arbitrary constant

I am 30 today. To acknowledge and celebrate this milestone, I thought it would be interesting to reflect on some of the things I've achieved so far, which I've therefore listed below.

• I have grown very close to 6ft 5in tall. Unfortunately, of late, I have also grown horizontally. My right foot remains half a size bigger than my left
• I once baked a cheesecake for my wife for Valentine's Day. Despite the recipe clearly stating otherwise, I thought I was making one like you get out of a freezer at a supermarket, but it was actually a proper cheesecake
• I used to be able to play the right hand of (admittedly, only at half the speed you're supposed to play it)
• I decided very early on that pairing socks after washing them was a poor use of time. I believe I have been proved right on this, and commend the idea to you all
• I can differentiate any equation in any number of variables you give me. I also have extensive knowledge of most maths and physics formulae, extending well beyond F=ma
• Having had the same 14" television since starting university, I successfully lobbied my wife for a flatscreen television. It only took 6 years.
• I have learnt not to alphabetize my books
• I taught myself HTML and created a 404 page that remains the most popular on my site (and which you can see here)
• I have thrown a 180, the proof of which is here. Even having achieved this sporting milestone, I haven't yet broken 80 on the golf course and I only got mighty close to making a century at snooker
• I have gradually added to the list of DIY activities that I intend to do only once. The list so far includes wallpapering, sanding and tiling
• I could - and probably still can - quote most of Wayne's World
• I successfully heckled Bill Bailey, in a positive and constructive way
• Amongst much competition, I have established a firm favourite when it comes to take away food. That favourite is pizza, of which I consider myself to be a connoisseur
• I can get drunk quite quickly but maintain my drinking levels for a considerable amount of time after reaching a drunk state. Also, I can't imagine I was the one who came up with the idea of a pint with a double vodka and lemonade top, but it sure hinted at a creative nature I never knew I had
• I once became so familiar with a piece of software that I knew at least two shortcuts for it that required three fingers
• I have sewn on buttons to more than one shirt. I also owned a shirt that had the name "Jim" on it, despite this not being my name
• I have always been very good at noticing when a woman has had her haircut, and making appropriately complimentary comments
• I successfully established that OK Computer is better than The Bends, and have corrected many people who wrongly thought otherwise

If I think of anything else, I may well add to this list. But I reckon that's pretty good going for 30. It's not like Charles Dickens had written Oliver Twist by the time he was 27 or anything.

Filed in Personal and tagged 30, charlesdickens, old, personal, richw