Hoc vinum Falernum annorum quadragenta est. Bene aetatem fert.

I turned 40 this morning. My uncle used to say, "If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself." Luckily, I don't feel like that. I'm 40, I'm feisty, and I can kick! Still, the number 40 looms large both in my and the public consciousness. So many assumptions, so many expectations.

Well, 40, I don't know about you, but I'm giving up those assumptions as my 2010 resolution. I prefer the t-shirt that says "I'm not 40. I'm 18 with 22 years of experience." I like being puerile and dismissive of authority and ironic about all things serious. Why should that magically change on this date?

It won't. I have too much caffeine in these cells and too much time invested in this persona to slow down and scrap it all. Responsibility be damned! I will continue to eschew the onus of adulthood. Long live the youthful irresponsibility that is Todd X!!

And happy birth-month to my fellow January babies and Capricorns. We rock.

Also, if anyone asks, I'm really 32 this year (29 in soft, low light and a strong vodka filter).