So, today’s another day I grow one year older.

Who cares, right? Well, here’s a statistic you’ll probably care about – I’m 5 years away from living half my life span (women in North America live until they’re 78, 6 years more than men). Yet, the people in my family tend to live into their late 90s, so you’re stuck with me for a while. In any case, I tend to get reflective around this time of year.

A year ago, I listed the 33 people who have influenced my life. I can’t link to that blog post as 6 months worth of blog postings from podonomics.com didn’t export to leesabarnes.com. So, I’ve got to get someone to do this on the db layer, as well as clean up my categories so that Podcasting Tips & Tricks stops appearing 3 dozen times in my sidebar.

But I digress…

This year, I’m going to share with you the 34 things I really like. Here goes:

1. Apocalyptic films – As long as there’s at least one person standing who has to either rebuild the human race after a cataclysmic event or stop a cataclysmic event from obliterating the human race, this is the type of movie for me. Think 28 Days Later, War of Worlds, Outbreak, Armageddon, Deep Impact, Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow. Yeah, some of them were cheesy and not critically acclaimed, but I don’t care as I love them anyways.
2. WordPress – There’s nothing more to say.
3. Firefox – Again, words will fail to convey my true feelings.
4. Picnik – A Firefox plug in that allows you to capture and edit images and pictures right in your browser.
5. Things Fall Apart – While I don’t read fiction as much anymore, this one is the best one I’ve ever read. I discovered it in university and over a decade later, I still remember the book.
6. Skiing – Hope to hit the slopes at Blue Mountain this year.
7. Ice skating – An enjoyable pass time, especially if you spend it on your skates and not on your butt.
8. Snow – I was born in a snowstorm. Since it was present when I made my way into this world, how could I not appreciate and love it?
9. Christian Bale – One of the most versatile actors I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch. He masters every role effortlessly, whether it’s Reign of Fire, American Psycho, Batman Begins or The Prestige. I just enjoy watching him.
10. Gladiator – My favorite movie of all time. I can hum every tune in the film as I also bought the soundtrack.
11. Arrested Development – How I miss the Bluth family. Reruns help as I still find stuff to laugh about, no matter how many times I’ve seen the episode.
12. Thai food – Yummy!
13. Steak and potatoes – Well done and mashed, pretty please. Anytime I go to a conference, my last meal before flying home is steak and potatoes. The best I had was at an Italian restaurant just outside Baltimore, MD with my childhood friend, Colin S. Great suggestion, C!
14. Mercedes Benz – No, I don’t own one yet. Just have a keychain on layaway 🙂
15. WWE – Yes, I know. But there was only 1 television set in the house when I was younger and since Daddy paid the rent, he watched what he wanted. That meant I played my dolls in front of the tube while Hulk Hogan had his way with Randy “Macho Man” Savage. And I’ve been a fan ever since.
16. Frasier – I don’t watch alot of television, but when I do, I watch Frasier.
17. Are You Being Served? – An 1970s English comedy I watched around midnight on YTV while I was in university. I still watch the reruns today.
18. Keeping Up Appearances – Since we’re on English comedies, I like this once as well.
19. Quebec City – No other city excites me as does this one. It’s all about the history and the hot chocolate. Next time I go, I’m staying at the Chateau Frontenac.
20. Star Trek – All the series (except DS9 which I hated) and all the captains are my favourite. I can watch them all in reruns ’til the final frontier.
21. Superheros – You name ’em, I love ’em. The superhero cartoons from the 50s and 60s were pretty lame, but I love watching them just the same.
22. Cream soda – I never drink pop (or soda, depending on where you live), but the only one I’ll drink is cream soda Jamaican style. It’s clear like water and tastes so good.
23. Numbers – No, not the TV show. I’ve always been fascinated by statistics, math and logic puzzles. I tend to validate my own intelligence by trying a few math equations without the aid of a calculator.
24. Tim Hortons – Nothing beats a decaf double double with a chocolate glazed donut.
25. Swiss Chalet – And nothing beats a quarter white with fries and extra Chalet sauce. If you’re in Canada, just order it just how I wrote it. They’ll know what you’re talking about.
26. Rick Mercer – The funniest guy ever. Oh wait, so’s Mark Curry, Jamie Foxx, Will Ferrell and Steve Harvey.
27. Baltimore, MD – My favourite US city. Lots of trees, lots of history and it’s close to water. Perfect.
28. Google Anything – Analytics, Reader, Document, Gmail, Notes, Calendar, Adsense, Adwords, you name it, I love it. Google rules.
29. U2 – The. Best. Band. Ever.
30. Basketball – I don’t play it anymore, but just love watching the game.
31. Pop Cap Games – I waste alot of time on this website. It doesn’t help that I can download games for $20 that gives me unlimited play.
32. King’s Quest – Remember this one? I found the original online and have been playing it since. I always waste alot of time with the troll at the tree who asks me for the password. I couldn’t believe how long the darn word was and can now understand why it took almost a year back in the 1980s to crack that one.
33. Monopoly – I can bankrupt anyone. I’ll bring the board, you bring the tissues.
34. Battlestar Galactica – Ronald D. Moore is a genius. Who knew that bad, confident women would be so much fun to watch?

Those are my 34 things. To complete this list, here are some things that happened on January 12th. Did you know:

• On this day, Rush Limbaugh (radio host), Howard Stern (shock jock), Joe Frazier (boxer), Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com founder), Dominique Wilkins (NBA star), Heather Mills (ex-wife of Paul McCartney) and Sporty Spice (singer) are born?
• Today is Zanzibar Revolution Day in Tanzania?
• Agatha Christie, a famous mystery writer, dies on this day in 1976 at the age of 85?
• On this day in 1948, the first supermarket opens in the UK?
• On this day in 1951, the state of Oregon made it illegal to pump gas into one’s own automobile?