Things That Changed When I Grew Old

[Ulu]

Now, I don’t mean the physiological stuff that changes for everybody, but things I changed about myself.

 

I quit reading fiction. I just don’t have the time left to waste on “stories”.

 

There’s no time for Hollywood or fantasy movies either. All of it is psycho-programmed to manipulate. 

 

If I watch the tube, I watch real people doing real stuff. Mostly I don’t want to sit still long enough.

 

I get more exercise than I want, where I used to get less. It’s not a burden. Having to sit still until I get stove up. . . Now that’s a burden.

 

I have pretty much quit skating for fun, now that I don’t need the grueling exercise. I skate when the grandkids come, of course, but 5 of 8 are adults now.

 

I don’t eat randomly. I have finally developed good eating habits. It helps having the time to cook from scratch.

 

I don’t go out just to drive around for fun. I always have a reason. I can’t recall the last time I went out on the motorcycle “just for fun.” I took it to the shooting range about 3 years ago. That was probably it.

 

I don’t stress out if one of my vehicles isn’t running or 100% perfect. Right now 5 of 7 are not roadworthy. None are perfect looking.

 

I am throwing out things that I will never use the way I’d planned. Bits and pieces and leftovers.

 

My stack of plans was just too deep. My supply of desire leaked off.

 

I don’t sleep for long at any time. It’s not yet 5am. I should still be abed. (OK, that one isn’t by choice…)

 

 

Edited April 7, 2022 by Ulu

[keithb7]

I notice similar trends. I'm well on my way to a grumpy old man. Lol. Maybe some of the changes are based on all the things our rear view mirror. We experience so much in life. We may have been misled. Trust broken. We've be hurt. We know what makes us tick by now. We know what makes us happy. We see the thin "entertainment" value in Hollywood productions. Popular TV shows are mostly fake distractions from reality. We see right through the misleading crap because we've been there. Done that. Know what it takes to get it done. I am not entertained by so called "reality TV". It's far from reality. I might watch 1 or two movies per year. TV? None. Crap that goes on in the background. My wife likes it.  Me, nope. 5 minutes in, I'm done.

 

I look forward to someday, hopefully filling my days with things I want to do. Not that I want to speed up time to retirement. I am happy and fulfilled at work.  Its just that work takes up the best of my day.  We get 2 days per week to try fit in everything we want.  I think cooking and nice meal prep could be fun. I just seem to have little time for it. Wrenching on cars. Troubleshooting. Driving them. It's stimulating. Relaxing and fun. Seems to be good exercise for the brain. This web site supplements that. So, we come here where people have similar interests.

Edited April 7, 2022 by keithb7

[cheesy]

I have 11 weeks until retirement and am working hard to develop 'short timers disease'. The last 10 or so years at work have made me into a 'road warrior'.

 

I don't bicycle or roller skate as much as I used to because of the road warrior status. That's gonna change. I'll use up all my frequent flier miles and hotel points for a first class trip somewhere in the world for the missus and myself, then never set foot in an airport again.

 

I watch very little TV at home now and never when I'm ensconced in a hotel room. I never used to miss a Packers game on TV. Now, meh.

 

I wake up earlier now than I ever did, and not because I have to pee. 6:30 is sleeping in. Coffee maker doesn't turn on until 5, so I try to stay in bed until then.

 

I'd listen to shortwave radio more if there was anything on the ether to listen to anymore, so it's an internet radio station from the UK instead.

 

I plug an iPod into my ears when I go to bed now. Missus wants the TV on, I'd rather read. When I put the book down, I turn on the iPod and fall asleep to a Relic Radio program., Usually X Minus One from the mid fifties.

 

I've cut way back on beer consumption and would rather have a cocktail or something straight up and quickly call it a night.

 

I don't give a squat about new cars, motos, or bicycles anymore. Content with what I have. And if something needs a bath, well, it'll rain soon.

 

I'm guessing I'll miss some of my coworkers. Mostly those still around prior to the reorganization. Or the Corporate Clusterf***, as we call it.

 

As to the corporate expletive above, I never used to blow my stack as much as I do now. "Just fire me, then.", has become my mantra. The noise from me stops but the problems will still be there.

 

[Dodgeed]

I've drifted away from being 'connected' to popular culture. I was always 'with it', but, no longer. And, I don't care! That's new. 

I don't have a "need" to travel or be entertained or have the 'latest thing' anymore.

I enjoy the grandkids more than I ever thought imaginable. Who'da thunk it!?

