The Second Half Of Life
On September 19th, I turned fifty. The big 5-0.
Yes, it's largely just a number but the number itself seems somewhat separate from myself at an intellectual / mental level. It floats over me, figuratively.
I don't "feel" 50 and I could easily hide my age if it wasn't for the betrayal of white frosting just above my ears. They say it looks "distinguishing" but we'll see.
The Birthday Haul
Today I paid a lot of money for a new-ish second hand laptop. It was used to help a programmer write video games who had since left the Adelaide - based games company.
I bought it because a new game, Starfield simply won't run on my older computer and it was time to upgrade, and as reluctant as I was to spend the money, I know that long term it's an investment in my future.
It's quite large and the keyboard lights up with multi coloured lights with every keystroke. The novelty of this function only took a few minutes to wear off and I'll need to find a way to turn it off. It makes it difficult to actually see the keys. It's impressive programming though.
I'll set it up properly when I get home.
A few days ago, someone had gifted me a 42 inch television set. I just need to get a digital decoder box or a Comcast device to plug into it.
Yesterday, I recieved a birthday card. Inside the card was a metal keyring depicting the Chester Clock Tower and it's one of my new favourite things.
A Year Of Awesome
There's a lot that I want to achieve in life and I would have preferred if I'd achieved it before I turned 50. However, this just wasn't to be.
Instead, my plan is to try and make this year one where I slowly but intentionally start achieving some of those life goals.
This includes embracing new skills, new employment opportunities, investing in myself and saving for my retirement in 20 years.
But long before then I want to go overseas and explore and have fun while I still can.
Last year, I did a Responsible Service of Alcohol course which allowed me to serve alcohol.
This lead to shifts at the Adelaide Oval and last night,
I had my first shift behind the bar of a pub.
It meant travelling for an hour and a half, and the shift was only 4 hours, but I got the hang of the routine of it all reasonably quickly. They have their own way of doing things which took some getting used to but I will definitely work there again.
I got a good report, so we'll see what happens.
Fingers crossed.
Routine Maintenance
Stuff I need to get sorted when I get the free time:
Ringing the Housing Trust maintenance and getting my toilet fixed and my taps replaced. I'm currently using a pair of plyers to turn on the cold tap in the laundry.
I also to report the squatter living next door. They'd broken the chain that holds the window closed, broke in, destroyed the powerpoints and and trashed the backyard with garbage.
Normally, I would "live and let live" until I discovered they had been in my backyard, and another time they'd gone through my bins and tried to destroy my letterbox.
Yesterday, I bought new padlocks for my letterbox and also my back gate to prevent a reoccurance as I am spending a lot of time not at home.
At some point I'll need to replace lounge suite and bed, but those are larger expenses, requiring a little more forethought and orgqnisation (mattress disposal, etc.).
For now, I need a regular income and that's my priority for the forseeable future. Of course, the future is completely unknowable (yes, there are predictable parameters, but it's best not to cling to anything too tightly).
Future Upskilling
I have a very loose plan for the future, and that involves learning new skills that will lead to more employment.
What those skills are, is somewhat unknown as I am opening myself up to everything and combatting my own inner self doubts.
Higher education seems like a waste of both time and money at this point, in favour of learning practical skills. However, I am not ruling it out and something might catch my eye at some point in the future.
These things are always uncertain. I'm beginning to let go of who I thought I was and work towards something greater.
Recommended Reading
I can attribute a lot of my life changes to two main books:
1)Unfuck Yourself: Get Out Of Your Head And Into Your Life by Gary John Bishop.
2)The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A Fuck by Mark Mason
I'm still working through the second one! And it's not about being apathetic, ironically.
I'm going to make the next year a good one and I hope you'll be part of the journey and even leave comments as to your own progress.
See you in the next post.
Thank you for reading.
Shaidon.
All photos are haven been taken by me, unless otherwise indicated and the sources supplied.
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