SET YOUR GOALS

I've been thinking of the Civ song "Set Your Goals" lately. I feel like I need some goals for this blog - and for my life during my last year in my 30s. I don't want to be ridiculously unrealistic though.

But right now, I'm thinking: learn to surf. And maybe run a mini-triathalon. Those would be two good ones. I'd like to add "learn to play guitar" but I don't know that I'll have time for that. Although I hear that Nils Lofgren has some great tutorials for beginners at his web site.

Have you ever set a life goal: something that you've wanted to achieve by a certain date? Did you pull it off?

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM TINA FEY

I've always really liked Tina Fey. I thought Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Updates" were great under her watch and I like 30 Rock a lot. I never feel like she's pandering (even when she's doing a movie with Lindsey Lohan) or selling out (even when she's doing a commercial). She's like the really smart, funny girl who did well. Really well. 

Today, I read a brief interview with her in Esquire, a magazine that I enjoy more and more (especially, and unsurprisingly, their "What I've Learned" interviews). She was talking about the limitations of telling a story in a half hour, but points out that "There's a generation of people who want their comedy to be a minute 14.  When I watch things on YouTube, there are occasionally things that are really funny. A lot of it is really terrible. There is something to be said for people who learn how to do stuff." 

Ironically enough, Tina isn't on the cover of the issue. Jessica Simpson is. 

"YO!" TURNS 2O

I was a little surprised to learn that Yo! MTV Raps started 20 years ago this year. I was in college at the time, and didn't have a TV, but I definitely caught the show sometimes.  After college, there was a time where my weekend nights were occupied by Yo! as well as Headbangers Ball and 120 Minutes. If I wasn't out doing something, I was watching those shows with a pen and a pad, writing down any bands that I hadn't heard of. 

But where Headbangers and 120 just introduced me to new bands, Yo! opened my eyes to the hip-hop culture. I never tried to imitate the culture, but understanding it helped me to appreciate this new form of music. 

It will make me sound "old" to say this, and that's not my goal with LEAVING 30s, but man... back then, hip-hop was about A Tribe Called Quest, EPMD, Eric B & Rakim, De La Soul, KRS-One, The Wu-Tang Clan, and "new" guys like Nas and Common. It's just hard to imagine kids today being as awe-struck by, like T.I., Lil Wayne, Flo Rida and whoever else has a big record at the moment. 

I am often jealous of people who were around in the '50s heyday of early rock and roll, or even the wild '60s, or the '70s punk era. But I'm glad to have experienced hip-hop when it was young. 

And I don't mean to make it sound like it's over: Kanye West is a great post-Yo! artist, Nas and Common still make great records, and I think Mos Def and Talib Kweli have some classics in them (alone or together).  

8 MILE(S)

On Saturday, I ran five miles. Not on a treadmill, where I do most of my running, but outside. It's a lot more difficult when the ground you're running on isn't moving. On Sunday, I ran three more. I planned on running a bit more this morning, but I woke up a bit sore. More than a bit. So I stayed in bed. Still, I felt good about doing eight miles. I've been thinking that maybe I'll try to enter some official race, or mini-triathlon or something before I hit the four-oh. 

364 DAYS TO GO

Yesterday I turned 39. Yikes! So, I've decided to blog about the last year of my 30s. I have a good life. I've been in the entertainment industry for over a decade, and gotten to do some cool stuff, and meet some amazing people. My wife is awesome, I don't have much to complain about. But there's something about 40 that seems a bit daunting.

I don't know, does anything really have to change? Should anything have to change? Without being too naval-gazing about it, that's what I'm going to try to explore over the next year. And maybe beyond.

Which reminds me: a point about the title. Yeah, I know, will the name "Leaving 30s" make sense if I'm still writing this blog when I'm in my 40s?

It's OK. Little Steven and Little Richard aren't as "little" as they used to be, Sonic Youth aren't young and The Beastie Boys aren't boys. It's just a name. I really wanted "Pushing 40" but that was taken.

Anyway, I've always embraced aging. Like the great songwriter Cindy Walker wrote, "Don't Be Ashamed Of Your Age." Or John Lennon: "Life Begins At 40," although I admit that that's a weird example.