Signs You May Not Be a Fashionista

1. You have lived 29 years of your life without knowing how to tie a scarf.

2. You add "tie a scarf properly" to your list of 30 things to do before you're 30, feel pathetic about including it, but leave it on the list anyway.

3. While waiting for your table at a popular Mexican restaurant, your friend gives you a 20-second tutorial on scarf tying with an I-can't-believe-you're-asking-me-to-show-you-this-but-what-the-hell look on her face.

4. After one or two failed attempts, you master the great art of scarf tying, grin stupidly, and sit at your table to consume massive amounts of guacamole and queso fundido. Que bueno!

(And yes, I can now scratch #19 off my list.)

Henry IV, Part I

I'm beginning to think that reading all of Shakespeare's plays before I turn 30 will take up so much of my time that I won't be able to accomplish my other 29 goals. I now have "only" 21 left of the plays to read in 12 months.

Today, I finished Henry IV, Part I and will start on Part II just as soon as I take a breather. While I at first dreaded reading this play -- mostly because I have little experience with the history plays and almost zero historical context to draw upon -- I ended up enjoying it. Some highlights for me:

• Sir John Falstaff -- I first "met" him 10 years or so ago, when I read (and performed) The Merry Wives of Windsor. Here, he serves as comic relief to Hal (the future King Henry V) and is the butt (literally) of quite a few fat jokes.
• The female roles, while small, made an impression on me as a reader. They served to humanize the rebel forces and paint a picture of domestic life that doesn't really exist elsewhere in the play.
• Hotspur's dying words on the battlefield: "... thought's the slave of life, and life time's fool;
  And time, that takes survey of all the world,
  Must have a stop."

And now onward to Henry IV, Part II: The Epic Conclusion!

All's Well That Ends Well

One of my "30 before 30" goals is to read all of Shakespeare's plays. He wrote approximately 37 plays in his lifetime, and I have read only 15 of them. Most of the plays on my list fall into the comedy and history categories. (I hope my penchant for the tragedies doesn't suggest something about my overall demeanor and approach to life...)

On Friday, I read All's Well That Ends Well, one of the "problem" plays, because it doesn't quite fit neatly into the comedy category. I can see why. The heroine, Helena, basically has to trick her husband, Bertram, into sleeping with her and thus consummating their marriage. Um, seriously, Helena? Not worth your time -- Bertram is a vain, pompous jerk. And Shakespeare? This situation is totally not funny.

One of the most amusing characters in the play is Parolles, a liar, coward, and (surprise!) friend to Bertram. As in many of Shakespeare's plays, he eventually gets his comeuppance -- blindfolded.

I may try to watch a film version of this play, especially because I can see the role of Bertram being played in different ways. I have never seen a stage version of this, either, but it's easy to understand why this is not one of Shakespeare's more popular plays.

Next, I'll probably tackle Henry IV, Part 1 or Othello.

30 Before 30

As many of you know, I will be turning 29 in just a couple of weeks. With that comes the inevitable reflection on the end of my twenties and the big 3-0 milestone we all know and dread.

Like many other bloggers here in Internet land, I've compiled a list of 30 things I'd like to do before I turn 30 in January 2013. As I go along throughout the year, I'll post photos and updates of the things I've accomplished. Many of them may seem mundane, but they are all things I've said I wanted to try and never have. This, my friends, is the year to do it (I hope).

Happy New Year and here's to hoping you can accomplish all your milestones this year.