March, in A Nutshell

Part of the problem is that, in order for me to be inspired to post something, there has to be something going on in my life worth posting about. There has not been that much to speak of this month. As you know, I withdrew from the credential program for a variety of reasons. Over the last month I have, at various times, felt both good and bad about that decision.

I've been subbing fairly regularly this month, teaching classes ranging from Kindergarten to AP Biology at South Pasadena High School. It's been going fairly well, although there are some classes that are better than others. I'm sure that I have all sorts of interesting stories to tell about my experiences subbing but, since I waited so long to post, I'm not going to write about them all now. So, you'll just have to take it for granted that I have had interesting experiences subbing this past month.

As it happens, I turned thirty this month. I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it. My life is nothing like I pictured it would be at the age of thirty. As a child, I thought I'd have it all together and everything would have fallen into place by now. I never imagined that I'd be just as confused as ever.

Out of curiosity, I decided to do some research and see what other people had accomplished at or around the age of thirty.

In 1990, at the age of thirty, Jason Alexander appeared on the first episode of Seinfeld, which would later become one of the most successful television shows of all time.

In 1804, at the age of thirty, Merriwether Lewis led the Corps of Discovery on a two year journey to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. He did this after having already served as President Jefferson's personal secretary.

In 1594, at the age of thirty, William Shakespeare had already established himself as a successful and respected poet and, in December of that year, produced and staged his first play, The Comedy of Errors, in London.

In 1736, at the age of thirty, Benjamin Franklin became clerk of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the next year was appointed deputy postmaster of Philadelphia. This was after he had successfully established the first public library in America, and had already been publishing Poor Richard's Almanac for four years.

In 1947, at the age of thirty, John F. Kennedy was serving as the Congressman from the 11th Congressional District of Massachusetts. This was after having survived the sinking of his boat by the Japanese in the South Pacific during World War II by swimming to a small island that was three miles away.

Those are all things that I have failed to do by the age of thirty. I have not starred on a television show, written any plays, founded any public libraries, explored any wild frontiers, or been elected to Congress.

So...I celebrated my birthday on the night of March 19 with several friends at the Red Lion Tavern in Silver Lake. It was fun...but while I was inside the restaurant celebrating the day of my birth, some more-than-likely coked up thief decided that it would be a good time to smash the passenger window of my vehicle and steal all my possessions from the inside of my car. The first time in my life that I was the victim of a crime and it happened to be on my thirtieth birthday. It was pretty upsetting, to be sure.

But, I guess I can take comfort in knowing that Ben Franklin's car was never burglarized on his birthday.