There are any number of titles I could’ve used for this post:
- Mid-Thirty-Something and the Mathematics of Life
- Mid-Thirty-Something and a Full Life
- Life Gets Full and Fast in your 30s
Etc.
But decided to stick with a simpler title.
Though I refuse to disclose my actual age, I can say that I’m still within the allowable band for the “Mid-Thirties” category. Over the years I’ve found that birthdays are a better time than New Year’s to gauge both what I’ve accomplished over the last year and what I want to accomplish over the next year.
Sadly, this post comes at a time when a relative recently passed away at a rather young age but in her passing I am reminded just how short life can be. And that’s just the problem, in turning mid-thirty-something, I’m now almost half way to the age when my father passed away, and that has been weighing heavily on my mind. I’m sure it’s not news to anyone older than 60 (many of our parents’ ages) that time seems to fly by the older you get.
It seems that it’s in your 30s the life gets “real” in every sense of the word. I’m not saying life isn’t real or that things don’t happen earlier in life, but it seems that in your 30s you simply become more aware of just what life is. Everything from deaths, disease, job loss, divorces, and any number of other unseemly topics begin to crop up in conversations in your 30s. It’s scary to think just how regular these things are and the more people you talk to, the more you find out that these things just happen.
But all of that got me thinking of my own accomplishments and where I’d like to focus my time and energy on, especially as these years start flying by any faster.
To be sure, although I want to continue working in the arts, particularly music and video, I started wondering about how much time they should occupy in my life. Consider:
- How many albums can one reasonably make in a life time? Prince made something around 30 or so, Metallica has only released half of that, not including one-offs. Guns N’ Roses has only released a handful, likewise Nirvana (though Dave Grohl has released more.) There are no doubt hundreds of other people who do this but the path to the finish line is riddled with failures. No joke, no sugar-coating it, they either made it or didn’t.
- Likewise with movies, another interest/business of mine. There are any number of famous filmmakers out there (Kubrick, Hitchcock, Spielberg, Cameron) all of whom are known for their ability to produce numerous quality movies that are seen by millions. Even smaller filmmakers can get screened at film festivals and be seen by the masses, but the question lingers…
How long does it take to produce something listenable or watchable and how often can you repeat that process until you either find it’s not in your interest or not worth your time to do so any more?
I mention these because these were my early influences (okay, maybe not Prince) and I wonder how anyone can expect to work, find a partner, raise a family, and continue to do these sorts of artistic endeavours. It seems like life is too busy taking care of the more important issues, such as rent and food.
But to the question of what sets these “giants” apart from us regular people, I’m afraid I have no answer.
And what about languages? Though I have spent a bit of time a few different learning languages, I can’t say I’m really fluent in any but English mainly because it’s the one that actually pays me to be fluent. But how long will it take to become fluent in a language such as Chinese while working full time? Is it worth my time? What about French or Russian or even keeping up my Ukrainian or Latin? What are they worth?
Related to languages is travelling. The UN recognizes some 197 countries in the world, I’ve only been to about 32, and many only for a short time. Compared to others, yes, I have lived in more countries but what did I gain?
How much money do I need? All of a sudden, the idea of “retirement” comes to mind and I start thinking about how much money I need to stash away for my inevitable climb into old age, a time when I very well may not be able to move around or think as well as I do today. Who knows what the future holds and who knows just how long we have. It’s a very scary thought.
(To be completely honest, I don’t think there really is such as thing as retirement, just downgraded working experience and possibly an attitude of “I don’t have to prove myself” rather than the younger workers’ mentality of “I HAVE to keep this job”.)
I don’t mean to be completely gloomy but these are the sorts of things I was thinking about as the calendar flipped over my birth day. But it is a time that I like to analyze where my time is going and who is part of it and what I’d like to accomplish with the time I have remaining.
So, in this next year, I’m going to keep learning but I want to switch track a little bit. These are the things I’d like to focus on in the next year:
Instead of only learning spoken languages, I’m looking to branch out a bit more to learn how to code. I already have some experience from my younger days but would like to increase my knowledge in the area. These include PHP for WordPress plugins and Android and Apple app development.
Android or Apple app development, one part of this is because I’ve always had an interest in coding, another sees some practical application in that I could write short programs or macros for my own use, and I guess another would be to keep my brain going in case all of this robotic AI overdone mumbo jumbo actually comes to fruition within my working life time.
Music and video production, though I see this on the wane and being replaced by the above features more in addition to other, more specialized music and video combinations (such as good travel videography with good music, but not attempting to get a million views or anything like that). Gone are the days of wanting to be a rock star. Instead, viability as a small business seems to have taken over.
Speaking of cash, growing my investments and moving away from so much trading. Instead, I’m looking at dividends and interest-bearing investments. I’m not interested in property because I don’t think I’ll need a place to call back to just yet, at least not in the near future. But I would like to have the cash (or ability to get a loan) in case something comes up.
I still want to increase my language abilities, particularly Chinese, but also for Russian and French. I’m focusing on reading the books I have and to being watching the top 100 movies in Chinese (as given by TimeOut Beijing).
I’d also like to up my reading game. I look at my “to read” pile of books and ebooks and wonder how I’ll ever make time for them. I want to finish 2-3 English books a month over the next year. I think it’s doable considering my work schedule.
And finally, I’m looking to pace myself. All of the above is to be done at a reasonable speed and by no means a necessity. I don’t want the stress of being in university or in some class. No, instead, I want to be able to relax when I study these things.
So that’s what I have to look forward to as I venture around the sun again but I’m still cautious. There have been too many other times that I’ve made plans and then all of a sudden something that I didn’t expect happens (like it did in 2017). I guess that would be one more goal for this next year: How to plan, execute and accomplish something.
Happy birthday to me! 😀