Thhh thhh Thiiirty

Many of my friends have already turned the BIG 3-0 and amazingly enough, they survived!  I always thought thirty was SO old, but now that it's days away, I am one of those dumb fools proclaiming that 30 is the new 20.  No people, 30 is still 30 and most of us are pretty much old farts by the time we turn 30.  OK, so maybe not most of us, as many of my friends are still partying, drinking, smoking and enjoying the club scene well into their thirties.  However, they are few and far between.

Some of you are reading this and think I am nuts.  You are probably in your thirties.  The rest of you probably think I have a very valid reason to be afraid.  Let me clarify a few things.  It's not that you start to have less fun in your thirties but your priorities often shift and it's a completely different type of fun.  Now that I am married and with a baby, I enjoy simple things like spending time at the beach with Violet, Gene and our families. Previously my beach experience always included booze and a friendly game of chicken, where I would not only hope to win, but I would strive to get bonus points by mutilating my opponent.  Life sure has changed.  I thought it would be fun to put together a sample day of life in my (early) 20s and 30s (today).

6:00 AM 20's: come home

6:00 AM 30's: wake up and feed Violet

8:00 AM 20's: sleep

8:00 AM 30's: wake up, make coffee, change Violet, boot up work email

8:30 - 3:00 PM 20's: sleep

8:30 - 3:00 PM 30's: work, play with Violet, work, feed Violet, work, change Violet, etc.

3:00 PM 20's: wake up and contemplate between breakfast or a beer

3:00 PM 30's: work, play with Violet, work, feed Violet, work, play with Violet, etc.

3:30 PM 20's: settle on a beer and some TV

3:30 PM 30's: realize I haven't eaten yet and grab a piece of fruit from the fridge

4:00 PM 20's: watch more TV

4:00 PM 30's: go for a walk with Violet 

6:00 PM 20's: man, there sure is a lot to watch on TV.  Have another beer? Sure! 

6:00 PM 30's: come home with Violet and spend the next hour or so reading, playing and talking

7:00-8:30 PM 20's: begin calling/texting everyone I know to try to see what everyone is up to that night

7:00-8:30 PM 30's: bathe Violet, feed her and put her to bed

8:30 PM 20's: pre-game

8:30 PM 30's: start cooking dinner

9:30 PM 20's: start getting ready to go out

9:30 PM 30's: start getting ready to go to sleep

10:30 PM 20's: get picked up to go to bar, club, etc.

10:30 PM 30's: watch '24' in bed with the sound off (long story)

11:00 PM 20's: arrive at first bar and enjoy a vodka cranberry

11:00 PM 30's: sleep

1:00 AM 20's: arrive at my second or third bar and enjoy my third or fourth vodka and cranberry

1:00 AM 30's: arrive at my second or third dream

3:30 AM 20's: pound another vodka and cranberry before last call

3:30 AM 30's: wake up to give Violet her pacifier which she lost mid-sleep

4:00 AM 20's: head to a local diner for some disco fries!

4:00 AM 30's: zzzzz....

6:00 AM 20's: arrive home

6:00 AM 30's: day begins again

Now, you might be thinking that the 30s are a complete snoozefest in comparison to the lively 20's but luckily human beings are designed to enjoy each phase of their life in a different way.  Sure there a lot fewer vodka and cranberries in my 30's, but also a lot fewer hangovers.