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I think for me it isnt growing old as much as the thought that I am closer to retirement now than the start of my career. And that, say you retire between 60-65, leaves 15-20 years of your life where one of the big drivers of your existence no longer exists. I'm sure people throughout the ages have found ways to deal with this, but not having given this too much attention till now, I found the notion somewhat unsettling.

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7 minutes ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

I think for me it isnt growing old as much as the thought that I am closer to retirement now than the start of my career. And that, say you retire between 60-65, leaves 15-20 years of your life where one of the big drivers of your existence no longer exists. I'm sure people throughout the ages have found ways to deal with this, but not having given this too much attention till now, I found the notion somewhat unsettling.

Not for me, 55 years on the dot. I can't wait. I've loved my job in the past, and it's OK now, but I can't wait to go. Mainly because of the way we've been treated with pay and conditions over last 10 or so years, not the work itself. 

I do need a plan to fill my time though.  

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30 minutes ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

I think for me it isnt growing old as much as the thought that I am closer to retirement now than the start of my career. And that, say you retire between 60-65, leaves 15-20 years of your life where one of the big drivers of your existence no longer exists. I'm sure people throughout the ages have found ways to deal with this, but not having given this too much attention till now, I found the notion somewhat unsettling.

You don’t have to retire.

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3 hours ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

I think for me it isnt growing old as much as the thought that I am closer to retirement now than the start of my career. And that, say you retire between 60-65, leaves 15-20 years of your life where one of the big drivers of your existence no longer exists. I'm sure people throughout the ages have found ways to deal with this, but not having given this too much attention till now, I found the notion somewhat unsettling.

Historically, it's called "dying"

More recently, it's called "golf"

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One of my sisters is 20 years younger than me.  She's a junior in college now.  She was looking at pictures of my siblings and me from when I was in high school and said "it must have been so tough in the late 1900's, not having a phone all the time."

It took the sting off a little bit because she was trying to be an asshole, but damn, did it make me feel old.  

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Something I like to do with huge numbers I can't get my head around - so something like "Zuckerberg has a net worth of £63.8 Bn"
Is to convert those dollars (or whatever else) into seconds, and see how far back in time 63.8 billion seconds would be.
The answer btw is 2023 years, so a dollar per second, every second, since the birth of Christ*.

 

A million seconds is about 11.57 days
A billion seconds is about 31.71 years
A trillion seconds is about 31,709.8 years

 

 

Talking of Christ, and fitting for this thread...

Whever I feel that I haven't achieved much for my age, and maybe my impact upon the world is pretty negligible, I like to remind myself that Christ, Cobain, Mozart, Alexander the Great, Bruce Lee... the list goes on (and on, and on) were all dead by 35 (when I took my first step on the housing ladder).
Hell, now I'm 47, I can add the likes of JFK and Elvis

Edited by Which Tyler
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What really hit me is that my wife turns 50 in a few months (she’s older than me), we’re celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary later this year, and our son will leave for university in 2.5 years, leaving us as empty-nesters with the crone (MiL) — suddenly jumping from being a young family together to being the freakin’ Golden Girls!  When did this happen?  I still feel young inside!

It’s nearly 20 years since I first started lurking on the old EZBoard.  Killing time by reading about Zorse Wars and other whimsical bollocks as I waited for simulations to run late in the evening at the office. I just searched one evening for R+L=J and fell down the rabbit hole.

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16 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

And as of today my marriage old enough to drink in everything State of the United States.  :) 

Congrats! That's fantastic, Scot, all the best to you and yours.

 

And like you, I have been around this forum for more than 20 years (since high school). Scot, you were even my first internet argument. :box:

Not sure how I even got here - the board or this age.

I turn 40 this year and that's fine. I don't care about my age. What really leaps out at me is that I have former students who now have kids who have graduated from high school. Like...wha? I started off teaching and I was the young, hip, cool cat* teacher...now I'm just the old guy that shocks the kids by pointing out I know old rock like Nirvana, even saw some of their classic faves like Metallica. I don't think I would feel old at all were it not for those pesky kids.

