chefranden Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I ran across this cartoon last week, and it is driving me a little nuttsy. Most Pederson males that I know of have died at about 65, except my dad who has made it to 80 so far. Any way I've been thinking about this in terms of years and figuring I have 6 years left give or take. Hey I was perfectly cool with that --even looking forward to the rest -- until I saw this cartoon. For some reason my brain considers 72 months to be way more imminent than 6 years. Now I feel sad about it, what gives? Ah, hell maybe it is just that time of the month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraphicsGuy Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I think the cartoon is somewhat intentionally depressing. It only specifies the "big" events and the accomplishments of extraordinary people. Unfortunately, most of us are just ordinary. I had a huge problem with this when I was Xian. Since I was a child of God wasn't I supposed to be extraordinary and do great things "for the kingdom"? Since leaving the faith, that huge weight of expectation has been lifted off me and I'm fucking fine with just being ME now. Chef, I'm sorry to hear that your time among us mere mortals may not be much longer, but I do hope you live each DAY of these 72 (and hopefully many more) months very fully. Don't worry if you're just "ordinary". You ARE extraordinary to every person you surround yourself with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I used to worry about mortality a lot, given my health, but I've just taken the attitude that worrying won't give me one extra minute and may even take away a few, and I'm going to make the most of the time I have left, however long that may be. I'm going to hang on forever, just to piss off my wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefranden Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 I used to worry about mortality a lot, given my health, but I've just taken the attitude that worrying won't give me one extra minute and may even take away a few, and I'm going to make the most of the time I have left, however long that may be. I'm going to hang on forever, just to piss off my wife. I'm not worried, I'm sad. But the thing that bugs me is why converting from years left to months left would trigger it. When I contemplate another 20 years to 80 as months I get the same reaction. I know I'll figure it out in seconds. 6 years = 189,345,600 seconds. If I had a buck for each second I'd be rich, so I'm rich in seconds. Darn, brain is not fooled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 That's why I find sleeping, traffic, etc, the undesired time-killers. As singer Henry Rollins said, each time our precious time is wasted by another or events, it is like tiny little murders...killing a part of your life...that we can't regain. Jeez. I need a drink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scepticjoe Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 I think you are overly pessimistic about your life expectancy. I suspect you will live longer than you think. Try one of these life expectancy calculators and see what you get. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=l...ife+expenctancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefranden Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 I think you are overly pessimistic about your life expectancy. I suspect you will live longer than you think. Try one of these life expectancy calculators and see what you get. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=l...ife+expenctancy Well I get 81-88 out of one of those. But you see I was perfectly ok with 6 years, but 72 months bummed me out (as we use to say in the summer of love). I wasn't really bitching about the length of time, but rather the change in attitude about the length of time. Now I've forgotten all about it again, so it must have just been that time of the month - what ever that is for old guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavenslaughing Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 I think you are overly pessimistic about your life expectancy. I suspect you will live longer than you think. Try one of these life expectancy calculators and see what you get. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=l...ife+expenctancy Increasing the number of dots in the cartoon would increase rather than decrease its potency. It's not that the dots number so few; it's that they're so empty. The cartoon portrays life as a load of emptiness, marked only by achievements you haven't and probably never can fulfill. Bull. If for some reason I decided to meter out the months of my own life, what other people would consider my achievements so far wouldn't be the way I'd find useful to mark them. When did I feel happy? When did I feel I was learning? When did I nurture? When was I true to myself? When do all the colors to mark these times on this little graph combine, and what about my life then made that possible? As I marched into my late 20s, I dreaded aging. Now, with 30 just a few months away, I welcome it. This month, I deepened a new and respectful relationship, made several new friends, and could act as a reliable friend to my old ones. I'm not just being rosy; I couldn't speak so fondly of 2008. Good month behind, good months ahead. Chefranden may only have 72 ahead, and I could run out on Michigan Avenue tomorrow and have none; either way, those dots are not plain grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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