I never ever thought of 30 as "old."  My grandmother said when I turned 30 that from now on I would always be "29."  I didn't understand.  I guess I've never been afraid to get older.  I'm so much wiser and stronger, so much more beautiful on the inside and the out, that I could never feel like being that age, or the one that I am now, is old.  Then again, I had a terrible childhood and so adulthood means something very different to me than to those who treasured their childhoods as much as many do or have.  I do wish you the happiest of birthdays. May this new decade of your life be much more than you ever hoped of it.  I guess that will depend on your outlook on it more than whether that reality mysteriously creates itself. 

I'm a New Yorker too and just stopping in to say hello.  A friend of mine recommends me on occasion to people's sites to see if we have anything in common if we can assist each other in some way.  I do believe that is a big part of why we are on this planet.  To help.