27

I am 27-years-old today. I am now officially, and by my own standards, in my late 20’s. There is no going back. There is only going forward. But what does that entail? For this year, I wanted to document my own thoughts and experiences. I had actually forgot to factor in the fact that I would be turning 27 this year.

The first thing I did today was go to Zov’s Bistro in Tustin with my parents. My uncle, Jon, met up with us at the restaurant. It was a great meal, though I got short ribs off the bone, when I had thought I had ordered actual ribs. But the food was still delicious.

As a gift, my parents had gotten a cool drawing my friend, Amy, had done of me as a vampire. It was an amazing looking piece, and the frame made it look more official than it had ever looked laying on my desk. I’m a fan of her art already, so it only got the presentation it deserved.

After I got home, I was hit with the realization that I had planned very little for my birthday. I had let my family have first dibs on any plans, but we were already scattered as is with other stuff. So it was something of a blessing that Justin had called to invite over to his mom/nephew’s birthday shindig. Apparently everybody who is anybody is having their birthday in May. Which makes early September the month for lovers. (Do the math from September to May).

I hung out at Justin’s place, talking and partaking of the Filipino hospitality of a plethora of food. At one point we headed out to Borders to catch up on gift giving for the next day. While at Border’s, Jamal called me to see if Justin and I were up to anything. Justin had to head back home for the post-hospitality clean-up. But I was free and headed to Jamal’s. While at Jamal’s place, we grabbed some Del Taco and watched Up In The Air.

Up In The Air was a really good movie, though that was no surprise with Jason Reitman as the Director. He impressed me with Thank You For Smoking, blew me away with Juno, and he didn’t let me down with this movie in the slightest. George Clooney was incredibly charming in this role, Vera Farmiga was sexy and painfully human, and Anna Kendrick was able to get more out her role than I had originally thought was there.

The part that really stuck with me about this movie, was the question of legacies and relationships. The fear of being alone was in direct conflict with the fear of losing one’s freedom. It really brought to the forefront all the contradictory beliefs we all hold self-evident, but in the end, it comes down to what we really want. And that sometimes, the happiness we derive from the things we do, and the way we act, really can’t stand up to intense scrutiny.

So what path do you choose? Is there really only one way to happiness.

The movie was hitting me in a lot of other ways, thanks to the fact that I got older today. Am I the person I want to be? I think I am, in a lot of aspects. The way I handle myself, and the relationships I have with people are things that I’m honestly proud of. My friends are some of the few things that I think I’ve done a good job on. So thank you, for that.

But career and money wise… I have a hell of a lot of paths I need to blaze to make that work the way I need it to.

Topics of Conversation: The future, words said in an alcohol and meds induced haze, geeked out, psyched out, freaked out, subtle office humor, 270 days of travel, a long night and morning of adventure, etc.

-Nate