Time keeps on slipping into the future

I don't know what everyone else's experiences have been, but I'm not sure that age 26 is usually the time when people start feeling kind of weird about their lives. I don't mean weird in a bad way, here - it's just strange to think about, if not how old I'm getting, the fact that everything around me makes me feel old. Not everyone I know is married, but a pretty sizable percentage are at least engaged; Rudnik, who's just two years ahead of me, will be a father in a few months. Even the people who aren't engaged are often in long-term relationships that could well be headed in that direction, as Alma and I are. We've been together almost five years now - five years in January - which really is as long as I've ever done anything. I only spent four years at any given school, for example. She makes me happier than anything in the world, and I know I'm going to spend the rest of my life with her. I guess it's still just a little strange to think of myself as being ready for that step, but I do work a full-time job (even that has been more than three years now, although I wasn't officially full-time for all of that) and all that stuff. I'm pretty sure I'm more or less of a grown-up. And at any rate, we probably won't get married for another 2-3 years or so, at which point I'll be almost 30. Now that's old.

All of this was brought on by (what else?) something I saw in the elevator today, which is that the state quarter program is finally reaching its end with the release of the Hawaii quarter. Seems like an odd thing to trigger a quarter-life crisis, I know, but think about it - the first state quarters were released in 1999, when I was still a junior in high school. Think about how long ago that was! When the first state quarters were released on January 4, 1999, I:

* Was a year and a half away from going to Australia and New Zealand
* Was nine months or so away from applying to college
* Had not met almost any of the people with whom I regularly talk nowadays
* Had not ever had a serious girlfriend
* Was almost a year and a half away from converting BigFlax.com to a dated entry format
* Had never seen The Shawshank Redemption

That is a long fucking time ago. Bill Clinton was still two years away from leaving office. 9/11 was more than two and a half years in the future. Hell, George W. Bush was still five months from even declaring his candidacy for president, and was still known only as "that Texas governor who used to own the Rangers and whose father was president" to the nation at large. The Star Wars prequel trilogy was months from starting in theaters. The Daily Show had just been taken over by a young comedian named Jon Stewart previously known mostly for a string of failed late-night talk shows; his first show would air on January 11.

Ten years is a long time, but when you really think about it - at least when I really think about it - it's kind of amazing. I was already in college by the time Bush was "elected," but it virtually feels like he's been president my entire life (we only have had four presidents in 26 years, with Obama about to be the fifth), possibly because he's effectively been the president for my entire adult life - the first election I voted in was 2000. The idea of that not being true anymore is pretty appealing, to say the least.

I had originally intended to do a review of all 50 state quarters now that the program is coming to a close, but I think that's way more than anyone could possibly be interested in. So, instead, a few quick comments on what I thought were some particularly good and particularly lame ones:

Delaware



The first state; the first state quarter; also one of the lamest. Some dude on a horse? Well, it commemorates the ride of Caesar Rodney, a delegate to the Continental Congress who cast the deciding vote for independence in 1776 after riding 80 miles. This would be fine if not for the fact that the nation already has a pretty famous horse ride around that time, and who outside of Delaware has ever heard of Caesar Rodney? On the other hand, what else was Delaware going to put on a state quarter?

West Virginia



By contrast, here's West Virginia, accurately taking pretty much the only thing it's known for - and a pretty awesome feat of engineering at that - and slapping it on the quarter. It's not the single most exciting reverse I can think of, but it's a combination of attractiveness and simplicity that, really, a lot of these quarters just don't have. (There are quite a number which just cram way too much onto the back, though I don't address them specifically here.)

Kansas



"Dah-hurr, we got sunflowers... and a buffalo." Is Kansas known for its buffalo? It is known for its sunflowers, but the sunflower is kind of a second-class citizen. Again, of course, it's Kansas - they can't exactly show a majestic mountain profile.

Utah



Another good one. Look at that great golden spike driving right in between the trains! It may or may not be what Utah is most famous for, but it's not like you can just put a bunch of Mormons on the quarter. (One of the finalist designs was of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Yeah, that's real timeless.)

Arizona



Possibly the best quarter there is - nice image of the Grand Canyon (certainly the most famous thing in the state), pictures of the saguaros and prickly pears, and the sunset (or sunrise?) in the background. Classy all the way.

Montana



"Montana: Where Things Go To Die!" Really, Montana? Really? That's how we're doing this one? What came in second, a picture of the cabin that Ted Kaczynski lived in? A bunch of camo-clad militiamen?