Hello Kitty and I are the same age, believe it or not. (We both came into the world in 1974. Her birthday is November 1. Mine is July 15.) In her 30 years, she has actually just seemed to stay in third grade, according to Sanrio, her maker. In that time, I have written two books, graduated from law school, and been admitted to two state bars. Kitty has built a multi-million dollar empire.

She has made the most of her vacations though, traveling the world — one of her hobbies and one of mine as well. She recently visited Hawaii (I have the commemorative pens to prove it!), which I have not done yet. She also likes to read (ditto for me), has lots of friends and makes many new ones on her travels (same for me), likes eating cookies (we share this attribute as well), and she has a twin sister. I do have a sister who is often mistaken for being my twin but is actually not. Hello Kitty is always the ringleader of her friends. I wouldn’t say that I am. Hello Kitty (and the Sanrio people don’t like to spread this gossip in America) also appears to have a boyfriend: Hello Daniel! He is also a cat and also missing a mouth. Further proof that everyone, except me, has a significant other. You can read more at: http://www.amnin.com/kittyfaq99/kittyfaq.htm#2:d. And, of course, the Sanrio site: http://www.sanrio.com/.