September 17, 2009, 12:00 am
Today I turn 30.
It seems everyone has an opinion about what happens when you turn 30. Sharing my news of the imminent event with friends would usually result in sarky mutterings of “it’s all downhill from here, boyo“, and affirmations that hangovers feel worse, bones ache more, you get tired quicker and find yourself shouting at kids to get off your lawn. Bob Hope seemed to sum up this cornucopia of codgerly cantankerousness with “middle age is when you still believe you’ll feel better in the morning“. Bugger, that doesn’t sound very inspiring.
Well, screw that.
Don’t get me wrong: I am comfortable with the opportunities and limitations before me. I realize that it is unlikely that I am going to headline Wacken any time soon, I am probably not going to be as fast a drummer as I could, and I am going to have to shelve that plan for an 80’s perm.
But y’know what, life hasn’t changed that much. I still love my wife, family and friends. I love free software, metal, partying, working on interesting projects, having new experiences and supping coffee. I am still a sucker for wikipedia, dogs, PS3 and random trivia, and I still say community too much.
For all the perceived downsides of hitting the big three-oh, there are up-sides though. A little while back I was having a good ‘ol chinwag with Terri Molini from Sun and I shared with her how my perspectives have changed in recent years. I have been re-assessing old assumptions and looking at them from a new perspective, throwing away old expectations and ideas and approaching them from a new angle based on new experiences. When I shared this she said “how old are you?“, to which I responded “30 in a few months“, and she said “yep, that pretty much happens at your age“.
She ain’t wrong. In the last year I have felt a renewed sense of perspective in approaching my work and other aspects of my life, and this has helped me to understand the phases we go through as we get older and how we respond and react to things. I suspect…this is what happens when we grow up.
So, as I hit 30 I am entering middle-age actually a little excited.
Before I wrap up, I want to thank those of you who have generously bought me something from my Amazon Wishlist. I have received Queen – Live at Wembley Stadium DVD and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) Teacher’s Edition: A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart – thanks so much, folks, I really appreciate your generosity!
Right, I am going to tell those bloody kids to get off my lawn…
