When the hell did *that* happen?

The other day while Mom and I were driving around running errands, we got on the subject of Sam. (I'm gently broaching the subject, but she's ok with him from what she's heard.) Well, that's not totally correct. I had to write a check and saw the date and said, "Oh wow, February is almost over." Mom agreed that time has indeed been flying and reminded me that at the end of March, she'll turn sixty.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I responded. "Sam will be thirty in October." After I said it, I thought, Oh, wow. He'll be thirty. He's so much older. I paused for a moment, and then it hit me: I'm twenty-eight, and Sam's only about fifteen months older than me. I'll hit twenty-nine three months after he turns thirty, which means I won't be far from the big three-oh myself. I looked at Mom and said, "When did I get old enough to date someone nearing thirty and it not be totally creepy?"

Really, it feels like age has performed some sort of ninja stealth attack on me, and tackled me when I passed a dark alley. I'm not saying I feel old - I don't, and I don't think I look my age either (however a woman my age is supposed to look that is). What I do feel is this strange disconnect when I see my age written down. It sounds so foreign to hear myself say I graduated high school one decade ago, or to admit out loud that I'm in my late twenties.

When I turned twenty, I thought my life would become totally boring at thirty, but I'm learning that's not going to be the case. I've got the wisdom of experience and I've had a chance to make mistakes and learn from them (some of them were real doozies). I hear that you're supposed to pine for your youth when you get older, but I don't think that's going to be the case with me. I had some fun in my early twenties, but in all honesty, I wouldn't want to relive that for any amount of money. My life now is calming down and I'm settling down. I have a better grip on who I am, and I've got the ability to really find out what I can offer the world, neither of those were things I possessed eight years ago. I think I want to keep this attitude. I'll always look fondly over parts of my past, but also be content and satisfied with my present. That, I think, is the most important part of growing older.

Of course, I'm still going to totally give Sam a hard time about being an old man.

What I've been reading.

Shorter Rush Limbaugh: "Why don't you bitches whores dykes feminazis women like me?" Could be that you're a total douchebag, Mr. Limbaugh?

An interesting discussion prompted by alexandraerin in a community I just joined and have loved thus far, shangy_feminism: "The Feminist Man-Gods of Genre Entertainment" It's inspired me to do a little posting of my own regarding heroines in popular genres, Joss Whedon, and even Supernatural. If I can cease feeling ill long enough to write it.

A quote from Jill of Feministe that made me laugh: "If I ever start a rock band, it will be called Cookies for Ungrateful Whores." Warning: The context may be bad for your blood pressure.

One more from Feministe, this time from Cara: "Congress Continues to Fund Abstinence-Only Education"

Jesse Taylor at Pandagon: "Men, Press Start. Everyone Else Make a Sandwich." A woman is banned from X-Box Live because she identified herself as lesbian in her profile. Microsoft apparently has a zero-tolerance policy regarding any mentions of sexuality. It seems people conflate sex with sexuality far too often. Taylor focuses more on the racism and sexism that seems to permeate the gaming industry.