It’s a quiet, damp spring here in the DC area. It rained last night and early this morning, tapering off just as I was starting to wake up. That’s one of my favorite ways to be greeted in the morning, the sound of raindrops gently tapping on the sidewalks and window panes.

For the first time in a week, my car is actually a metallic blue once again. It’s been a ruddy shade of green or even yellow with the amount of pollen covering it as of late, and my head actually feels a tiny bit clearer even though there’s still a lot of pollen in the air.

Even though it’s merely cool and not cold outside, I’ve broken out the tea and am enjoying sipping it out of a new mug—a gift from Matt during his stay. A good friend of mine has a ritual every Saturday morning involving meeting a friend first thing in the morning for coffee and the crossword puzzle at a favorite coffee shop. I love the idea of having that sort of regular stop in one’s life, that familiar like-clockwork get-together friends. I have that in a limited form; the Tuesday and Thursday night Pacers runs when I manage to get out there (something that’s been slack in 2007), the weekend long runs during marathon training season, or years ago my regular Monday or Friday night dinners with a group of friends.

For now, though, I can pretend it’s still part of winter and that means my mug of green tea that is slowly drank over the course of an hour while sitting at my desk. The mug may be knew, but everything else is comfortable and the way I like it.

It’s a really nice day. I wish they could all be this good.

Ah yes, a glimpse from way back when it was in the 70s and not the 30s. You know… Thursday.

Oh look, what time of year is it? Why, it’s the time of year when Greg’s birthday is rapidly approaching. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not one to fear the actual moment of being a year older, or someone finding himself looking in the mirror every morning to see if liver spots have started to materialize. But it is the time of year when I try to figure out what the heck I’m doing for my birthday, and wonder if I should really even bother.

Part of the problem is that when you have a lot of friends, you might want to invite them all. This is a great thing when you’ve got a huge house with which to entertain. Not so much in a 580 square-foot apartment. A couple of months ago two friends offered up their home for a birthday party and I ended up turning them down. I’m not entirely sure why, to be honest. It was an extremely generous offer (and their rowhouse in DC is fantastic, I’m very appreciative of it) but it just didn’t feel right for some reason. So instead I keep running through the different options (small group of friends over at my place, medium group of friends out for dinner, large group of friends out for dinner at somewhere that could accomodate them) and none of them are jumping out at me.

I think part of the problem is that (my own) birthday parties actually stress me out. Not just the planning, but the actual having them. Is everyone having a good time? Have I spent time with everyone? What’s going on over there that I need to take care of? Are the people at the other end of the table feeling slighted? (This is usually the point where it’s pointed out that I really spend too much time worrying about other people.) Meanwhile, it’s now less than four weeks from the actual day in question so I need to get my act together if I’m to plan anything.

That said, I’m half-contemplating doing absolutely nothing for my birthday this year. Or at best, something really, really low key. (Picking a bar for Saturday night, telling people to show up if they feel like it, and calling it a day. At least DC is smoke-free these days.) Turning 34 is hardly a big exciting event, and not doing anything for it relieves a lot of the pressure and stress and trying to draw lines on who to invite when potential guest lists are three times as long as could be accomodated no matter where I would want to go. Except, of course, for the potential, “What was I thinking?” moment when my birthday rolls around and nothing is planned for it.

There are certainly more important things to get stressed out over than one’s own birthday party, but I think I spent a good half-hour in bed last night flipping around under the covers and trying to think of what to do. (It’s a pity the weather in late March is so unpredictable because every year for a split second the idea of a picnic tied into the kite festival is always raised. Then I’m reminded that the reason why the kite festival is that weekend has to do with high velocity winds. Yeah, not so good.) My life in a nutshell, really.

At least I’m not actually freaked out by the idea of being older. Can you imagine a combination of the two issues? Yikes. I’d have to be sedated for the month of March!

What’s that? There’s a holiday today?

I kid, of course. And for someone who has never, ever, ever been dating/seeing/partnered with someone on Valentine’s Day (it’s a gift!), I actually kind of like the holiday.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s hideously over-marketed by all sorts of companies using it for personal gain and there’s far too much pressure on people for it to be an absolutely fantastic, overly extravagant day. I know all that, and just like every single holiday there are negatives to go with the positives.

But here’s what I do like about Valentine’s Day. I like the idea of a holiday where the stated purpose has become over the years to tell someone else how much you love them. You know, that sounds like a great reason to have a holiday. Hell, we should have Valentine’s Day every month. (Yes, I know that’s missing the point.) It’s sort of like Christmas where a lot of people I know talk about the over-commercialization of it, and I agree. But there are other aspects of the holiday for me (getting together with my family) that make me happy.

Anyway, as someone who is single every year when mid-February hits, I wasn’t celebrating it with a boyfriend (although I suppose now that I think about it I did have it with a loved one of a different sort). I continued last year’s tradition of cooking a good dinner. This time my friend Dave K. came over and I made white chili, plus cinnamon bread pudding with vanilla ice cream on top. Dave was super-sweet and brought over flowers and a box of chocolates. He says he never did that for anyone ever before. I dunno, I think he’s a pro at that sort of thing. He’s one of the friends that more and more I’m realizing how fortunate I am to have in my life.

It was a really nice evening; just hanging out with a good and important friend, talking about all sorts of things, and relaxing. And tomorrow I fly off to Los Angeles and don’t come back until next Tuesday to boot. (Warm weather, you better be waiting for me.)

So, that was Valentine’s Day for me. I hope everyone feels loved today by someone.

A friend mentioned recently that 2007 has been an introspective year for himself and I completely understand. So far this year has been a strange combination of bad and good news, and with each revelation or turn in life, I find myself examining who I am anew.

Sometimes, though, it doesn’t take good or bad news to really get me to think, but rather observing how others are living. My friend Cynthia, for instance, mentioned recently that she just bought a ticket to Burning Man. She also gave an update on the blacksmithing classes that she’s taking here in the DC area. Yes, that’s right, blacksmithing. Whenever I hear about her (or others) doing things like that, my first thought is something along the lines of, How cool is that? That then it segues into the next thought, specifically, And what are you doing with your life, Greg?

It’s easy to get complacent. A level of comfort brings that about; go to work each morning, meet running groups three times a week, hang out with some friends, rinse, repeat. I look at what new things I’ve really added into my life lately and so far it’s a cycling class on Wednesday nights. Wow. Add in buying a yoga mat at Marshall’s on Saturday in an effort to try the “Basic Yoga” DVD and we are talking about one riveting time.

On the plus side, it’s not like I’m not having fun. But I do often wonder where I’m going and how I’m spending my time. The start of this year reminded me that time is fleeting, and in some ways I can’t help but think that it’s going to be the theme (so to speak) for this year. That second chance might not swing back around. There are some things I need to give a whirl sooner rather than later.

Of course, we’ll see how that actually goes; the best of intentions and all that. And until I’m truly committed and doing something, I like to keep my mouth shut. It’s the same theory that is applied to the first couple dates with someone; I don’t tell people not because it’s going to make me fail, but rather because if it’s something that doesn’t happen then I don’t want people to keep asking. (Nothing can hammer home regret or disappointment better than 200 repetitions of, “How’s that [insert activity] coming along?” “I didn’t do it.” I’ll at least save that for the things that actually had some initial momentum.) So when there’s something that is actually getting accomplished, I’ll let you all know. In the meantime, I’m certainly thinking about quite a few. And that’s a start.