Gifts in many shapes.

Yep, that's my man. I used to have the biggest crush on Joaquin Phoenix because of his complete vulnerability and family-man tendencies in Signs (oh please, I'm not the only one), so when I saw the resemblance at the library last week, I was thrilled. Too bad school just started and he had to shave it.

I've decided what I'm getting myself for my birthday! I just decided it, actually. I came pretty close to ordering it, but I've decided to wait for my next paycheck to make sure it's in the budge*. I can't wait to spend fall evenings sipping cocoa and listening to Bon Iver on vinyl. Or, as it will more likely turn out, making dinner and shivering in sweats because winter elbowed fall out of the way too early and listening to Bon Iver on vinyl. Either way, I'll be twenty-five. FACK.

I'm currently working on my 25 before 25 list, listening to this song on repeat, and impatiently waiting for the end of the day so I can see Mike. I just had a conference call on the development editing I'm doing, and it went really well. I finally feel caught up and firm in my footing to take a look at the manuscript. I also love using words like "manuscript"!

So remember Tuesday when I was a big, fat baby and I whined and whined and then slipped in that bit about TNGG? Well, I'm here to elaborate.

First of all, I'm stoked. TNGG is The Next Great Generation. It's us. (I'm assuming you're my age for this exercise.) We are 18-30 (for this exercise's sake); we are of a different world than our parents, but still with hints of a past largely missing from our children's (yeesh, or neices' and nephews') world. TNGG is a start-up, for all intents and purposes, building from the ground up something that we can be proud of. It's starting small-ish, but I can tell that it's going to grow because that's what our generation does: It grows things out of, seemingly, nothing at all. We are the generation of entrepreneurs in a failing economy. We don't know when to quit. And so TNGG is creating something our generation wants to read on Boston.com. That's right, my name's going to be smack dab in the middle (or, okay, over on the side-ish) of Boston.com.

And today is the official launch of TNGG Boston! (Well, it's supposed to be, but the page is empty as for now. But you can see our cool header!) So head over, check out some of the articles, and I'll be sure to keep you updated of when my articles are published.

This opportunity has popped up at such a great time in my life and career. I've been working out what I want to do with my life and all of that fun time stuff, but this is a great reminder that I don't necessarily need a plan. Often plans derail the greatest surprises. So here's to my final month as an "early 20s"-er and to many more surprises in the second half of this decade.

*That means "budget," but it's a play on words because it won't, you know, budge.**
**Imagine my income if I were a comedienne.