My 30th Year

If you recall, my 30th birthday was kind of a fun time, but I think my 30th year has proven interesting without a doubt.

- I rode a Segway around downtown St. Louis - that's something memorable for sure!

- I successfully PSM'd (Production Stage Manage-d) a crazy summer opera festival in the middle of nowhere. Survived with sanity mostly intact thanks to friends & colleagues.

- I switched from a freelance career in opera to a salaried, full-time job in the arts, still doing what I love but in a different way. Yes, I miss traveling, but I'm enjoying both the personal and financial stability.

- I entered a photography contest/exhibition and got in. Even if it was at my high school as part of an alumni exhibition. I wasn't a photographer in H.S. so this came as a surprise to some.

- I got caught outside in a microburst in the Loop with my parents and feared for my life.

- The Cardinals won an improbable World Series!

- I completed Photo Project 2011 and started a 52 Week Project in 2012.

- I crossed #33 (Join the Bone Marrow Donor Registry) off my life list and am working towards others as we speak.

- I broke my right middle finger… AGAIN. At work. Boy was that an adventure. I'd forgotten how inconvenient and annoying it was to have that finger out of commission.

- I got shingles. Yes, you read that right. No one still knows exactly why but I did and it was a painful month, and now hopefully I never get it again.

- I learned a little on how to shoot on manual and am starting to learn how to post-process my photography.

-I got an amazing lens for my camera which I haven't taken off since I got it and my pictures are amazing as a result. Or at least I like to think so.

-An award-winning photographer praised my photography and encouraged me to pursue it professionally.

-I have met some great people at work, and have developed some great friendships with some of my co-workers.

-Made a surprise trip up to Alaska to see many friends which was well worth the trip and the jet lag.

-Had my iPhone stolen at work by juvenile delinquents. Never thought I'd be part of that statistic.

It has definitely proven an interesting year and a good(?) way to kick off the 30s. May 31 be just as interesting but maybe not quite as crazy, and less with the sickness and injury.