[Ulu]

My grandkids are almost all adults now. Youngest (set of twins) turn teenagers next year, and there’s an eight-year-old who is adopted.

 

My wife got out on their bicycle today for the first time since she broke her knee four years ago. She rode it amazingly well and she also pulled around a little cart that I built for her.

 

I think it’s time for me to go bicycle shopping.

[linus6948]

I bought four bikes a couple of years ago from these two web sites, they are both owned by the same gentleman but he sells his scratch and dents on bike island. Bike comes in a box partially dis-assembled exactly as the bike shops get them. You wind up saving quite a bit of money usually close to half of the bike shop price.

 

http://www.bikesdirect.com/

 

https://bikeisland.com/

[JBNeal]

in my youth, I strove for perfection in academics and personal achievements, and as a result, was wound up tighter than a 2 dollar watch...but after many major setbacks that were beyond my control, my outlook began to change from achieving perfection to just trying to get a net positive result in anything.  As an engineer, calculating efficiency is a constant chore, and the statistical analysis associated with efficiency calculations helped me realize that perfection is a myth.  So I don't sweat the small stuff anymore, as it's nice for things to work out, but if they don't, well just get it close and move on cuz tomorrow is another day.

 

examples: 

• at a previous job, my coworkers noticed how poorly management would treat me after I would solve a significant production problem, to which I would explain with a blank stare and a monotonous voice "never gets old"...within weeks, these same coworkers were getting the same treatment, and they would repeat my mantra "never gets old"...we were even talking about having T-shirts made after I was moved out of the engineering office into a storage room on the far side of the building, officially to be closer to the production floor, but timed suspiciously after I improved a decades-old production process by 1600%
• I had to cut down a HUGE hackberry tree that got zapped February 2021, as the possibility of it falling down and impaling the brand new AC by the house would go up every time the north wind howled.  I took all of the necessary precautions on a day with no breeze and started cutting away on this big bstrd...cut out the big wedge to get it to fall into the adjacent hay pasture, then started nibbling away while pointed towards my escape route so that I could vamoose once that thing made the big POP...with less than 3" of trunk remaining of the 36" diameter, that bstrd was still upright...and on that final nibble, it went POP--but instead of falling away from the house, it started to ROTATE off of the trunk right towards it...and much like Dean Wormer saying "I hate those guys", I said out loud in disbelief "oh come on"...and that big bstrd promptly smashed the adjacent chain link fence into the ground and just missed the AC unit by the house
• one evening I took a lady friend to dinner and ordered a medium cooked sirloin steak with buttered potatoes and a dinner salad...restaurant got busy right after we ordered, so the salad showed up nice, but the steak showed up well-done with tater salad.  I chowed down on it anyway, and doggone it was durn tasty  

[Dan Hiebert]

When I was young, I told myself I wouldn't become like the grouchy old curmudgeon that lived down the road.  After my grandpa died, my grandma met the old coot, and ended up marrying him (step-grandpa?).  So I got to know him.  What a life he lived.  Lumberjack, WW1 veteran, auto mechanic in the '30s, contractor building US Post Offices across the Midwest, inventor (4 patents), sportsman.  Died at 100 + 6 days.  Turns out he didn't start out as the crotchety old man at the end of the road, just got tired of stupidity.  Like me, he was a people person, but people ruined that for him.   

Edited April 24, 2022 by Dan Hiebert
typo

[Plymouthy Adams]

reminds me of a favorite saying.....I love humanity, it's people that I can't stand....!

[Bryan]

On 4/7/2022 at 9:20 AM, keithb7 said:

I notice similar trends. I'm well on my way to a grumpy old man. Lol. Maybe some of the changes are based on all the things our rear view mirror. We experience so much in life. We may have been misled. Trust broken. We've be hurt. We know what makes us tick by now. We know what makes us happy. We see the thin "entertainment" value in Hollywood productions. Popular TV shows are mostly fake distractions from reality. We see right through the misleading crap because we've been there. Done that. Know what it takes to get it done. I am not entertained by so called "reality TV". It's far from reality. I might watch 1 or two movies per year. TV? None. Crap that goes on in the background. My wife likes it.  Me, nope. 5 minutes in, I'm done.

Never watched any of the reality shows.  Pitting one person against another, all the sleazy drama, win no matter how. Nope. I prefer science fiction shows but good ones are rare.  Don't watch any of the animated stuff for adults. Find most of it vulgar and crude.