Life Moves Too Fast

Top Five: Ways I Know I am Getting Old

So the cliché was that at 30, all hell was supposed to break loose. While not a single birthday in the previous 15 years made me ‘feel’ older, turning 30 certainly did. But not because of those cliché’s, my body truly changed at 30. Up until that point, my metabolism was that of a small Asian student. I could eat anything and everything and yet retained my size 32 waist since high school. Au contraire on Day 1 of turning 30. By Christmas, I felt older. I gained weight for the first time in 12 years. I felt more tired after a long day at work. I was less interested in social events on my calendar. Ugh…why didn’t someone warn me?

But all in all, I am living my 30s as best I can. Still traveling. Eating (somewhat) healthier. As successful as ever at work. But some very obvious things remind me that I am getting old. My conversations, my choice of social venues, and the things that make me happy seem to have changed.

So what 5 things make me feel older:

1. Metabolism. I have had to change my diet almost completely. As if overnight, any indulgence in fatty foods or chocolate has an almost immediate effect on my metabolism and health. That sucks.

2. “Well my roses are looking good this year”. Since when did I give a flying shit about flowers? Oh, that’s right, when I turned 30. Where once I paid someone to cut my grass and had never even touched a weed, you can find me any number of evenings dragging sprinklers around, talking to single friends about the state of my Begonias, or spreading fresh mulch. What the fuck?

3. Smoky, Crowded Bars. There was a time a crowded, smoky bar added to the atmosphere. No longer do I feel this way. Decisions are made when planning on where to go (See #4) based on this alone.

4. Lack of Spontaneity. I used to fly to LA on a whim. Few things are unplanned. We maintain a joint calendar via Google and live by it religiously. No commitment is made without checking that calendar.

5. I hear my Dad’s voice. When I was young, my Dad was just a foolish, overprotective baron. He would either laugh hysterically or point his finger if I told him today that many of my decisions and thoughts today have me saying “Ah, so this is what the old guy meant”. I hear his voice in many things I do each day. I guess I finally realized he was right.

Top Five: Celebrity Crushes

Do you remember the episode of “Friends” where they each made a list of 5 famous people that they would be exempt from their significant other if they were propositioned? What, am I the only one that watched Friends in 1999? Here is my list of five celebrities my wife has given me a free pass to fantasize about:

1. Scarlett Johansson

2. Keira Knightley

3. Mia Kirshner

4. Shannyn Sossamon

5. Rosario Dawson

Top Five: Favorite Places I Have Been

1. Venice, Italy. Hands down the most spectacular place I have visited. The canals, the architecture, the way of life. Nowhere like it on earth.

2. Innsbruck, Austria. I visited here once in October, the cosmopolitan atmosphere and old-world charm surrounded by the Alps will forever be a postcard in my mind.

3. Grand Cayman, BWI.. We were married here in 2004. Have visited now four times. Hands down my favorite of all of the Caribbean islands I have visited (and I have visited a lot).

4. Wyoming/Montana. Best seen by car, from east to west. Something about the quiet vistas and open land, and the mountains growing higher and higher as you travel on as I did in 2005. Breathtaking country.

5. New York. My perennial favorite. My second home. The City that Never Sleeps. Need I say more?

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* ‘Top Five’ is a new feature here at LMTF. Once a week I will post a new top five list encompassing everything from travel to food to tv shows. Figured it would be a fun way to share more about myself, and the things I enjoy.