Today is Ryan’s 14th birthday.
Fourteen, man. When I met him, he was six. I told him last night how lucky he is to have a normal life: When I was his age, I’d already done Stand By Me, and was about to start Next Generation.
Today, we’re taking him to the beach, and then off to a baseball game. If there’s something better than a baseball game with kids, I don’t know what it is.
Oh, wait, yes I do, and it rhymes with Olympic Gardens.
Heh.
I’m going to be offline from tomorrow morning until Monday. Anne and I will be in Las Vegas for the big Creation Star Trek convention. Check the audio blog for reports.

Yesterday, I went my my friend Russ and his friend Jed, and had my first official “pitch” meeting. It’s sort of like an audition, but instead of taking some producers a character that I’ve developed for a show that already exists, we take the concept for a show, and tell network executives why they’d like to produce it.
I hope it is the only pitch I ever have to go through, because it was awesome. We met with four execs at Sci-Fi Channel, and they were all cool. They totally got what our show is about, and they seemed pretty excited about it.
More importantly, I had a lot of fun when I was up there, because the people we met with let us have fun. They totally made me feel like we were all on the same team, working out this cool idea, making big plans for big fun, like they were happy to spend some of their morning with us. It was veyr different from most meetings I go into, where the person across the desk makes me feel like I’m a burden on their life for even walking in the door.
We joked about lots of stuff. My favorite moment went like this:
Jed, one of the creators of this idea, said, “Wil is going to host the show, but he’ll be more of a character than he is right now.”
I had no idea WTF that meant, and I think it sort of confused everyone in the room, so I said, “Yes, I’ll be exactly like I am now, but funner, smarter, more charming, and better looking.”
I paused for just a second, and said, “Yeah, I’ll be just like me, but better.”
We all laughed, and I gave Jed lots of shit about it when we were done. He told me that he was trying to compliment me, but it just didn’t come out the way he intended. Sort of like me and Jonathan Frakes, when I told him “I can totally tell that you used to be cool.”

Hooray! It’s my birthday!!!
You know, I never get tired of seeing this.
Lots of people have send birthday wishes via e-mail . . . that’s really cool. Thank you, everyone 🙂
Oh, and get this! The way my birthday started? Last night, just before falling asleep, I put on The Simpsons . . . and saw the episode where Lisa needs braces, and the power plant goes on strike. It’s my favorite episode of all time, and it provided the name for my first lameass website, “Where’s My Burrito?”

I almost forgot:
I’m in this movie called Neverland. It’s a re-telling of the Peter Pan story, and I think it’s really awesome. I’m very proud of the entire film, and I have a few very funny moments in it.
People ask me all the time where and when they can see it, and I always have to say, “I don’t know.”
Then they say, “Why don’t you shut up, then, you big doodie head?!”
And I’m all, “I know you are, but what am I?”
And then they’re all, “I’m telling!”
And I go, “Fine. Go and tell. I was gonna invite you to a screening, but now I’m not.”
. . . and, scene.
So if you’re in or near Los Angeles, and you’d like to see a cool movie, check it out:

Dances With Films
NEVERLAND
Tuesday, July 29th, 9:30
www.ticketweb.com
1-866-468-3399

I turn 31 in four days.
The difference between the approach to the 31st birthday and the 30th birthday is profound.
Last year, I viewed my birthday as a deadline. This year, it feels more like a cool milestone.
I remember when I was freaking out about hitting my 30s. I talked with one of my friends who was in her late 30s, and she told me, “Don’t obsess about this too much, Wil. Your 30s are so much better than your 20s. Your 20s are spent gathering information about your world and yourself, and your 30s are spent enjoying the benefits of that information.”
She was totally right. So far, my 30s have been amazing. Here’s a list of seven things I’m grateful for — things I’ve accomplished in my 30s:

1. I accepted that I’ll never be bigger than Star Trek or Stand By Me, and discovered that that’s not a bad thing at all.
2. I had two submissions accepted at slashdot.
3. Anne and I walked in the Avon 3*Day. You guys who read my site contributed over 17,000 dollars to our cause. I am confident that we’ve made a difference in the lives of people we’ll never meet.
4. I crossed several things off my wishlist: I published a book, I recorded a voice in a video game, and I was interviewed for the Onion A / V club.
5. I finally learned how to put top spin on a ping pong ball. Look out, Winona. i will pwn joo.
6. I achieved escape velocity from TVSWILWHEATON(I hate that guy).
7. I took charge of my life.

Most of my friends are between 27 and 34, and we’re all happy and successful in various ways. The one thing we have in common is that we’ve all made our own success. None of us has climbed a corporate ladder, or played a Hollywood Game to get where we are.
And we’re all happy.
So if anyone reading this is nearing 30, and freaking out like I was, allow me to impart something I’ve learned in the last year: it’s not bad at all. So quit worrying, and enjoy the ride.
And don’t forget to mark your very first, “Those damn kids today” moment. You’ll want to remember that.
Before I go, I want to apologize to anyone who was offended by my entry yesterday. You should only suck it if you’re into sucking it. Everyone else, though, should certainly suck it, because suck it is the catchphrase that’s sweeping the nation. It’s what all the cool kids are doing these days.