Mid-life crisisses

snakemanStoo

Rocker said:

Does wearing jeans at 61 reveal anything about me?

Depends on how tight they are!!

BigMonka

ThePrettyDamned said:

Our neighbour has fully embraced his mid life crisis. 

He regularly travels to assist in aid missions. Spends half the time volunteering, half the time exploring. 

He also has a pretty sweet line up of bicycles - a very nice road bike, a fixed fork mountain bike and a tourer. 

He did get a couple of nice cars, second hand to minimise losses when he sold them on, but he found it left him wanting - he reckons that experiences are worth a lot more than the "usual" stuff (although I'd argue that, if you've never driven a sports car before, owning a lotus elise is probably as much of an experience as anything). 

He's lucky. His missus does everything with him provided he does he mid life crisis stuff too - typically posh wines, bird watching and seeing more of the UK. 

Now that sounds like right up my street :-)

ThePrettyDamned

BigMonka said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Our neighbour has fully embraced his mid life crisis. 

He regularly travels to assist in aid missions. Spends half the time volunteering, half the time exploring. 

He also has a pretty sweet line up of bicycles - a very nice road bike, a fixed fork mountain bike and a tourer. 

He did get a couple of nice cars, second hand to minimise losses when he sold them on, but he found it left him wanting - he reckons that experiences are worth a lot more than the "usual" stuff (although I'd argue that, if you've never driven a sports car before, owning a lotus elise is probably as much of an experience as anything). 

He's lucky. His missus does everything with him provided he does he mid life crisis stuff too - typically posh wines, bird watching and seeing more of the UK. 

Now that sounds like right up my street :-)

I forgot his best one! He started learning to play bizarre folk instruments I've never heard of. 

Bit of a legend. Brews his own beer too. 

Jalapeno

ThePrettyDamned said:

Our neighbour has fully embraced his mid life crisis. 

He regularly travels to assist in aid missions. Spends half the time volunteering, half the time exploring. 

He also has a pretty sweet line up of bicycles - a very nice road bike, a fixed fork mountain bike and a tourer. 

He did get a couple of nice cars, second hand to minimise losses when he sold them on, but he found it left him wanting - he reckons that experiences are worth a lot more than the "usual" stuff (although I'd argue that, if you've never driven a sports car before, owning a lotus elise is probably as much of an experience as anything). 

He's lucky. His missus does everything with him provided he does he mid life crisis stuff too - typically posh wines, bird watching and seeing more of the UK. 

I know an airline pilot who did this in Africa during his layover time.  Turns out he was also laying over elsewhere - complete with new kid in Kenya !

mellowsun

Fretwired said:

A friend of mine has adventures ... he's walked up all the big hills in England/Wales and is now doing Scotland - he sometimes goes alone or with a few friends and he gets up to all sorts of things while away. Been on a fishing trawler, up a wind turbine, down a disused mine ... and best of all its cheap. Made lots of friends along the way and stayed in loads of pubs ... on done on public transport and walking.

Sounds boring but he has lots of stories to tell upon his return.

Doesn't sound boring to me - sounds great!

57Deluxe

I bought 9 amps and 6 guitars...

Philly_Q

snakemanStoo said:

Rocker said:

Does wearing jeans at 61 reveal anything about me?

Depends on how tight they are!!

Hopefully they're not those ones which are skinny on the legs but baggy around the arse.  Carrot jeans, do they call them?  Nobody should go round looking like a superannuated Nick Grimshaw.

goldtop

Most significantly, I gave up the proper job and salary and started a small business. Earnings are well under 50% of the old job, and now everything that goes wrong really is my fault.

Obviously, there was also the inevitable mid-engined sports car. Then another one, and another. Down to just two now. Will sell them both this year. Because while I think the driving experience is fantastic, Ms Goldtop prefers to do road trips in a comfy old Lexus.

Plus a few vintage guitars, the spendiest of which I'm also selling this year.

So I've got to think up a new and expensive crisis for next year...

octatonic

I don't think I had one because I left the wage slave life 15 years ago and didn't breed.
I do ride motorcycles, play music, cycle and went back to uni though so if I am having a mid life crisis then it started at 32.
I just call it 'enjoying my life and not making decisions that make me unhappy'.
Long may it continue.

BigMonka

goldtop said:

Most significantly, I gave up the proper job and salary and started a small business. Earnings are well under 50% of the old job, and now everything that goes wrong really is my fault.

Obviously, there was also the inevitable mid-engined sports car. Then another one, and another. Down to just two now. Will sell them both this year. Because while I think the driving experience is fantastic, Ms Goldtop prefers to do road trips in a comfy old Lexus.

