Thread: Ask me about being middle-aged

Okay, this could be interesting. A few questions.

Do you feel any wiser now that you are older?

Did you expect to get where you are now?

Has your perspective on life changed at all?

Many people at a young age think themselves to be invincible in a sense, do you think that view still applies to you now that your older?

I have a few qestions too:

How does the amount of stress you have compare to earlier times in your life?

Has your view on death changed any as you get older? how does it differ from when you were younger?

Have you changed socialy, and with the kinds of people you profer to talk to?

Has life slowed down much over the years? Do you think it effects your stress level or can you deal better with changes and problems.

Originally Posted by Lucid Seeker

Do you feel any wiser now that you are older?

Absolutely!

It's funny how the perspective on wisdom vs. age changes as you get older. When I was young, there was so much in the way of accepted knowledge of older people that I just didn't buy into. I felt pretty damn smart, and had the general feeling that old people just didn't "get it." But looking back at decisions I made when younger sometimes makes me cringe. It's pretty easy to see that as long as you can learn from your mistakes, you're only going to get wiser and wiser... at least until senility sets in.

Did you expect to get where you are now?

I never really knew what to expect. I guess I didn't think I would be making as good a living as I am. Things change pretty dramatically in 40 years in the world in general.

Has your perspective on life changed at all?

I suppose I've lost some of my idealism. I have a lot more confidence in myself, which is one of my bigger changes. I'm more pessimistic about people in general, which makes me value my good friends and family more than ever.

Many people at a young age think themselves to be invincible in a sense, do you think that view still applies to you now that your older?

That sense of invincibility tends to wane in your early thirties, or when you start seeing several doctors on a regular basis, whichever comes first. Having to earn a living without help from parents is probably the real start of this going, though. The next important step after realizing that you are not invincible is to realize that it doesn't ultimately matter.

Originally Posted by LucidDreamGod

How does the amount of stress you have compare to earlier times in your life?

There is more stress, no doubt whatsoever. However, I've learned to cope with it better and better over the years. Stress generally comes when you start to juggle more and more important things. Having to worry about keeping a job, taxes, mortgages, insurance, health problems, and other obligations takes its toll.

Has your view on death changed any as you get older? how does it differ from when you were younger?

Not much, though I've never had much fear of death. I'm more afraid of family and friends dying, which of course becomes more commonplace as you age.

Have you changed socialy, and with the kinds of people you profer to talk to?

I grew up as an extreme introvert, and very slowly came out of my shell. I'm still a little bit of an introvert, but am so much better at socializing, and feel more comfortable doing so. The kinds of people I like to talk to has always been the same: a little bit crazy, very smart, and very funny.

Has life slowed down much over the years? Do you think it effects your stress level or can you deal better with changes and problems.

Here's the news every young person should know: Life does not slow down (at least before retirement). It gets faster. In fact, what you will experience is that every year feels shorter than the previous one. Eventually, time will feel like it's just flying by, and hard to keep up with.

I have a theory about this that goes like this. Every period of time you experience is measured against how long you have so far lived. When you are 10 years old, a year is 10% of your life... a pretty hefty chunk. But when you are 40, it is only 2.5% of your life, so it feels four times as fast! I call this the "Percentage of Lifetime Theory," and I have no supporting scientific evidence whatsoever.

Does your body really go down the gutter after 40 ?

Originally Posted by Spartiate

Does your body really go down the gutter after 40 ?

Define "gutter" and I may be able to be more specific.

Here's a rough guide built on my experience... your mileage may vary.

At 30 your metabolism starts to slow down a bit. With the same diet and exercise as pre-30, you will gain weight. At the same time, your body will resist exercise more, meaning you are losing flexibility. So far, no big deal.

At 35 you may start to feel your first muscle and joint pains that don't seem to be tied to any duress. If your vision and hearing have been perfect all your life, they will likely start to deteriorate a bit at this point.

