#22: open a Roth IRA account

Okay, I fully realize that this one sounds boring. So how did I come up with it? Truthfully, it wasn't my idea. At a lab happy hour where I brought up this list, the discussion turned into a brainstorm session. Amidst crazy suggestions like "skydiving" and "bungee jumping," my boss says, "you know what you should REALLY do, open a Roth IRA account!" My immediate reaction was to laugh it off, but two seconds later, it actually made sense. At some point, I should start a retirement account. And better late than never, right? So on April 14th, one day before tax day, I marched into Bank of America to open up my very first IRA account. In fact, I went overboard on this one and opened TWO IRA accounts, one traditional and one Roth. I know nearly nothing about financial investments, but here are the basics:

-you get tax deductions for your contributions to a traditional IRA account, but at age 59.5 or later, when you can take the money out, you'll have to pay taxes on the interests you've earned.

-you don't get tax deduction at the time of contributing to a Roth IRA account, but you won't pay taxes on the interests later on.

I hope I got that right. Of course there are other rules to make it more complicated, such as when your income is above a certain amount, you are not allowed to contribute to your Roth IRA any more. I will eventually figure out the fine print, but for the time being, I've locked away a small stash for retirement. This turned out to be the most sensible item on my list, because chances are, social security will run out before my generation hits retirement. Preparedness is good for the type A personality.

This photo documentation thing might not work out so well. I considered taking a picture at the bank, but it seemed inappropriate. Then I thought about taking a picture of my bank documents--uhhh, no. Eh, photo or no photo, I am an IRA account holder. Hooray!

#11 eat at Mama Mia's

I should explain that the 30 goals are in no particular order. The number simply corresponds to the hand written copy I created.

Mama Mia's is a greasy carry-out place that's at the edge of the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus. Located at the northwest corner of Broadway & Monument, its bright yellow and blue walls make this place stick out like a sore thumb next to red-brick school buildings. For over 4 years, I walk or drive by this place nearly everyday, but never had the courage to try it. What am I afraid of? The lack of sanitation and, I suppose, safety. I want to try this place because I think it would give me more street cred. Had Kennedy Krieger not been in the background, this place probably would have made it into The Wire. Today, as luck would have it, a couple of BPD officers were getting dinner at this fine establishment. So I had nothing to worry about, aside from the possibility of explosive diarrhea--but even then, it would be worth it.

So with much courage, I walked in the restaurant. Annnd, it's not so bad! Sure, it's crowded, a little dirty, and extremely hot since the stove has been going all day in a non-air conditioned room. But it's just people getting food, much like any other carry out place. It's a little chaotic inside: I took a few minutes to locate an outdated menu, even longer to figure out how to place my order, and then a lot of standing around waiting for my food. The cook was super nice. He called me "baby doll," I thought it was cute. Two minutes later I realized that he called every female customer, regardless of age or looks, the same name. I felt less special, but it's still cute. After about 15 minutes, I got my pepper steak and fries, and snapped this picture just outside.

By the time I sat down to eat, the brown paper bags had been completely soaked through by grease. Mmmmmm, clogged arteries. Friends, let me tell you, Mama Mia knows how to make a pepper steak sandwich. It was GREAT. Much better than Pat's and Geno's, that's for sure. It's been 6 hours since dinner, and no sign of GI distress yet. I think I'm safe for the night.

Verdict: delicious food, but I probably won't go again for the sake of my cardiovascular health.

how i started this blog

I don't like to write. I don't keep a diary. I certainly didn't think I would start a blog. But now I have a reason to blog. In the past 5 months, every time I tried something new, I thought to myself, if only I had a bucket list, this would be on it! So a week ago, I finally decided to come up with my very own 30 before 30 -- 30 things to do before I turn 30 (in October 2013). And I suppose it was the movie "Julie and Julia" that inspired me to write about my adventures. But really, I don't expect much readership. This is just a way to keep track of what I've done, all for myself.

I won't post the entire list now. Isn't it more fun to announce them one by one, as I accomplish them? Yes! First, ground rules:

1. Everything on my list has to be within reason. While I would love to travel around the world, let's be real, I won't have the time or the money to do it before I'm 30. This is a list that I actually want to accomplish!

2. I can include 3 items retroactively, but they must have been accomplished within the last 12 months.

3. Try to photo-document each item...this might not be so easy, though I will put forth my best effort.

Here it goes!