Plus a few vintage guitars, the spendiest of which I'm also selling this year.

So I've got to think up a new and expensive crisis for next year...

Sounds great - is your business doing the same thing as your old job was?
I think we could do with some photos of these mid-engined cars too!

underdog

octatonic said:

I don't think I had one because I left the wage slave life 15 years ago and didn't breed.
I do ride motorcycles, play music, cycle and went back to uni though so if I am having a mid life crisis then it started at 32.
I just call it 'enjoying my life and not making decisions that make me unhappy'.
Long may it continue.

And that's the point I think most things labeled as a mid life crisis are the person is just more wise/brave/rich/aware of life's fragile nature to now do or own all the things they put off due to commitments to mortgage/family/career

Guitar_Slinger

I'd agree with that.  I spent my 20s doing stuff I couldn't afford to do as a teenager (motorbikes, guitars) and got married /started a family years later.

I twice left stable jobs to try something else.  Once at 19, I left an office job to earn good money as a despatch rider in London.  That lasted less than a year because I didn't want to end up smashed up and skint, like the other blokes my Dad's age.  I also left an office career late-30s and gave myself a year to find something music-related.  The recession (before Cameron's coalition got in) meant funding/money in that field disappeared, so within 10 months I went back to stability and started a family.

Lodious

I bought a M3 convertible. So far every single friend who has seen it has made reference to a MLC. So far, I think I prefer diving into the MLC than trying to ignore it. So many friends have had health problems it make you realise there will be a time when you are not physically able to have a MLC, so do it....now.

mellowsun

goldtop said:

Most significantly, I gave up the proper job and salary and started a small business. Earnings are well under 50% of the old job, and now everything that goes wrong really is my fault.

I've done something similar, like you, earnings are currently 50% what I was making as a wage slave, but I'm much happier.

You do end up working harder, because every hour has to be chargeable and accounted for. 

chillidoggy

I don't think I've really had a mid-life crisis, I've never really been any different apart from being fatter, balder, more optically-challenged and less impulsive than I used to be. After a spending spree during which I bought more amps than I've had hot dinners, I've not bought any band gear for years, and the band gigs infrequently these days. I've got the Esprit in the garage however, which probably qualifies me for the mid-life crisis.

Evilmags

Lodious said:

I bought a M3 convertible. So far every single friend who has seen it has made reference to a MLC. So far, I think I prefer diving into the MLC than trying to ignore it. So many friends have had health problems it make you realise there will be a time when you are not physically able to have a MLC, so do it....now.

Wisdom. 

I would have bought guitars, fast cars and carbon bike in my 20s if I'd been able to afford it. Just enjoy life as it's not coming back.

Dominic

Is it possible that MLC simply means having a bit of accrued spare money to buy some toys -it's nothing to do with age ;just that it coincides with the time it's taken to be able to afford some of the things you've always hankered for.

BigMonka

Dominic said:

Is it possible that MLC simply means having a bit of accrued spare money to buy some toys -it's nothing to do with age ;just that it coincides with the time it's taken to be able to afford some of the things you've always hankered for.

Agreed, it's the stage of your life too - perhaps not as desperate to put in effort to be promoted at work, kids a bit older so not needing as much constant supervision/attention etc

goldtop

A mid-life crisis is also about

BigMonka said:

goldtop said:

Most significantly, I gave up the proper job and salary and started a small business. Earnings are well under 50% of the old job, and now everything that goes wrong really is my fault.

Obviously, there was also the inevitable mid-engined sports car. Then another one, and another. Down to just two now. Will sell them both this year. Because while I think the driving experience is fantastic, Ms Goldtop prefers to do road trips in a comfy old Lexus.

Plus a few vintage guitars, the spendiest of which I'm also selling this year.

So I've got to think up a new and expensive crisis for next year...

Sounds great - is your business doing the same thing as your old job was?
I think we could do with some photos of these mid-engined cars too!

No - completely different job, different field, different market, different tech. Self-taught, make it up as I go along.

I won't clutter the thread up with a lot of pointy car pix, so just the most mad:



(Most mad, because it was built by a bloke in his shed. Who knows if he left out any safety critical bolts...)

EricTheWeary

BigMonka said:

I've always wanted to build a kit car or restore a classic car (although no previous experience), so I could imagine getting something like a Westfield or a classic mini cooper.

Or maybe signing up for an ironman triathlon someday.

My brother in law did a year of evening classes in car maintenance and then started building a kit car ( one of his ongoing MLCs). You get loads of support, although it's not cheap. Still, he has this amazing car now even if he can only use it on sunny days.