96.

That’s how many posts I’ve published to O-HI-30 since its birth on May 18, 2014.  Admittedly, over half of those were written in year 1, and all except one were written before 2016.  You could argue that I don’t blog anymore – after all, a post every few months does hardly a blogger make.  But that number – 96!  It’s just so temptingly close to 100.  I can’t resist the desire to hit that number, to be able to say, “I’ve written 100 blog posts”.  How cool would that be?!

So here I find myself once more, on a gloomy, unseasonably cold Sunday afternoon, with the desire to write.  But what does one write about when so much time has passed?  I have a few themed posts in my head, on subjects such as my yoga practice, thoughts on growing older while working in a young industry, and women’s body image issues, all of which I hope to someday put down on paper.  But since it has been so long, I thought it would be more fun to share five random thoughts floating around my mind.  I hope you enjoy the randomness!

1.  Celebrating
Although I’ve been telling everyone from my Northstar teammates to my dentist to my yoga instructor that I’m 32 for the past few months, I won’t officially celebrate the anniversary of my sweet sixteen (and this blog) until Wednesday.  As Ash says, I’m the only person over the age of 21 that actually adds years to her birthday!  What can I say, I guess I just like to get used to the idea months in advance.  Hey, world, I’m 32!

To celebrate, my friends and I dined at an old group favorite: Haiku.  It’s hardly what I’d consider my favorite restaurant anymore, but years of celebrating over big sushi platters and sake bombs have solidified it as our #1 place to laugh as a big group.  There were 13 of us in total, 14 if you include four-week old Oliver, Sarah and Chris’ newborn, who was a perfect angel and slept on Dad’s chest (and Jackie’s) throughout all of dinner.  The highlight of the night, aside from taking group sake bombs and writing filthy haikus, was this amazing rice-krispie treat cake that Jackie made and the wait staff presented while the table sang Happy Birthday:

She’s made penis-shaped cakes for plenty a bachelorette party, but this cat takes the cake if you ask me! (pardon the pun).

Following dinner, some of us headed to a nearby swanky cocktail bar, where I slowly sipped my first-ever manhattan.  A few months of sipping whiskey sours at work to “quality check” them has made me realize that maybe I do like whiskey – or at least could grow to like it in my “older age”.  Zane was all the happier to indulge my new interest and ordered me this manhattan, the best part of which was the cherry, obviously.  Thanks, friends, for celebrating with me!

2.  Ironing
One of less desirable aspects of working as a restaurant manager, aside from long hours and having to pin my bangs back, is the fact that I have to wear a button-down to work.  Aside form just not looking very cute, it requires me to iron.  I absolutely despise ironing.  It takes so much time, and to make matters worse, I”m not even very good at it – five minutes on one shirt and it can look not much better than if I hadn’t taken the time to set up the board and plug in the iron at all.  But luckily, I have a smart boss who introduced me to the world of paying-someone-else-to-do-your-ironing.  Genius!  Why had I not thought of this before?!  So now, I take my shirts to a nearby cleaner to have them do the dirty work.  At $4 a pop, it’s not cheap, but man is it worth it.

And the best part?  I started bringing my own hangers!  I hate those cheap metal ones, and would always take the time to remove them and re-hang the shirts on nice velvet hangers, which was obviously annoying, plus resulted in a ton of leftover wire hangers.  The dry-cleaner was more than happy to use them – it saves them money in wire hangers – and it’s so much easier just to stick them in my closet now.  Try it yourself!

3.  Tires
Along the same lines, another life hack:  the amazing new air pumps at Giant Eagle Get-Go!  One of my car tires seems to leak air at a ridiculously fast rate (note to self:  Ask Dad about this…), and requires air about every two weeks.  This was a task I avoided like the plague until I discovered the amazing air pump at the Giant Eagle Get-Go on 3rd.  The pump is fully automated, so all you have to do is enter your desired PSI (35 for me) and plug the tube into your tire.  The pump will make a beeping noise when the tire is full, and you can move onto the next tire.  Easy-peasy!

4.  Updates
Having lived in the same apartment for almost as long as the cast of Friends lived in theirs, it’s no wonder that I occasionally have the desire to make some updates.  While on vacation in March, my landlord made a number of updates, including these amazing adult-looking blinds that replaced my shitty metal ones.

I also bought this new rug (which Susan loves) and a real bed (which Susan also loves) to replace my headboard.  I may still be renting, but heck, I’m an adult!  Maybe next I’ll buy new silverware…#noweddingregistryneeded

5.  Book
I just finished Curtis Sittenfield’s Eligible, a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and LOVED it!  I haven’t been this obsessed with a book since my Florida vacation last summer.  I found myself hoping for a wait at the doctor’s office so I could sneak in a few minutes of reading.  I read in the mornings, while eating, even while blow-drying my hair!  I didn’t love the ending (won’t say anything more to avoid spoilers), but I still thoroughly enjoyed this book.  If you enjoy a good love story that is well-written and accurate to the world of today’s dating, I highly recommend.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading!  Next up – posts #98, 99, and 100!