In mathematics, 100 is the square of 10, the base of percentages, and the sum of the first nine prime numbers. (You can totally google this last factoid if you don’t believe me but honestly, how cool!?) In science on the Celsius scale, 100 degrees is the boiling temperature of pure water at sea level. In religion, serious Jews are expected to utter at least 100 blessings daily– you can see why I opted to go Jew-ish instead of full-on Jew, right? Oy.
The United States has 100 Senators (some of whom actually work) but all Senators earn lots of “Benjamins,” the slang for the $100 dollar bill which displays Ben Franklin’s picture right on the money. In Greece, India and Nepal, 100 is the police telephone number. And one hundred represents the number of yards on a regulation football field. But for me, 100 equals the number of blog posts I’ve published so far!
There is no party planned and I have no treat in mind (not even a Scooby snack) for reaching this milestone, other than the sheer delight I feel to have memorialized so many words, thoughts and feelings that I’ve been able to share. The body of work itself is the true reward for me.
I throw around the number 100 fairly loosely when I say, “It’s like 100 degrees outside today,” or “I’ve called her like 100 times!” I guess tossing the word “like” in there shows that I’m exaggerating the point just a bit, as opposed to making it a simile. But in the case of my 100 posts, no exaggeration is even necessary– just like Ben Franklin, I’m right on the money.
My son Matty would sometimes use the expression “Hundo P”– a cool abbreviation meaning one hundred percent. (I don’t think he says it anymore. It was in a few years ago. But I still like it.) So today I celebrate Death by Chocolate, Mixed Results, Perfect Pairs, Pushing It, Going Big, Getting Smashed, Skipping Lunch, and New Wave Gastrology, along with the other stories I’ve authored this year. And I hope my future ideas make you laugh or cry or remember something treasured from your own past or help you connect with someone important to you. And in a few months or a few years when you ask, “Hey Jen, are you still writing that blog?” I can say with confidence, “Hundo P!” and you’ll know exactly what I mean.
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