a new year is nigh

in not so many weeks I will be turning 33. i find myself inexplicably drawn to this number, and look forward to adopting it as my own for a year. that being said, i will be posting a few prepatory items in anticipation of its arrival. to begin, here is a sprinkling of tiny information nibblets concerning the number 33:

• the number 33 is said to symbolize truth, and that good will always triumph over evil (which is nice.)
• a significant number in modern numerology, it is considered one of the "master" numbers, along with 11 and 22
• those of Islamic faith believe that the dwellers of Heaven will externally exist in a state of being 33 years old
• 33 is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's old number
• in french, italian, romanian, spanish and portuguese, the word a patient is usually asked to say when a doctor is listening to his or her lungs with a stethoscope is 33 (trente-trois, trentatrè, treizeci şi trei, treinta y tres and trinta e três)
• jesus is said to have been 33 years old when he was crucified (in 33 A.D.)
• 33 is the number of innings in the longest baseball game in history (1981, rochester red wings vs pawtucket red sox)
• 33 is the code for international direct-dial phone calls to France
• a normal human spine has 33 vertebrae when the bones that form the coccyx are counted individually