At 40ish your metabolism hits a brick wall. You'd better be ready, 'cause the wall is there for everyone, and no, you are not an exception! At this point you've probably lost a lot of flexibility. Bending over is not especially fun. Not a problem, per se, but not fun. All of the little medical problems you never knew you had start to emerge from nowhere. Any skin problems you've had are magnified.

Originally Posted by skysaw

Define "gutter" and I may be able to be more specific.

Here's a rough guide built on my experience... your mileage may vary.

At 30 your metabolism starts to slow down a bit. With the same diet and exercise as pre-30, you will gain weight. At the same time, your body will resist exercise more, meaning you are losing flexibility. So far, no big deal.

At 35 you may start to feel your first muscle and joint pains that don't seem to be tied to any duress. If your vision and hearing have been perfect all your life, they will likely start to deteriorate a bit at this point.

At 40ish your metabolism hits a brick wall. You'd better be ready, 'cause the wall is there for everyone, and no, you are not an exception! At this point you've probably lost a lot of flexibility. Bending over is not especially fun. Not a problem, per se, but not fun. All of the little medical problems you never knew you had start to emerge from nowhere. Any skin problems you've had are magnified.

Yeah, that`s kind of what I meant. My father says that 40 is the "magic number" where you suddenly gain weight, arthritis kicks in, you start spending more time in the bathroom than sleeping...

Did you like "Wild Hogs?"

Originally Posted by ninja9578

Did you like "Wild Hogs?"

I didn't see it, and so far no one has offered me enough money to sit through it.

Do you feel like you've wasted your dreams, just so you could have a generic lifestly ie by a house,get a wife and get her pregnat,raise kids,retire. (Assuming you have lived that type of lifestyle)

Instead of living like Indiana jones and fighting congolese militants in the jungle or something crazy like that. Do you wish you went down the "Indiana Jones" road?

Originally Posted by dragonoverlord

Do you feel like you've wasted your dreams, just so you could have a generic lifestly ie by a house,get a wife and get her pregnat,raise kids,retire. (Assuming you have lived that type of lifestyle)

Instead of living like Indiana jones and fighting congolese militants in the jungle or something crazy like that. Do you wish you went down the "Indiana Jones" road?

My only dream has been writing music, and I've been doing that. I do feel like I wasted a number of years not doing it enough, but I'm doing enough now to make me happy.

No kids here. No time for it, and I like my money. There was a time when I was somewhat ready to procreate, but that time has passed, and my wife is against the idea anyway.

I'm trying to remember anything else I thought I might like to do when I was a kid. For a very brief time I thought I'd make a good stunt man. Good thing I didn't follow through on that one!

Originally Posted by skysaw

Pong, Atari, Apple II, and TRS-80

That's about where I pick up on your list. I was alive during Watergate, but I had no idea what was going on. I didn't know what a president was until Carter was in office, but I remember something about hearing Ford's name some.

What kind of music do you like?

And do you hate today's music?

Originally Posted by Grod

What kind of music do you like?

And do you hate today's music?

I hate almost everything played on the radio (at least in this area), but that's not a product of my age. I've always been that way!

I'm into modern classical music. So far as pop music goes, I like anything unusual, including a lot of bands current today. I wonder how many of these you know? They get little to no airplay in these parts.

Sparklehorse
Grandaddy
Doves
Elbow
Spoon
Flaming Lips
South
Mercury Rev
Heatmiser
Eels
Bjork
Badly Drawn Boy

Going back further in time:
Roxy Music
King Crimson
Eno
Beatles
Mott the Hoople
Bowie (early)
Sparks
Neil Young
Zappa

At what age did you write out your will?

Originally Posted by Jeff777

At what age did you write out your will?

I haven't. It's much less pressing without children.

You remember the Beatles breakup when you were like... 6?

I would probably be oblivious at that age... probably not actually, since I would be in an age of good musics. I was just oblivious at that age since there was no good media.

