I am too old for this...the 40 plus thread.

i'm already at the bifocal-contacts stage. i know i'll soon be at the point where i'll need f--g "reading glasses." or only read big-print texts.

48 and counting

Area 51.

http://a1star.com/images/area51.gif

I felt like a schlub last weekend when my 65 year old father came over to help me work on my yard and he would be digging up roots and sawing branches for hours at a time without taking breaks and I'd have to sit down after just mowing the grass.

Strangely 40 and 41 were OK for me. 42-45 were killers. I think I sort of rounded down in my mind, like oh, I'm still in my 30s. 42 and after, brutal.

I feel like I turned 40 as soon as I had kids. Now that I'm almost 40, I'm really glad I wasn't 40 when I had kids.

I don't have kids, sometimes I still think that I'm 26

I don't have kids, sometimes I still think that I'm 26.
Then I try to get out of bed.

yup

i'm not looking forward to 50, except that -- by then -- we'll be prepping our daughter for college, which will be awesome (and stressful, and expensive, and will make me sad if she'll be far away, and . . . bah).

haha for me it's more like I can't subsist on pizza and fried convenience foods and ice cream the way I did back then without feeling gross.

Also, it's harder to get excited about music and shows ...

yeah, i haven't been to a concert in years. i miss live music.

and i've been threatening to go get drunk at a karaoke bar. that would be bad for everyone involved.

I went to two last weekend ... but I used to go to like 4-5 a week

i just hope my next concert isn't taking our daughter to one-direction. i'd prefer taylor swift.

i will veto justin bieber.

I want live music to feature prominently in my 40s. As long as there are seats lol j/k

i feel like i am benefiting from lowered expectations. like 'hey, you don't look so bad for a 43yo'

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ hearing this. i tell people i'm 56.

(j/k about the "tell people i'm 56" part)

(btw i meant that as a self-image thing -- no one actually says that to me!)

As long as there are seats lol j/k

not a joke for us

(my wife and I)

Definitely downshifting on various fronts, only been to a few shows this year, etc. etc. Not complaining, though -- the part of me that was always "I'd rather just chill and read/listen/whatever at home" is now feeling plenty justified, while I still have lot of great show memories anyway.

Our Amber went to see Taylor Swift with a friend and her mum, about 7 years ago. Bieber was support. She thought T was ok, B was rub.

Did not have to take her. I did take them both to see Busted, back in the day.

The funny thing is, the only live venue in Reading mainly puts on bands that people my age would go see (Bad Manners, The Orb, Cast, etc)

yes, also part of the great 48 and can't really tolerate, any longer, gigs where i have to stand for long periods, where it's hot or crowded, where there are poor sightlines or a noisy bar, where it's too big a venue, etc etc. can't imagine i will ever go to an outdoor festival of any description, again. on the plus side, the need for comfort, decent sound, attentive audiences etc has driven me towards many more 'classical' etc performances, which is a new and sustaining pleasure.

so i don't think i'm done w/ consuming stuff just yet.

Oh, we did Reading Festival like we used to: go see bands we want to, also go to stages at random and find bands we don't know but discover they're great, sort of thing.

Only difference is Amber is locked down the front w/ her friends.

Now that I'm almost 40, I'm really glad I wasn't 40 when I had kids.

yes, also part of the great 48 and can't really tolerate, any longer, gigs where i have to stand for long periods, where it's hot or crowded, where there are poor sightlines or a noisy bar, where it's too big a venue, etc etc. can't imagine i will ever go to an outdoor festival of any description, again. on the plus side, the need for comfort, decent sound, attentive audiences etc has driven me towards many more 'classical' etc performances, which is a new and sustaining pleasure.

so i don't think i'm done w/ consuming stuff just yet.

― sʌxihɔːl (Ward Fowler), Friday, November 7, 2014 5:26 PM (4 minutes ago)

I feel quite good for an old bastard. The metal in the ankle occasionally throbs, the tinnitus drones at night, I get mighty tired sometimes and the eyesight is fucking terrible. I suffer from insomnia and sometimes worry about all the asbestos I have been exposed to. every time I look in a mirror some fucking bent-nosed grotesque with receding hair is impersonating me. Yeah I love getting old!

The sidies are getting grey mainly, a few eye wrinks, apart from that ..

The eyesight is much the same as it ever was, might even have got better as I thought I was going long. Full hairy head, you know its ok.

i don't really go to shows anymore, but for different reasons than being old

and my drastic nearsightedness has actually been eased by the farsighted tendencies of age

Just turned 49. I still go to a LOT of shows, but because I'm out in the suburbs with only a vague income for the time being I'm mindful about where I'm spending my $$$. Far more excited about $10 club shows than I am about dropping $60 + $parking at a fancier seated venue. The biggest show I go to these days is Austin Psych Fest.

The biggest change as I've gotten older is that I see far fewer movies in a theater.

and my drastic nearsightedness has actually been eased by the farsighted tendencies of age

I am waiting for this to happen to me.

i am only 31 but i DO have one kid and another on the way next year and tbqf i really love this thread

Josh in Chicago
Posted: November 7, 2014 at 3:30:53 PM
I feel like I turned 40 as soon as I had kids. Now that I'm almost 40, I'm really glad I wasn't 40 when I had kids.

Hahahahahahahahahahahaaa oh no

I'm weirdly feeling healthier as I trudge into my 40s (tbf plenty of reasons for that, mostly involving ahem well life and habit decisions). Weirdly timed getting my shit together far later than the rest of the world, so this seems like the golden awesome years most of the times. Still lots of shows (kid dependent), lots of friends on the same arrested development schedule, outside of oh shit my parents will die sooner than I want, my 40s are awesome.

Be back in a week when my organs all turn to mush and my hip explodes to recant.

i think when i turn 35 i'm just gonna force myself into a "i'm an awes 60 year old" mindset and aging will be a breeze

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/03/secret-fantasies-adults

i think when i turn 60 i'm just gonna force myself into a "i'm an awes 35 year old" mindset and aging will be a breeze

My thing is dancing, not rock, and dance clubs don't like people over40 much. I'm on a strict diet and exercise program so that I can look young and fit in the dark in dance clubs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh-9W19da-I

(for the first few seconds, but stay for the rest)

I just turned 60 today. I am trying to summon the mindset that I am an awesome 60 year old, but getting regularly zinged on ilx for the past few years opens the door to some pernicious doubts.

<3

Don't you mean >>>>>3?

Happy birthday, Aimless!

Congratulations.

but getting regularly zinged on ilx for the past few years opens the door to some pernicious doubts

God, no.

No the doubts are good totally keen on the doubts never stop doubting aimless

happy birthday aimless!