Happy Birthday to me

I turn 28 today. I feel like this is a bit of a nothing birthday - much like 26 and 27. 25 was kind of a big deal for being a quarter of a century, the point where any decent batsman has made a start and should go on to have a good innings, and I imagine 29 will start feeling like a countdown to the big three O. But 28? What really happens? I feel much like I did last night (only no longer tipsy).

But I am always given to overthinking things, and I couldn't help but spend some time reflecting on the merits, or lack thereof, of turning 28. On the downside, I am no longer eligible to go on Australian Idol. On the upside, there is no longer any risk of me ever going on Australian Idol. It's an unusual birthday this one, planted as I am on the other side of the planet, where October is when it gets cold instead of the usual introduction to the looming summer, surrounded by about 500 new acquaintances, very few of whom, with the exception of the facebook (ab)users, have any idea that it is my birthday. I would imagine that this year, we will not consume entire cartons of beer, cut holes in them and use them as pretend Ned Kelly helmets while throwing coins at each other, nor will we be getting out the BBQ, then catching the ferry in to the city, only to be ejected for drinking too much mango juice. Even a night of headbanging in a Czech night club seems out of the question. So it won't be like previous birthdays.

I might go out and eat some unspeakable part of an animal, then wait an hour for my main course, and then sit around waiting for the waitress to come and take a dessert order, which I don't want but was already included in the price, and then wait another thirty minutes to get served. By the time the bill comes, it won't even by my birthday anymore. Or I might have birthday drinks at a bar somewhere and start them off at 11pm, to keep in time with the locals.

Of course, a birthday is always a good time to reflect on that whole 'what am I doing with my life' question. For the first time in four birthdays that question doesn't start with 'should I quit my job', which is a good thing. Unfortunately it starts with 'OMG I don't have a job', which is not so good. But the advantage of being back in full time education is that I feel justified in not thinking about being unemployed for a while, so I've turned my mind to other things.

I said that I don't feel like the countdown to 30 really begins until 29, but even at 28 I couldn't help but start thinking about one of those 'things to do before I turn 30' lists. I started with the inevitable comparing to people of my age who seem to have achieved a lot more. Fortunately, looking at the sports stars is not as depressing as it used to be. While its still a little weird that at 28, sports stars are considered to be on the downhill (anyone heard from Ian Thorpe lately?), at least I am confidant that I didn't run the risk of peaking too early. I am fairly sure that 4 years oat the bottom of the pecking order in a couple of mid tier professional services firms does not represent the peak. Less good is the fact that, at INSEAD, there seem to be quite a few people running around who have started companies or done other impressive things by my age. I started a company once too of course, but I don't think Sydney BBQ Boats will go down in the annals of good decisions ever made.

So its best to leave work related achievements aside for a while and concentrate on other things I'd like to do before I turn 30. During another interminable accounting lecture last week (how you can devote eight weeks to the difference between cash, income and assets remains a mystery to me) I made a list of all the countries I'd been to. I was mildly annoyed at the confederates for losing the Civil War and depriving me of a couple of extra countries (who knows how many we could have ended up with), but still surprised that the count came in at 37, with the criteria of spending more than just a few hours transit in the country (so a boat ride to the Argentine side of Iguazu Falls didn't make it, but a day trip to Tijuana was enough to count Mexico).

It is of course completely absurd to aim to visit countries for the simple sake of racking up numbers, but being in Europe does provide a chance to start boosting that number quite efficiently. A weekend trip will easily be enough to tick off Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg (I will have to find a reason to stop in Luxembourg) in one go. I still want to check out both Denmark and Norway, and when things warm up again, Krakow, Budapest and St Petersburg should be doable in a weekend each. That would be 45, and a quick trip to Eastern Africa, where I still want to see Kilimanjaro, gorillas and the massai, and I'd be getting pretty close to 50. Then I could become the ultimate travelling dickhead, regaling backpackers, who are secretly wondering why a 30 year old is in a hostel, with stories about how all those 50 countries were better when I was there because they were unspoiled by tourists - I hate when those tourists get to countries before me.

In completely unrelated news, I had to share the funniest sporting moment I have been witness to since the incident of the Nick Tragoustis bow. Last weekend the INSEAD v LBS rugby game was played here in Fonty. I've been fielding a lot of questions about why I don't play, given that I am Australian and know the rules. I had stuck to the line that knowing the rules doesn't really compensate for being crap at rugby, and that also, being Australian, I've been unlucky enough to watch a lot of rugby, and quite frankly, it's a close call between rugby and accounting lectures. As it turns out though, simply knowing the rules can be quite helpful. Late in the game INSEAD were leading by a single point, when they completed by far the best play of the day. A long kick from deep inside their own half, followed by a crunching tackle that caused the LBS full back to drop the ball, and an INSEAD breakaway for a length of the field try. The crowd were celebrating, the team were celebrating, and especially the player who ran the ball in was celebrating. So much so that he kept running, arms in the air, well past the dead ball line, without ever making one essential move - putting the ball down. He was American, and figured if a touch down doesn't require you to touch the ball down, why would a try? Five minutes later, and with the last play of the game, LBS scored the winning try.