Turning 30 was rumored to be a personal disaster: where I’d find myself in a shadowy corner wrapped around a bottle of throat burning liquor, wallowing for my lost youth. It did not work out that way though. My 30th birthday came and went this week without much thought on the subject, despite my penchant for doing so in the past. But this is progress for me, and I’ll toast a frosty brew to that.

It’s nice to know that losing your twenties really is just another silly myth we fear. It was difficult to be certain about that before now. I made a lot of stupid decisions in my twenties. The likes of which I’d rather forget about. Being 30 allows me to turn a page on all of it. Instead, I’ve now come to appreciate the wisdom I’ve gained from all of the failures and rejections that have dragged me down over the last ten years.

So I’m optimistic I will not have to live vicariously through material possessions, having kids, or going on vacations in order to find meaning in my thirties like most people seem to. The path of a creative person is never pretty, but I feel it’s far more fulfilling than anything else I could possibly be doing as a career or hobby.

Just because I don’t have the level of daily energy I used to, or know that gray hair and wrinkles are just five to ten years away, that does not mean I’m going to give up on my goals anytime soon. I still dream of having an efficient career without having to be routine, to constantly evolve my creative focus, and try as many new things in life as possible.

Sure, I just exhaled a couple paragraphs of pipe smoke there, but I sincerely mean it. When I turn 40, I honestly believe I’ll look back at this point and say, “This is where I finally got my shit together.” Feel free to check back then, and call my bluff.

As the bite of the winter wind blows across the faces of New Yorkers this morning on December 20, 2005, it will not be because of a passing subway train or a public bus. No, the chill they feel as they are forced to walk over bridges to get to work is the colossal greed shared in a contract struggle by the Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Transport Workers Union.

Just as the marriage-honeymoon high was beginning to wear off, we received some good news regarding our miniature art project, Acyrliture: Bite Size. Since its launch back in late March, the creative fusion by Rodriguez and Sahm has made its way into Art-O-Mat vending machines in 12 states.

But none was more desired than the machine housed at the Whitney Museum in New York City. So when the news came to us, we thought it was too good to be true. Thus, a visit was necessary. As the pictures show below, Acyrliture: Bite Size had indeed arrived. With the purchase of a token from the store cashier, the machine operates exactly like the classic cigarette machine it was salvaged from— pull the handle and a piece of hand-made minature art is yours.

If you’re in NYC, be sure to check out the Art-O-Mat located in the Whitney Store on the lower level. If not, you can also get an Acyrliture: Bite Size online exclusively at Magic Junk. Makes a great stocking stuffer or pollyanna for the holidays.

Click here for the large hi-resolution version.

At the most primordial level, we work to earn money. The capital that pays our bills, keeps us fed, allows us to support our children, have hobbies and so on. Quite often, we get so wrapped up in earning that cash, that our work day (or night for you vampires out there) becomes a routine. A routine that we become numb to, that we forget is eating away some of the better years of our lives.

So, riddle me this, blog reader: can you predict with a 90% accuracy rate exactly what will happen to you at work today? Tomorrow? This month? If you can, then you’re in the same cubicle as me.

To illustrate this, here was an eye opener for me yesterday. I walked into my favorite Manhattan deli, set to order the same tossed salad I get every Monday. I know exactly what I get every time, as well as the periodic variations I use. However, the young man who had prepared my salads for the past few years was out from behind the counter. He was wearing a shirt and tie, and walking around the deli with a clipboard. He had been promoted. Since we are civil to each other, I congratulated him and he was genuinely appreciative. Hell, I almost felt proud for him.

However, after I left the deli, it reminded me that I’ve never been promoted by my company in the six years I’ve been here. It is not as much a reflection of my performance, as it is that there is no position for me to ascend to. I tolerate my career path for the most part because my options are limited, but reality begged me to ask “How long is too long to stay at a job?”

According to a Washingtonian article, that time is three to five years if you haven’t been promoted. Uh oh, looks like I am overdue. Such reluctance leaves me open to becoming what CareerOne.Com.Au calls a quit stay, where you have ‘mentally quit your job but keep turning up for work anyway.’ Now that’s scary. But of course, things like this wouldn’t get defined if it was not happening.

So as I read more information on related topics, Salary.com listed the top ten reasons to leave your job. Check them out for yourself. If you have five or more as a reason to leave, perhaps it’s time to smack yourself in the face. Pour some salt in your coffee. Take a hard look at where you are and where you want to be— do they line up anytime soon?

Of course, such a look can be depressing to most, present company included. But as hard as it is to swallow, you have to use it as motivation. Unless the folks at the Reincarnation Institute are right, you only get one life, so don’t waste it doing bullshit work in a career path you have no passion for. All of the links above should tell you if it has been too long.

Therefore, the point of this article is if you are in the same cubicle of numbness as me, start taking steps to get to where you want to be. Even if you spend the rest of your life trying but fail anyway, it beats the hell out of sitting around waiting for something to happen. With that, I have to go take a dose of my own medicine. Good luck.