On the Eve of My 32nd Birthday

Thursday marks yet another birthday for me, and it is a non-milestone birthday at that. As far as I know, there aren’t any special privileges bestowed on someone when they reach the still young age of 32. Maybe we should try and start something.

All in all, my 32nd year of life was pretty uneventful. Last year at this time, I was packing up my Alexandria apartment in preparation of a return to the state of my birth. I had a freelance writing gig lined up and everything seemed fairly peachy keen.

The first few weeks of January were spent saying goodbye to as many folks as I could before leaving Connecticut, my home away from home for 10 of the previous 10 1/2 years, not counting the two months in New Jersey and eleven months in Kuwait/Iraq. It was tough to leave, because of the many friends and memories I would be leaving behind, but it was also time to move on from that phase in my life. Ultimately, the bad memories outweighed the good, and I spent the next week on a little journey across this great nation of ours.

February dawned with me living at home trying to make it as a writer. I was doing alright, though the living at home thing helped as my living expenses were dramatically reduced. I also had to deal with the foreclosure action against my condo back in Connecticut, something that destroyed a solid Connecticut relationship in the process. I decided that April would be a month where I wouldn’t turn down a date, only to have my friends fail me in lining stuff up. Internet dating was next on the agenda, which was met with mixed results.

April blended into May with no real advancement on the writing front; as much as I wanted to be a successful writer, it just wasn’t happening as readily as I wanted it to. May also marked the arrival of a health scare in my family, as my pops was diagnosed with prostate cancer at a very early stage. Subsequent checkups through the year have been better than expected, and it appears that everything will be alright. With my father now 70 years old, it did cause me to pause a moment and reflect on my life, as well as give me a  reason to seriously do something about my health.

I began to look for a part-time job, one that would allow me to continue to write “full-time,” but nothing came of this. Fortunately, a friend was looking for some help at his job in the accounting department, but it was only full-time. In need of a steadier stream of income, I opted to take the job and try to write part-time, which has so far seen mixed results.

A trip back to Connecticut in July for the wedding of some dear friends made me momentarily question my decision to return home. Had I abandoned Connecticut to quickly for the ease and comfort of my parents’ basement? Would I be happier playing wingman to Al on weekends while talking stocks with Shawn during the day? Obviously, I returned home, intent on making my life in Utah better. Connecticut will always have a place in my heart but I don’t think it will ever be my home again.

August brought the addition of my super wonderful niece Samilya into my heart and life, though the lack of children in the second Eberhard generation is still lacking. I am hopeful that Lance, Malcolm, and Samilya will one day experience the joy of another cousin provided by The Next Mrs. Eberhard, but one step at a time.

In September, I announced my intention to lose 32 pounds by tomorrow, a goal that I will be woefully short of. However, I have big plans for next year on the weight-loss front, so keep following along to see what the next big plan is. September blends into October, and with it another unsuccessful foray into internet dating, and a crush on the lovely Joss Wheelin of Wasatch Roller Derby, another crush in a long string that won’t result in anything. October also brought the end of the presidential campaign, leading to the eventual landslide reelection of President Obama, a man I proudly voted for though all my state’s electoral votes ended up with the other guy.

November also brought about finally figuring out what I want to do when I grow up as I turned my focus to getting into grad school next year with a long-term goal of becoming a financial planner. I take the GMAT for the first (and hopefully only) time next Thursday, and will spend most of January getting my applications together.

Which brings us to December, the month of my birth. All in all, my 32nd year on this planet wasn’t bad, and I’ve had much worse 12 month periods of my life (see November 2008-2009). Nevertheless, it sets a nice benchmark as the first year spent back in Utah and what I need to improve upon going into my 33rd year. Over the next few weeks, expect to see posts on what I expect to accomplish in 2013 and beyond, which will hopefully be filled with all sorts of greatness from yours truly. In the meantime, thanks in advance for all the birthday wishes I’m sure to get tomorrow.

Until next time…