So now i'm officially 30. Yep, the big milestone. The kahuna, if you will. You know, i think the reason historically it's such a big deal is that way back when, people didn't even live until 30. They would die young. Thanks to modern civilization, however, we are now blessed (cursed?) with trying to eek out a meaningful life well beyond those years. So 30 is like the mid-point. The median. The "Ok, you're now established. what do you have to show for yourself?" point.

I always had grand plans of things to 'get done' before i turn 30. I wanted the house, the family, the picket fence. I wanted to come home from work to a bunch of children anxiously waiting to see me. A happy wife who was just the bee's knees. A large circle of friends who shared the same interests as i did. I wanted to go skydiving. Go on a hot-air-balloon ride. Climb some big mountain. Start my own company. Create a revolutionary tool used daily around the world. You know, actually ACCOMPLISH something.

By some measures, sure i've done some things. I've got my first son. I have a great career. Lots of friends. But it just doesn't seem like it should. I look at my life, and i don't get the sense of 'satisfaction' one should get. Don't get me wrong. I'm by no means complaining. I have been blessed with many great things in life. And i cherish each one of them. But i guess something's..... missing. Won't there always? I mean, what happens to someone who reaches perfection in their lives? (not that it's even possible) Do they just up and explode? Does God come sweeping down, take you away and say, good job, you win?

I guess life is always supposed to be a struggle. A journey. Towards something... better. You can't reach it, of course. What would be the point? I guess what i'm trying to say is that i just always though i'd be a little bit further along on my journey than i am now.

So i believe that now is the time to stop, look around, and take stock of what is important to you. Take a deep (deep) breath, and jump on into the the next 30 years of your life. You don't know where you're headed, but your car's fueled up, and your seat belt (hopefully) is fastened. You're the driver.

Now drive.

I have 2 Aluminum Alloy 14" Wheels available from a 94' Ford Ranger. For sale on CraigsList.

Why only 2, you may ask? Well, turns out that's all people want these days.

And by people, i mean the ass-wipes who stole my two front wheels in the middle of the night. On a Tuesday. So i come down in the morning at 8am to go to work and BAM! No front wheels. Instead, the car's jacked up, on two lifts (no cinder blocks available, apparently) and the front two wheels are gone. I know, i know. That's what i get. For owning a car that's FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. Not to mention it was parked inside the LOCKED garage underneath my apartment complex. Surrounded by cars easily worth 5 times the value of my truck. But NOOOooo. We want your Ford Ranger Aluminum Alloy 14" wheels. And only the FRONT two.



Spent all day driving around the salvage yards. Picked up 4 cheap-o steel wheels for $100, and two Firestone tires for $50. Paid $20 to have them installed.
Total cost: $170.

Friggin' Ridiculous.

As reported in this Yahoo Story , the FBI is investigating insider trading by the SEC. That's right. Two guys, working for the government run SEC, whose job is to ensure that insider trading doesn't occur, are actually doing it themselves. And now the FBI has to jump in and sort this mess out. Phenomenal. You can't make up this stuff.

Oh, how time flies. Just the other day i was partying it up in the South Bay. And now my boy is 1. Good lord. He is, however, the cutest darn thing you've ever laid your eyes on.
For his birthday, we went back to the same park in Hermosa Beach as last year. Kind of like a lil' reunion. It was a lot of fun. We got to see many people who hadn't seen him ever and that was pretty cool. He wasn't too jazzed about 30 some-odd strangers singing Happy Birthday to him, and the poor thing started to cry. But he quickly recovered, and had a smile on his little cheeks for the rest of the evening. He got a TON of new toys, and he's busily playing with each and every one of them. Carefully examining them, he tries to figure out just what is going on with these things. He's gonna be a great engineer one day, just like his father.
So I figured i'd throw a little Alexander Update in here about what he's doing and where he's goin'.
The big news is that he's walking. His progress really has been astounding over the last two weeks. He's gone from taking a few steps here and there, to being able to walk just fine for minutes on end, and usually only falls when he trips on something, such as a toy. He's getting faster, and i fear the day when the little tyke will be full fledged running. Then not only will Alexander lose all of his baby fat (i call him my little Polish Saussage), but daddy will lose all of his recently gained baby fat chasing the bugger around the apartment & the park. He can now say da da & ma ma. He's stopped waving, but likes doing high-fives. He snorts when he laughs.
Ok, lets do a list of current favorites.

Alexander Loves:
- bananas
- cheese
- tomatoes (oddly enough)
- swinging on the baby swing in the park
- spoons
- pushing Tonka trucks around on the floor
- bath time
- putting rocks in his mouth

Alexander Hates:
- being taken out of the swing in the park (we coin toss to see who takes him out - it's not pretty)
- diaper changes (oh, but daddy loves that... )
- his car seat
- his mouth getting wiped off after meals

It's not too bad of a list. As long as there's more likes than dislikes, i'll consider it a win.

Well, if you were able to make it to his birthday, i hope you had a great time, and thank you for coming!
Check out these pictures from the party.