Vitamin D deficiency is common to some extent, but serious deficiencies are hard to diagnose aside from a blood test, as symptoms can include fatigue, muscle/joint pain, and weakening of the immune system.

Vitamin D levels — what’s really optimal?
>100 ng/mL – Excessive vitamin D (see note on toxicity)
50–70 ng/mL – Proposed optimal range
30–50 ng/mL – Suboptimal
<30 ng/mL – Deficient
<20 ng/mL – Overt vitamin D deficiency
<10 ng/mL – Seriously deficient
(Source)

I’m at 11 ng/mL, which hovers right over seriously deficient. Luckily, it is easily remedied… I am starting off with 8 weeks of a prescription strength dose of Vitamin D (50,000 IU/week), and I should regulate my Vitamin D intake (both supplements and sunlight) thereafter in order to stay at an optimal level.

Why am I telling you this? Because even though a a slight deficiency is normal, an overt or serious deficiency can lead to more problems if it is not addressed early enough. Have your doctor request this test next time you have a routine blood test to be sure.

Also, I just wanted to set it straight after my Twitter post set off a whole chain of replies commenting on my situation.

How to Feel Miserable as an Artist

1. Constantly compare yourself to other artists.
2. Talk to your family about what you do and expect them to cheer you on.
3. Base the success of your entire career on one project
4. Stick with what you know.
5. Undervalue your expertise.
6. Let money dictate what you do.
7. Bow to societal pressures.
8. Only do work that your family would love.
9. Do whatever the client/customer/gallery owner/patron/investor asks.
10. Set unachievable/overwhelming goals. To be accomplished by tomorrow.

I do a lot of these things frequently, but remember this list to snap me back into proper form within reasonable time. It’s all quite good advice.

Three decades, have I been on this earth.
(when did I turn into Yoda?)

Close to 7 o’clock in the morning, thirty years ago, I was born in Walnut Creek, CA, to my parents, Chris and Pat, and gave my sister Nicolette someone to pick on eternally.

My parents are both Filipino (my mom part Spanish), both born in the Philippines and moving to the states as children. Our family is very American, we don’t speak the language (although my parents kinda understand it) and I don’t think any of us have been back to the Philippines.

Mom and Dad, pre-kids.My sister is three years older than me and we grew up arguing about who was going to get my Dad’s Audi with 8-Track and sunroof when we turned 16.

I also have a younger brother, Brendon. He’s 10 years younger than me, but we are good friends.

(wish I had a pic of him and I when he was a baby, but this will suffice)I grew up as an extremely timid young girl who only spoke when spoken to. I don’t think it was until well into High School that I started coming out of my shell. I even was a cheerleader for a couple years, which I’m not sure if it necessarily helped.

Senior Ball posed shot
(sorry, don’t have my cheerleader shot scanned yet, which would go here)
As far as high education goes, I bounced around community college as well as film school while earning a living as a graphic designer at Kinko’s and some freelancing. Little did I know I was cultivating my skills for my career then, for I am now a working graphic designer in marketing for video gaming.

I’ve lived in the SF Bay Area most of my life, save a couple of years living on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

Leis from my HI co-workersThat was a great experience, and I loved it there, but I can’t go far from home. I also love the ocean and cannot be too far from her either.

I have never felt any anxieties about my age or getting older. Tease me all you want about me being old (I’ve gotten a fair share already), but it won’t faze me. My physical state only reminds me of how much I’ve experienced, and I kinda laugh when my joints pop in the morning. Perhaps one day, it will hit me in the stereotypical negative way that birthdays seem to have on people, but for now, I’m enjoying my life as it comes, and enjoying simply being me.

Buzz & I share the same birthday.
We celebrated this weekend on the beach.I haven’t really thought much of my birthdays in the past, oh, ten years or so, they passed with no real feeling of accomplishment or celebration. I also haven’t wanted to celebrate my birthday in a large capacity until this year, probably because I’m happier and want to share that feeling with people I care about. For the first time in a long time, I feel I have friends I have a good connection with (not just faces at a party) and this makes me very happy. I also find myself in a rewarding relationship with someone who encourages and inspires me to be the best me I could be.

It is good to be thirty.

May those of you looking forward to this age find comfort and happiness at this milestone as well.

Love,
Me