feeling old

its not surprising that i have started to feel old since my birthday. but something else has made me feel more adult recently: the realization that i've been in the working world for YEARS. granted, its only about two and half years, but still, it makes me feel very adult.

yesterday, i received an annual report that this certain law firm publishes. this is significant because i had covered it the year before. at first this made me feel accomplished. i know people! and they send me reports! and they are confident that i will cover them well!

but then it got me thinking. i'm writing about this reporting for the second year in a row. that is kind of a big deal, don't you think?

however, there's something else significant about this report. last year when i was covering it, i was also coming down with bronchitis. one day i'm just pounding away at three stories about this one 500-page report, complaining because i wasn't sleeping, and a few days later i had no voice. i remember that illness. it hit me like a ton of bricks.

but here it is, the third week of january, prime winter sick season, and although i have been battling with a small sore throat all month, i have done a good job of keeping a real bacterial or viral infection at bay. and all without a flu shot! this is no easy feat when you live in nyc and come in contact with millions of people -- and the germs they left behind on the subway -- every day.

maybe part of getting older is learning how to take care of yourself.