 

*aight, I was never cool

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38 minutes ago, Lightning Lord said:

And like you, I have been around this forum for more than 20 years (since high school).

So your time here predates the Twins' playoff losing streak?

 

Quote

I just searched one evening for R+L=J and fell down the rabbit hole.

Same reason I stumbled into this place.

 

Edited by Tywin et al.
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5 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

I just searched one evening for R+L=J and fell down the rabbit hole.

"You are a Stark. You might not have my name. But you have my blood..." ... "The next time we see each other, we'll talk about your mother. Mm? I promise." - NOT George R.R. Martin

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7 hours ago, Lightning Lord said:

*aight, I was never cool

“Cool” is entirely how you present yourself.  I have never attempted to be “cool”.  I have always been excitable, enthusiastic, and emotional.  Pretty much what you see is what you get.  In my earnest opinion “cool” is overrated. ;)

(I’m flattered to be your first online argument).

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21 hours ago, Which Tyler said:

Historically, it's called "dying"

More recently, it's called "golf"

Might be I'm still not old enough but I must admit I don't understand the appeal of golf at all.

9 hours ago, Lightning Lord said:

I turn 40 this year and that's fine. I don't care about my age. What really leaps out at me is that I have former students who now have kids who have graduated from high school. Like...wha? I started off teaching and I was the young, hip, cool cat* teacher...now I'm just the old guy that shocks the kids by pointing out I know old rock like Nirvana, even saw some of their classic faves like Metallica. I don't think I would feel old at all were it not for those pesky kids.

I'm not a teacher but I've worked with some people who were 15 or 16 years younger than me. One of my biggest shocks was that one of them was born after a sporting event that was very iconic and traumatising :lol: for my generation (I was almost 15 when it happened). I came to terms with the fact that some (then many, then almost all) world-class athletes taking part in those big events are younger than me more or less easily, but the shock of someone not even being born for some of those events was shocking.

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4 hours ago, baxus said:

 

I'm not a teacher but I've worked with some people who were 15 or 16 years younger than me. One of my biggest shocks was that one of them was born after a sporting event that was very iconic and traumatising :lol: for my generation (I was almost 15 when it happened). I came to terms with the fact that some (then many, then almost all) world-class athletes taking part in those big events are younger than me more or less easily, but the shock of someone not even being born for some of those events was shocking.

Patrick Mahomes thinks Randy Moss is a kind of non-flowering but extremely sexual plant. 

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On 2/17/2023 at 7:07 PM, Which Tyler said:

Historically, it's called "dying"

More recently, it's called "golf"

Call me a conservative, but the old way of dying looks much more appealing. I'd rather gallop full spring into the glue factory, than onto a golf course. Well, other than taking a dump on the green.

If you want an awesome spare time activity for your retirement. If you have a garden, try beekeeping, or gardening in general.  Or you could pick cooking as a hobby. Any of those things are preferable to golf.

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I don’t consider myself that old, but a moment for me occurred once a few years ago while subbing at a high school. Another teacher was talking about major historical events in our lifetime and started hinting at 9/11, when no one mentioned it, they said it incredulously. One of the kids replied they were two months old in 2001. 
 

ETA: I think March will mark my 21st yr on this board or it’s prior iterations.

Edited by Reny of Storms End
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I guess, I'm still comparably young, but it just hits me I'm getting 30 in a few months. Aside neck pain and having to be more conscious about my weight, I... well, most of the time it still feels like I'm just pretending to be an adult. Everyone just seems to have their shit together so much more, meanwhile I'm almost the same guy with 29 that I was with 19. And now I'm not the youngest teacher at my school anymore, but all the new younger ones also have wife and kids and have seen so much of the world and here I'm still living with my mother constantly worry about how they'd react if they ever found out...

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