Not quite -30-

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Journalists, especially those writing for dailies, used to type -30- to signify to the editor that s/he has reached the end of the submitted piece and that nothing follows. Hadass Kogan's November 2007 article in the American Journal Review offers a variety of explanations for this practice. One possible explanation: often observed in articles written in longhand was that "X" usually marked the end of a sentence, "XX" marked the end of a paragraph, and "XXX" indicated the end of a story; XXX is the Roman numeral equivalent of 30. I guess that is also why newspapers would headline the death of a writer-colleague as "So-and-So writes 30."

I turn 30 today and if it were entirely up to me, I hope I will not be writing -30- today (hence this post's title!). This year 2010 is unraveling to be a major turning point in my career and professional life; hence, I am beyond excited at the opportunities-strewn path ahead. Lest I jump the gun, all I can say at the moment is that I've lived a charmed life, not necessarily devoid of drama and pain, but nonetheless replete with blessings unimaginable.

I just pray that when the time's right, I'll leave the earth in a much better state than when I arrived on it. I strive to live by this mantra daily. By God's grace, I'm inching closer to this goal, even if only in my puny sphere of influence.

So far, so good, indeed.