiots to take you seriously at this age.

[Mangrove]

Congratulations on your 40th. I'm glad you've got such a good perspective on it. I'm soon to be approaching this particular 'milestone' or 'exit ramp' depending on your mood.  If someone told 20 year old me "In 20 years you will be married, living in a different country and running your own business" I would've thought them entirely out of their mind.

[Freeky]

Happy anniversary of being 35.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Happy being 1.9% as old as Jesus.

[LMNO]

Happy being 1.9% as old as Jesus.

I like this one.

[Eater of Clowns]

When the FABULOUS turned 40,
they partied the night, they drank the day.
When the FABULOUS turned 40,
they were a sight, they're born to play.
On the day the FABULOUS turned 40.

When the FABULOUS turned 40,
we were all astir, we were up in arms.
When the FABULOUS turned 40,
we were a blur, we were all charms.
On the day the FABULOUS turned 40.

When the FABULOUS turned 40,
so many infected, so quick to spread.
When the FABULOUS turned 40,
safety neglected, such wondrous dread.
On the day the FABULOUS turned 40.

When the FABULOUS turned 40,
with all reborn as something gay.
When the FABULOUS turned 40,
who knew life could be this way?
On the day the FABULOUS turned 40.

And the FABULOUS turned 40,
woke to victory flags unfurled.
And the FABULOUS turned 40,
into a post-greyface world.
On the day the FABULOUS turned 40.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Happy 40, LMNO! And remember, when you turn 40, you're starting a whole new decade, which means that you get to say "early 40's" for the next 5 years!

[Richter]

70 is the new 40, so NPR has told me.  Happy Bday dude.

[Luna]

Have a happy one, and, don't worry...  40 isn't so bad, I swear.

[Suu]

You were born on All Souls Day? SWEET!

[Don Coyote]

I hate both of you, taking the cool birthdays before I got born.

[Phox]

Happy... err... Whatever-You-Call-The-Day-On-Which-A-Cosmic-Horror-Emerged-From-The-Blackness-Of-Oblivion day.

[East Coast Hustle]

Happy Goddamn Birthday, L.

And congratulations on a life well lived so far.