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OpinionJournal had an interesting comparison of US and Canada, and noted the differences in US attitudes towards the frontier. The phrase "Cowboy Americans" has a different meaning over here, and probably one that foreign observers might not quite understand.
So can they call us cowboys? You bet. Because we are. Our response ought to be that of the Virginian when he was described as a son of a bitch: "When you call me that, smile!"
Let's just say that I am 0x1E years old today (hexadecimal), or 036 (octal). 11110 (binary) years just looks silly. Or (switching back to base-10), I am 10957 days. Or 946,707,779 seconds (at least, I was at 11:20am CST). The big one billion (seconds) is coming up in about a year and a half. That's a lot of candles.
Last year, I said that I would like to do interesting work, learn good stuff in the MBA program, continue to improve my relationships, travel more, improve my house, play my saxophone more, write more, and stay ambitious. I can safely say that I have done interesting work this past year (especially on the Long Range Strike Aircraft and VAATE programs, as well as NexSys work). And the FEMBA program has been very good. I have greatly enjoyed being back in the academic world, and I think that I have learned a lot about being successful in the business world. My relationship with Elizabeth has grown and flourished over the past year, and I can point to that as a success. Unfortunately, my traveling hasn't been as wide-ranged as I would like, nor have I really written or played music as much as I should have.
As my twenties end and my thirties begin, what can I say? I sometimes feel like I've always had the mindset of a thirty-year-old anyway, even as a teenager. Today is a day like any other, and if there are transitions in life or in my character, they tend to happen so slowly that I don't notice them. The past 30 years have been really good, and I have every reason to believe that the next 30 will be as good or better.
The summer intern that I am working with this summer was surprised that I am so happy and smiling on my thirtieth birthday. Why shouldn't I be? I am working towards a good life, doing things that I love.