In 5 days I'll be 29. Entering the last year of what some say are "the best years of your life." I don't know how exactly to answer that.

The past nine years haven't exactly been stellar...though they haven't been awful either. For anyone who does read these rants or whatever you care to call them, you know the story so i'll spare the rewind. Maybe next year I'll do one of those neat academy awards style retrospectives and have it directed by Robert DeNiro(Hey gotta keep it close to home.)Yet as I approach the day, I'm left in that retrospective yet anticipating state of mind. Man...who knew that turning 29 could do this? When I look in the mirror I start to notice 1 or 2 lightly colored hairs and silently wonder how many years it'll be till I can walk around telling people that i'm Anderson Cooper.

Some say that age is a number, and again, i'm left wondering how to answer that, because honestly...I hate numbers. I find them to be an unnecessary part of language, kind of like the appendix to the alphabet. John Glenn didn't seem to let 77 treat him as an old man when he went back into space in on the shuttle in 1998.

Then I see people I take class with, realize they were born in a different decade and it just kinda hit me like a dodge ball..."holy crap i'm getting old." At first I think "well they're certainly young & vigorous." Then I start to notice how almost all of them can't grasp the simpler things.

Every time I go into or come home from the city I see people with a ridiculous piece of over sized bathroom tile in their hand then realize its one of those stupid ass "e-readers" or "i-pads" and a few thoughts come to mind.

Why is it some people claim its the "technological" age yet they go back to the simplest form of written text, from thousands of years ago, the tablet? Two, when did society become so lazy to the point of lifting a page became difficult? What is that...a 5th of an ounce of pressure?(for those of you remembering I hate numbers and are now saying, "You just used math!" I hope you get a paper cut between your thumb and index finger.) Books shouldn't run on batteries or short out when wet. Quit being lazy and turn the page you lazy, inept, self righteous jagoffs.

I see and hear myself going on these rants and know it makes me sound like an old man, but at that point that my give a damn starts to break, because ya know what, yeah, it was better when I was a kid. I find myself saying that a lot lately;"When i was a kid." It really kinda makes me wanna kick myself, because, the more I think about it...I hate the idea of the "cynical, miserable, bitter old man."(Too many adjectives?) Thats not me.

There is someone I know like that...someone who is perpetually miserable, in fact, i'm fairly sure this person has not only bought a house in the town of misery, but has painted the house the dreariest shade of gray. I see this person and it makes me look at myself and realize things aren't nearly as bad as they could be.

Sure TV sucks today, but you know what? at least all the good old TV I had as a kid is on DVD now. And, boy I do like me some "Airwolf."I also enjoy the fact I can relive me geek days by watching the one and true Batman for my time, Kevin Conroy...who actually talked like a real person, not like a dying 1986 Buick.

At this time of year, many people, particularly younger ones are hearing speech after speech about their future. Well, it's my belief that most of these speeches suck. Only Doc Brown and Marty McFly truly know about the future. And most of these speeches aren't uttered right before an all out assault on an alien force. So it is with Bill Pullman in mind I offer you this:

After going through the majority of what has been crap for the past 9 or so years, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I made it through the past 9 years and I did so because I don't roll over and let the defeat stick. The next day the sun will rise, there will be a cup of tea, and the neighbors insane cat will meow at a blank wall thinking it will talk back to him.

Refuse to let fear and misery and depression stay with you. These things are really just trivial, pointless roadblocks. And since i'm anything but subtle, I don't wait at the roadblock. I plow headlong through it laughing like a fool. I'd advise you to do the same. Laughing in the face of fear is a powerful, insanely wonderful thing to do. You are stronger then your fears. Always remember that.

Don't hold your feelings in, otherwise you'll go crazy. And that is not as fun as whatever celebrity meltdown of the week would have you believe. Billy Joel sung "tell her about it." So if that girl in the plaid shirt and sunglasses makes ya nutty, let her know.

There's no reason to sit in the negative and worry about how everything could go wrong. Worrying about nothing gets you no where. It's a saying as old as time, but actions do speak louder then words, so instead of sitting around worrying, go out and do something. I've recently become a believer in doing one thing every day that scares the crap out of me, but after doing it, I get to say "woo...at least that wasn't boring."

I find that sometimes I say that line in the company of friends. Another thing i've learned is sometimes a friend who sits with you and says absolutely nothing is all you need. Sometimes that nothing is more important then you realize, which in a city like New York is something.(I just made a Yogi-ism.)

Not every day will be easy. Some days it'll be harder then moving a granite block over a shag carpet(suck on that one Dan Rather!)(I actually like Dan Rather.), but I've discovered that once you make it through those tough ones, the good days are that much more worth it. You get that one little taste of victory, and you like it and you get something to fight for.

John Glenn went into space when he was 77. There's always time.