40 on the horizon...

[MarkW]

Well, I'm 40 on 3 July.  Gimme the lowdown - what do I need to do in the next few weeks?  I'm looking to you guys for the following:

1.  Things you should have done before you're 40?
2.  Things you shouldn't do after you're 40?
3.  General help and support.

Bring it on.   :-/ ;D

[aMD]

have you wrote your novel yet?

[MarkW]

have you wrote your novel yet?

Nope.  Hmmmm - OK, there's something to do; the American Booksellers' Association tells me that the current top 10 fiction paperback is:

1. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen, Algonquin, $13.95
2. The Gathering - Anne Enright, Black Cat, $14
3. Atonement - Ian McEwan, Anchor, $14.95
4. Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult, Washington Square, $15
5. The Friday Night Knitting Club - Kate Jacobs, Berkley, $14
6. No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy, Vintage, $14
7. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini, Riverhead, $15
8. Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky, Vintage, $14.95
9. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follet, NAL, $24.95
10. The Road - Cormac McCarthy, Vintage, $14.95

I'll get right on to it.  Not much competition there... ;)

[pawpaw]

Well, one of our esteemed Forum members is turning 50 on March 3rd...he might be able to give some advice to a young buck in your situation. I won't out him, in case he's getting a little sensitive about his rapidly approaching 50-ness.

[MarkW]

Well, one of our esteemed Forum members is turning 50 on March 3rd...he might be able to give some advice to a young buck in your situation. I won't out him, in case he's getting a little sensitive about his rapidly approaching 50-ness.

I could do worse than follow in his footsteps.  If I'm still posting here in 10 years time, I've gotta be doing something (anything?) right!

In fact, I'm looking forward to my 50th birthday post - MMJ having just released their seventh award-winning (yet ever-credible) album.

[pawpaw]

Well, one of our esteemed Forum members is turning 50 on March 3rd...he might be able to give some advice to a young buck in your situation. I won't out him, in case he's getting a little sensitive about his rapidly approaching 50-ness.

I could do worse than follow in his footsteps.  If I'm still posting here in 10 years time, I've gotta be doing something (anything?) right!

In fact, I'm looking forward to my 50th birthday post - MMJ having just released their seventh award-winning (yet ever-credible) album.

True, true. If we're still posting here in 10 years, I'll start a thread asking about what to expect for my 40th; I turn 30 in less than a month. In fact, in 10 years, lets both dip into our eventual fortunes and hire MMJ to play a joint 40/50 birthday party for us.

[TEO]

Well, one of our esteemed Forum members is turning 50 on March 3rd...he might be able to give some advice to a young buck in your situation. I won't out him, in case he's getting a little sensitive about his rapidly approaching 50-ness.

Who might that be?

[Jaimoe]

Well, I'm 40 on 3 July.  Gimme the lowdown - what do I need to do in the next few weeks?  I'm looking to you guys for the following:

1.  Things you should have done before you're 40?
2.  Things you shouldn't do after you're 40?
3.  General help and support.

Bring it on.   :-/ ;D

I'm turning 40 on March 26th and I don't give a shit. If you let it, 40 is just a number. I'm in better shape now than I was when I was 25, I'm stronger, smarter, a better guitarist, more confident and I'm married to a wonderful woman 10 years younger than me. A lot of people let themselves go when they hit their 30's, thinking 30-plus is old. They are pathetic, I tell you what. I have tons of things I haven't done yet, but why should there be a time constraint? You have the rest of your life to do the things you haven't yet done, within reason of course. I know I can't wait forever to have kids, but right now I'm happy not having any. I do want a house or condo, but cheaper houses in suburbia isn't an option since I'm morally against suburan living. I want a career change and that window is shortening, so 40 can be constraining for this type of thing. Other than that, my current job is pretty good and I love living in my apartment and neighbourhood in Toronto. 40? I don't want to be 20 again. 30? Well, I'll think about that.

[vespachick]

Well, I'm 40 on 3 July.  Gimme the lowdown - what do I need to do in the next few weeks?  I'm looking to you guys for the following:

1.  Things you should have done before you're 40?
2.  Things you shouldn't do after you're 40?
3.  General help and support.

Bring it on.   :-/ ;D

And I will be 40 on March 12. The other night, a freind of mine mentioned to a new person I was being introduced to that I was almost 40 (which, I think is a weird thing to bring up, but whatever), it didn't sound right in my head at all. Then I realized that it was true.  I will be 40. Nutty.  I feel 26 or 19 or 7.  So, in honor of the occassion I've arranged for the day off of work. I plan to go for a massage and a pedicure or some such.  Maybe see a film at the local art house.  I will have a meal at a great restaurant nearby and walk home to my dog and cat, and the next day I will go to work. Nothing will have changed much.

The worst thing I can imagine about turning 40 is the fact that it makes my parents that much older (and I am truly grateful that they're still here, together and nearby).  I don't mind being the age I am.  I do mind knowing that my mom and dad are not 40 any longer.... I'm not a kid-wanting kind of girl, but I regret that any child I might have had will never know my parents the way I do.

[ycartrob]

I am 44.

40 is good, way better than I thought about it when I was 25...

All I can say is I care less and less what people think about me, which is enlightening, especially in hind sight considering how people's opinions about me used to matter.

I am simply just happy to be here.  :)

There's like billions of people on the planet, I actually know a microscopic portion of them, South Dakota calls to me, I am burning sage, listening to Brian Eno, Sparky is snoring, I did not comb my hair today and I had ribs tonight, I am married to my best friend and don't have to date anymore, and I got some cool kicks that a super fly black kid gave to me, who tagged me TMAR (Tracy the Middle Aged Rapper).

All is well.

[MarkW]

Some intriguing reading here, guys.  I'm not hung up on the age thing (although I did start the topic), I was interested in your differing opinions.

Much like Tracy, I'm married to my best friend and we have a great life together. I also really don't give a flying one what people think of me.

I will admit that, given the choice between seats and standing at a forthcoming Nick Cave gig, I've firmly plumped for the comfy option...

Things I like now that I didn't care about 20 years ago:

Stuffed olives
Nice red wine
Double-cuffed work shirts
Golf
My Morning Jacket


At least one of the above is a good choice.

[pawpaw]

Well, one of our esteemed Forum members is turning 50 on March 3rd...he might be able to give some advice to a young buck in your situation. I won't out him, in case he's getting a little sensitive about his rapidly approaching 50-ness.

Who might that be?

::) Well, gee TEO, I don't know  ::)

[mjkoehler]

Things I like now that I didn't care about 20 years ago:

Stuffed olives
Nice red wine
Double-cuffed work shirts
Golf
My Morning Jacket


At least one of the above is a good choice.

That is a very good list to have actually, especially the olives, wine and JACKET. I've got a few years left (5 to be exact) before 40. 40 is the new 30 I guess. 30 came and went with little fan fare for me. No mid life crisis, no 7 year itch, no sudden urge to get an overly fast car that people are gonna look and question the size of my genitalia. It was just another day.

Like many of you have said, I married my bestest friend. We actually have absolutly nothing in common. She hates 99.9% of my music and I hate the vast majority of hers. She finds my taste in movies and most TV shows suspect where as she is content with stuff like Project Runway, Top Chef, and A Walk To Remember. She hates beer, wine, and vodka, where as I....um enjoy a few too many. But that's what keeps it fun for us. She keeps me in check, hell someone has to. If she liked the same things I did, we probably would be broke as neither of us have any self control when it comes to the things we like/want. If I wasn't around we would have scrap book stuff coming out of every nook and cranny in the house.