Growing Up is Overrated

In my relatively short life, I've had to deal with a lot of things that someone in their early 30s should not including the loss of many family members including my mom. One of the last things I promised was that I would take care of my aunts - her older sisters - who were unmarried and without children.

Earlier this year one of my aunts passed on and up until recently my other seemed to be doing well. Now that is all changing and changing fast. Broken kneecap, sprained back and now it seems her mind is beginning to fail her. Yesterday I went for a vist and my other aunt & uncle stopped by and I learned that she had an incident this weekend while driving her car. Long story short - she has been told by the police that she is unable to drive until evaluated by the Secretary of State. For the next two weeks, I am the only one close enough to help if she needs something or has an emergency. While I wouldn't hesitate for one second to drop everything for her because she has always been there for me, I cannot help but feel the weight of this on my shoulders.

I probably sound horribly selfish but I long for the days when I was too young to be this responsible. Being a grown-up is overrated.

My 2010 Bucket List

Two friends and I decided to create a bucket list of sorts. Since we all find it easier to keep motivated when you have someone who knows your status we created our list using Google docs. We each chose a minimum of 20 tasks to complete by December 31, 2010. When a task is completed, we simply document the date and any applicable details.

I'm really excited about this and hope it will give the swift kick in the pants I need to complete some of my goals. To date, my personal "2010 Bucket List" reads as follows:

· Explore my photography interest and purchase a fancy digital camera. (Done - May 2009)
· Further explore the interest by taking a photography class.
· For one month, go to the gym regularly (at least 3 times per week).
· Pay off 50% of remaining student loan balance.
· Go skydiving again.
· Take a course in social media.
· Read the Harry Potter book series.
· Take a Segway tour of Detroit.
· Move out of Michigan. Preferably for a new job but maybe just on a whim.
· Go to a "meet-up" of sorts to meet new people in the D. (Done - June 2009 Tweet-up)
· Rediscover the art of writing letters/notes/sending cards.
· Buy a house plant. And keep it alive.
· Move my childhood belongings & mom's things out of house and into storage.
· Take a solo weekend trip.
· Go to a concert by myself. (Done - OAR, April 2009)
· Read Anna Karenina.
· Watch a movie in a park.
· Go hiking.
· Go on a date. (Lame, I know, but it's been awhile!)
· Take a wine class.
· Visit a new ballpark and/or go to a post-season baseball game.
· Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.
· Attend a major music festival. (Done - Aug. 9, 2009 - Lolla)

How do you stay focused on your short term goals? What is something you would like to make happen in your life by 2010?

The End of an Era

Like so many other lifelong Detroiters, I am a product of families who made their living as part of the Big 3 and in both white-collar and UAW roles. Though the bulk of the family auto employees worked for the Ford Motor Company (as my Aunt Mary always referred to the company), there have been family members who also worked for Chrysler and General Motors. I'm not sure I've met anyone who grew up in the tri-county area who wasn't tied to these companies in some way. Through a lot of ups, downs and changes through the years - both good and bad - three things were always constant in these parts and they were Ford, GM and Chrysler.

The things I've seen shake out this year, specifically those related to the recession, are things I did not think would ever truly happen and today saw one more. General Motors finally filed for bankruptcy. It was a long time coming and completely planned out, but it is still uncertain what this will mean for the future of the company, the workers, the other manufacturers, the Motor City and the U.S.A. As a firm believer in free markets, a large part of me thinks that the market would have dictated the best possible result in the end, not a majority stake by the U.S. government.

As a Detroiter at heart, I am hopeful that there may be a brighter future for GM down the road.