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I was 55 yesterday, what’s ahead?

http://www.heretical.com/miscella/reptile.html

'Now a lot of people say to me, “Hey, P.J., you like to drive fast. Why not join a responsible organization, such as the Sports Car Club of America, and enjoy participation in sports car racing? That way you could drive as fast as you wish while still engaging in a well-regulated spectator sport that is becoming more popular each year.” No thanks. In the first place, if you ask me, those guys are a bunch of tweedy old barf mats who like to talk about things like what necktie they wore to Alberto Ascari’s funeral. And in the second place, they won’t let me drive drunk. They expect me to go out there and smash into things and roll over on the roof and catch fire and burn to death when I’m sober. They must think I’m crazy. That stuff scares me. I have to get completely shit-faced to even think about driving fast. How can you have a lot of exciting thrills when you’re so terrified that you wet yourself all the time? That’s not fun. It’s just not fun to have exciting thrills when you’re scared. Take the heroes of the Iliad for instance – they really had some exciting thrills, and were they scared? No. They were drunk. Every chance they could get. And so am I, and I’m not going out there and have a horrible car wreck until somebody brings me a cocktail.

Also, it’s important to be drunk because being drunk keeps your body all loose, and that way, if you have an accident or anything, you’ll sort of roll with the punches and not get banged up so bad. For example, there was this guy I heard about who was really drunk and was driving through the Adirondacks. He got sideswiped by a bus and went head-on into another car, which knocked him off a bridge, and he plummeted 150 feet into a ravine. I mean, it killed him and everything, but if he hadn’t been so drunk and loose, his body probably would have been banged up a lot worse – and you can imagine how much more upset his wife would have been when she went down to the morgue to identify him.'
 
55 here. I often wonder what aspects of changes I notice in myself are due to ageing and what are due to other factors (maybe exacerbated by ageing...). It strikes me as something which bearing in mind that we all must go through it has very little written about it, as if some sort of taboo... Is that ache or pain due to overdoing things... or to having been laying in bad position in bed... and I would have felt it the same when 40... or is it my age?
Is the "can't be bothered" about something I used to enjoy justified by earned experience (wisdom of age?) of "it's never as good as you expect, you usually get rained on and muddy(whatever), you've seen it all before many times now at your age" etc or is it a case of get up and go having got up and left??? after all I'd have gone for it with relish when I was 40 and poo poohed those concerns...
Certainly I feel like going from 50 to 55 has been infinitely worse than going from 30 to 50 in terms of negative age related effects! As someone who was never athletic or much involved in any sports etc I can't say I noticed any big changes going from 30 to 50 in fact. Not so 50 to 55!
 
I live in the US, need to pay for private healthcare, have only a private pension (no defined benefit) and a spouse that hasn't worked in 20 years. I think I will probably work until I keel over on the job. Land of the free. :rolleyes:
 
Personally, I've always been one lazy sod, so getting older hasn't slowed me down to any great extent.
 
Marchbanks said:
Always remember growing old disgracefully is fun. Chalk up another point every time a twenty-something checkout lady calls you ‘dear’, or offers to help you find the right change.
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Today’s Morrisons lady gave me three ‘loves’ and two ‘dears’ plus a bonus ‘are you all right, lovely?’ when I bent down out of her sight to retrieve an onion that had rolled out of my carrier bag. That’s a ten-point trip by my reckoning.
 
54 here and was sort of coasting to some degree in a satisfying job but getting a touch bored TBH. Applied for an internal senior director role and much to my surprise got it about 4 weeks ago. Life has been turned upside down, certainly not bored any more and having to spark the little grey cells up every day now. Never managed people before and now have a team of 4 including two who in earlier times I have reported to. One of them in two different roles.

Lots of challenges but the retire at 60 plan is still there even if the missus previously gold plated DB pension has been slashed and burned recently. Ah well easy come easy go.

My middle aged crisis 0-60 in 3.1 second car gets delivered on the 10th Dec 2020
 
Can't say I have noticed much difference in the years from 55 to 64. Still feel like a 40 year old. Working out on the gymnastic rings twice a week.

I suppose it takes longer to recover after injury. You want a positive mental attitude of course.
 
zygote23 said:
I'm currently on a career break to teach in Thailand......that worked out well! One of the conditions of my break is that I am not permitted to teach here in N.I whilst on a career break and I cannot cancel my break as they've put someone in my post for a year. I've been asked by the local authority schools to supply teach as they are desperate since so many staff are isolating. I've then been told that if I do this it will be a break in service and will trash my measly pension!.

I've now given up on the Thailand and moving there to work notion ...
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Interesting but also confusing. Currently on a career break (Thailand) but given up the notion. Are you in transit or a vacuum?:). Was this to teach at a regular school (Brit. Council or affiliated to other schools) or as an E.F.L. teacher?

Your N.I. situation seems to be a catch 22 one and wonder if things are different to England. I've never heard or met anyone getting an exchange to a foreign country whilst teaching for local authorities. My stint was a long time ago, though.
 
I’m sure I’ve told this before but anyway here goes.
Before Covid we used to take an annual jolly to that London for a theatre, gallery, restaurant jolly.
We went everywhere by tube.
First time I was asked if I’d like to sit down. Impressed, I smiled and declined.
It happened again on the return journey.
It happened the next day again.
I was getting narked now. My wife thought this was hilarious.
Next day it happened again. I declined and the person offering me a seat turned to my wife and said something.
When we got off the tube I said “ah ha! See they asked you too”
“Oh no”, she replied, “they asked me if you were sure you didn’t want to sit down”!
 
On the cusp of 60, I get called "sir" much more frequently these days. Still working with no end in sight, but I work at home, do so at a leisurely pace, and get out for an hour or 2 of exercise each day. I'm still biking, running, skiing, and playing basketball (not since covid, though). I'm just not as good at these activities as I once was, but no longer care.
 
I remember being 55 like it was last year.. as it’s 5 years, that becomes an issue, as time really does ‘go faster’, wait and see.
 
I retired in April 2014, having cut down to four, then three days a week over the preceding six years. My wife continued to work. It was wonderful. The alarm went off at 6.50. She got up. At 8.00 she brought me a cup of tea and I listened to Radio 4 Extra for half an hour. Round the Horn, The Navy Lark, Hancock.
Then in April 2016 she retired.
We both had high blood pressure, hers being higher than mine. A few weeks into retirement she went for a check by our GP. Her blood pressure had gone down. A few weeks later I went for a check. The GP said, in these very words "Your blood pressure has gone up. Your wife's just retired, hasn't she?"
 
I have become more aware of how others see me of late. I work in quite a young industry, I have clients who are 20 years younger than me & others that I have known for over 15 years.

I went to see my son at Uni earlier in the week & while chatting to his housemates I suddenly thought, “I must be a right old duffer to them”.

I have definitely taken far more care in my appearance recently, I buy better clothes & shoes; don’t want to seem as though I have given up.
 
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