Happy 28th Birthday to me!

So, on the 13th of September, meaning two days ago, on Monday, I turned 28 years old. It was a fun little celebration in the park with some beer, a few friends and an awesome cake made by my girlfriend. I liked it very much and I enjoyed the gifts I received - it really showed people cared and tried to make my day special.

I'm not really sure what I want to say with this post. I've never been the one to take 'age' too seriously, especially after I graduated school. I for sure feel way more mature now, which is something to be expected after 10 years of living life as an adult.

I missed on joining the infamous 'Club 27' with the likes of Jim Morrison, Jimmy Hendrix and Kurt Cobain , which all in all is probably a good thing. My 27th year was not bad for me - I've successfully defended my PhD thesis, released a couple of synth songs, tried (unsuccessfully) to be an YouTuber and much more. In a year of lockdowns and holocoughs, that's at least admirable. Sadly, I didn't achieve all I wanted - I still haven't found a postdoc position, I still in Sofia and I wasn't really successful on the job market, although I managed to save some good money.

Whilst being 27 I quit playing video games. It's been one of my biggest hobbies, ever since my parents bought a PC back in 2002. I won't ramble on how video games ruin your life - that's probably for another post. But I'll allow myself to cite 1 Corinthians 13:11:

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Even if one strips away all of the spiritual context that Paul has woven into this verse it still bears a good deal of profoundness. There comes a time when one has to grow up and accept his position as an adult - with all it's responsibilities and burdens. I guess it took me 27 years (or at least 27-18=9 years) to realise that being a 'manchild' is not admirable and for certain is not a path I wish to go down. I was a bit befuddled and amused when a good friend who lives abroad asked me

Now that you don't play video games, what do you do with your spare time?

I guess the next part of the post will be the explanation of what one does when he's free from the yoke of video games (without repeating the information from the third paragraph of this post):

The realisation that you won't be young forever is also uncomfortable. But whilst a child will hide from such irksome facts, a man just takes them as the inevitability of life and takes corresponding action - me and Simona have been hitting the gym quite regularly for the past 6 months. Honestly, adding a healthy amount of sports into your life is a great way to re-access your childhood spirit. Yes, it's tiring, and takes time and effort but it's also a great source of pleasure. Don't neglect sports if you don't want to be a chubby fat-ass in your 40's (or even your 30s!).

In the past year me and the boys from Pyre have written a couple of new songs. We've also did a recording of one of our old tracks - Lady Winter, but due to circumstances (and laziness) the final mastering and mixing has not been done yet, even after almost 6 months have passed. Hopefully the song will be out before winter. Realistically I wanted 2-3 songs before the end of the year but...it is what it is.

On that front, I've joined another band where I once again play lead guitar. Rehearsals with them have been quite the fun experience but more information for that will come in further posts.

Further, I'm happy to say that I've started reading again. I used to read a lot when I was a child and a teenager but for some reason that went down the drain the last 5 years. I'm putting a concious effort now - since the spring I've read a few non-fiction books as well as some good ol' science fiction. I'm currently finishing the first book Hyperion by Dan Simmons and it's been an awesome ride. Maybe I'll write some book review posts in the future, who knows.

I guess I really got into cryptocurrencies and this is probably something that will stay with me for a while. It's a fascinating branch of the financial world that is still in it's infancy. I highly recommend acquainting yourself with the whole situation, even if not deciding to put money down right away.

In the last month I've also picked up drawing drawing as a hobby - it's pretty relaxing and at the same time quite the creativity boost. I think it helps me with both guitar playing and electronic music composition. It lets your mind wander in fun new directions, guided by your (in my case very unsteady and imprecise) hand. Props up to Chavo who inspired me with his awesome work.

I don't want to be too verbose in my 'recap' of the last year of my life. As always there were ups and downs, but I think as a whole the positives outweigh the negatives by a good margin. Living a fulfilling life depends mostly on you and on your initiative for (incremental) change. People and circumstances can only drag you down for so long before you wrestle out of the situation. I decided to not be be a nihilist loser and take action. And yes, maybe I'm not there, but I'm still trying. Since two days ago at ripe old age of twenty-eight.

You'll only feel old if you miss something from youth. Honestly, I don't think I do.

P.S. A picture of the celebratory activities. I love you all!

P.S.S Happy first day of school to all that haven't graduated yet!