Originally Posted by skysaw

I hate almost everything played on the radio (at least in this area), but that's not a product of my age. I've always been that way!

I'm into modern classical music. So far as pop music goes, I like anything unusual, including a lot of bands current today. I wonder how many of these you know? They get little to no airplay in these parts.

Sparklehorse
Grandaddy
Doves
Elbow
Spoon
Flaming Lips
South
Mercury Rev
Heatmiser
Eels
Bjork
Badly Drawn Boy

Going back further in time:
Roxy Music
King Crimson
Eno
Beatles
Mott the Hoople
Bowie (early)
Sparks
Neil Young
Zappa

I love your musics. Crimson, Eno, Bowie, Zappa, Young, Beatles, Roxy...

I don't really know Mott the Hoople too well, but I was listening to them the other day and liked them. Looks like I need to do more music getting!

As far as the music today not being part of your age... I'm 16, and it is still shit. While age does play a part in lots of music, it seems common sense that the music today is horrible. Well... not common sense, since 99% of the people I know listen to it. They're all worthless though.


My question:

Do instruments get harder to play with age? What age did your music playing peak, or is it still rising? How jealous can I be of you and your Stick? That probably sounded wrong... Chapman Stick.

Hey, Sky, did you see this?

http://www.reuters.com/article/healt...rpc=22&sp=true

It says that people are most depressed in their forties. So if this is as bad as it gets, we can handle it, right?

Originally Posted by Spartiate

Yeah, that`s kind of what I meant. My father says that 40 is the "magic number" where you suddenly gain weight, arthritis kicks in, you start spending more time in the bathroom than sleeping...

Not necessarily! I was thinking that was 50. We'll see.

It's this damn gray hair that I can't handle; but it does give me an excuse to make it a different color every season.

Originally Posted by skysaw

Spoon
Flaming Lips
Bjork

heh. These three I know.

And of course everything from further back.

Originally Posted by Stephent91

You remember the Beatles breakup when you were like... 6?

Yes indeed, I do! I was a huge Beatle fan from age 5.

Do instruments get harder to play with age? What age did your music playing peak, or is it still rising? How jealous can I be of you and your Stick? That probably sounded wrong... Chapman Stick.

Playing doesn't get harder unless you don't practice.

Of course it's important to start early if you want to be any good at an instrument. I'd say 5 is not too early at all, but 13 works in a pinch. Learning instruments is a little like learning languages in that each new one you learn is easier than the last one. There is a cumulative effect.

I'm not super proficient on the Stick since I haven't practiced much in the last year. Funny you should mention it because I had a dream about it last night... my nephew dropped it on the floor!

Originally Posted by Moonbeam;687987[URL

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSL2957448420080129?feedType=RSS&feedName=health News&rpc=22&sp=true[/URL]

It says that people are most depressed in their forties. So if this is as bad as it gets, we can handle it, right?

Interesting! I find I have some slight depression at times, especially during the Winter, but I'm generally a happy person. I still have 6 full years left of my forties, so we'll see how that "U" shapes up.

It's this damn gray hair that I can't handle; but it does give me an excuse to make it a different color every season.

Gray hair is better than no hair!

Originally Posted by Grod

Spoon
Flaming Lips
Bjork

heh. These three I know.

If you like Spoon and Flaming lips, you absolutle MUST take a listen to Doves and Elbow!

Originally Posted by skysaw

I'm not super proficient on the Stick since I haven't practiced much in the last year. Funny you should mention it because I had a dream about it last night... my nephew dropped it on the floor!

You have a Stick!!!!!!!

I've been jonesing for one ever since Levin broke one out for that iteration of King Crimson. They are amazing instruments.

Is there a standard tuning for them, or is it like a steel guitar where there are lots of different approaches?

Oops - guess I'm thread jacking here. Feel free to PM if you respond.

Now, to get this back on track... um... ok - are you finding yourself less tolerant of idiots as you get older?