SMC 30 FOR 30 (Get It?)

I’m turning 30 tomorrow. I’m one of the last of my closest friends, so it doesn’t feel like a very big deal. Honestly, the most upsetting thing is moving into a more competitive age bracket for races. 30-34 here I come!

I’m pretty excited for my 30’s. My 20’s consistently brought big life moments and changes right up until 29 where I had my first year to breathe, focus on living in the moment, and not worry about what was coming next. Although I’m terrible at sitting still so wondering what’s next is my natural state of mind. Anyway, for fun I decided to do one of those “30 things about me for my 30th birthday” —so very bloggerish of me! Sigh.

Really, these are like 30 things about me / musings / other statements that I just spewed out in one sitting. Apparently this is what I think of myself / what I think is relevant and important about me without much thought or editing. It didn’t all come out pretty, but that’s life right? So here, genuinely unfiltered:

30 Things About Me

1. I have two tattoos. One on my back with lyrics from the Rush song Mission “A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission,” which I kind of wish was visible because I need that reminder more often! The second is on my foot and it is the outline of an Eagle around the the bible verse “Heb. 12:1.” It is the tattoo I got after Mike died with three of my friends by my side, letting me squeeze their hands so hard they turned white.
2. I love rock music, it both soothes and energizes my soul. Classic, original 70s/80s metal, 80s glam, grunge, nu metal, hard rock, heavy metal, metalcore, other genres I don’t know how to label. Just typically not anything that is 100% screaming all the way through, that’s kinda of where I draw my line. I’m like more Octane than Liquid Metal on Siruis XM if ya know what I mean.
3. I keep a band bucket list, but the one I find most satisfying was getting to see Ronnie James Dio play with Black Sabbath (as Heaven and Hell) in 2009 before the creator of the metal horns passed from cancer. He was a rainbow in the dark.
4. I wrote Avenged Sevenfold a two-page letter asking them to play “Warmness on the Soul” as our wedding song and explaining why it would be so meaningful. I sent two copies. One returned to sender, the other went somewhere in California. I received no response and we settled for a recorded version.
5. Cooking and Baking as stress relievers are underrated. My favorite thing after a day at work is often to come home and cook.
6. The highest elevation I’ve reached in my life is 14,000 feet. Deadwoman’s Pass on the Inca Trail. There wasn’t even snow. There are higher elevations in my future.
7. I honestly joined ROTC because of the scholarship and the opportunity to be stationed in Germany. I was born there and had never been back, and the draw of living in Europe was strong. It was not initially a higher calling or a sense of patriotic duty. Those things came later and in time.
8. My dad built a solar-powered house when I was in junior high. Like working full-time, built our house in the evenings and on weekends. I helped with the kitchen cabinets and the roof. I lived there through high school and had to climb a hill behind my house to use my flip phone because we didn’t get cell phone service.
9. I’ve never broken a bone, but sprained my ankles many times playing basketball and lost ALOT of skin from softball before I knew about sliding shorts and pads.
10. I signed up to earn my RRCA coaching certification with a plan to start a coaching business. Then I moved to Idaho. I still earned the cert but other than informal coaching/marathon plans for friends I haven’t done anything with it. Eventually I want to, but I’m not sure how to get started.
11. I struggle with body confidence. I’ve never felt very feminine and am too critical of myself, and I work on it every day. I follow many people who preach it and admire them, but per usual easier said than done. I want to run in a sports bra and not think twice about it!
12. When getting out of the Army we were asked “If you could have any job, no limits and no parameters, what would it be?” and I said I would own a hutte in the Austrian Alps and double as a nature photographer.
13.  Jeremy and I have a goal to run the World Marathon Majors in the next ten years. We have the three stateside covered and are waiting to find out if we get into London 2020!
14. I can’t keep plants alive. I almost let an aloe plant die and my German landlord took it away from me.
15. Re-learning to ski at almost 30 has been both terrifying and exhilarating. I love continuing to learn new things but I really wish skiing had been on the front end of my life. As long as my knees hold up, I’ll keep working on it!
16. I’ve loved writing since I was a kid. In junior high I competed in these creative writing competitions called Power of the Pen, and in high school I started writing poetry, and then joined the school newspaper. I journaled and wrote poetry through college but kind of took a break for a few years until I decided to start this blog in 2016.
17. I didn’t change my name when I got married. Neither did he. At most I’ll settle for hyphenation but this far in, I think our names are stuck.
18. I’m a very loud walker. My best friend called me “Wildebeest” all through college (and she probably still does)
19. Octoberfest is a shit show. Everyone should experience it.
20. Banana is delicious in and on things (bread, pudding, smoothies, peanut butter sandwich) but I don’t like bananas by themselves.
21. I am ridiculously brand loyal but mostly because it is convenient and familiar, and I don’t like shopping.
22. I was a Communications Officer in the Army, then left for a complete career change and earned my my Masters in Public Health. My focus is public health marketing and communications and I apply that to my job for the state working in substance misuse prevention.
23. When I travel, sometimes certain places strike me as uniquely beautiful and serene and I take a mental picture whilst holding my hands in front of me like a camera, and I catalog those images in my memory. Sometimes, when I need a moment of comfort or serenity I recall one of those places. I have 5 of them 🙂
24. I am extremely sentimental and nostalgic and cry very easily. This comes from both parents (yes, Mike Cales is a big sentimental Teddy Bear)!
25. Jeremy and I once had to compete against each other in a “Best Officer” competition for our Brigade in Germany. The only thing I was better or faster at than him was donning a chemical suit. However, I somehow cam in third place. He went on to win the competition for all of U.S. Army Europe.
26. I will eat almost anything unless it previously made me sick or has a bad memory attached (e.g., pepperoni hot pocket, hollandaise sauce, and long story but mayonnaise on a burger thanks to Marilyn Manson).
27. My favorite animal is a lemur, ring-tailed in particular. I think it stems from Zoboomafoo (PBS kid!) and trips to zoo as a kid.
28. We have two pups. Bailey our 6-year-old GSP, and Jäger our 7-month-old Weimaraner. Naming them both after liquor was unintentional!
29. Grief is a lifelong process. It has no certain end, and it is important to accept that when we lose someone we love they will occupy a space in our heart for the rest of our lives. That space deserves to be honored and acknowledged. This is as much a reminder for me as a pearl of wisdom for you.
30. I have never owned a Kindle or anything like it. I love paper books. And while I realize the value when it comes to school textbooks and making education more accessible and affordable, and technology is incredible—I love the smell of paper books, dogearing and marking corners, and having a bookshelf. #PaperBooksForever

So there is that! If you made it all the way through, congratulations. I lost interest while proofreading.

Cheers to 30!