It is not enough to just assume that the Healthcare Overall is entirely good or evil...

I have friends on both sides of the fence with regards to this matter. For the most part, they are informed people making reasonable decisions. The downer is talking to people that for whatever ideological ax they have to grind find it necessary to spew invectives instead of making salient points or (God forbid) listen to someone else's.

I have come to no official conclusion yet, but I will say that I am generally happier when my tax dollars are spent providing people with healthcare than on unjustified wars. I suppose my chief concern with the new bill is how exactly it will be funded, and whether or not will ultimately bone my new family. Selfish I know, but honest.

I'm off to do more research.

So I'm 30

Dear EM of The Future,

You turned 30 this last weekend and there are some things I think we should consider:

1. Even though it may not seem like it, every step you took over the last 30 years to get where you are now (and where you will be in the future) were entirely your own. It is too easy to call it fate. Though you may have been on a changing sea, you were still Skipper all 30 of those years.
2. At age 30 I pretty much feel the same way I did at age 20...or 10 for that matter. My responsibilities and skills have all changed, but fundamentally, I am the same.
3. 30 years from now your life will be in its third and final stage. Whatever you've been putting off had better take center stage since I have a feeling that the next 30 will pass much faster than the first.
4. Our parents constantly said that family was the only thing you could truly rely on...it was easy to dismiss but it turned out to be 100% true. Future EM, your daughter, and wife, and family will now rely on you the same as you relied on your family.
5. Sometimes, I feel like I have to conform to some arbitrary version of "adulthood" that has been placed on me...I assume its going to get worse so I hope you do your best to ignore it...If you tally it up, I've done much better on my own than with advice.

10 Month Recap

I don't even feel bad about not posting for so long. The last 10 months have been crammed with intense activity. For one, I am now a father of a beautiful baby girl.

Without question it was a total clusterfuck of a pregnancy but it ended well and for that I am eternally thankful. After months of hospital bed rest, my wife gave birth to Amelia Grace (6lbs 60z) and she has since been blowing my mind daily. Even though I know it is totally cliche to say that being a parent changes your life, and is incredibly awesome etc etc, I am still inclined to gush about it. I won't, but just know that I want to...

Another milestone would be the purchase of my new house. We spent just under 9 months in my mother's house (2 of which with an infant) and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. To be fair, any minor quibbles were seriously overshadowed by the aforementioned pregnancy, but still, my mother and wife behaved admirably. Our new house is much bigger than we expected and sits so close to the C&D Canal that I can watch boat traffic from my window. Big win.

Oh yeah, I got a new job too. My new school is brand new and filled with (for the most part) respectful and hard working students. I can't complain at all really.

So if you've been paying attention 1 out of my 2 main goals has been accomplished. Onwards to goal 2 and a boat for Amelia and me to sail!