I went to listen to Douglas Coupland talk last night at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square. I don't know why I was expecting him to be wearing a suit. I suppose its because he's successful, but really, he's a nut. I should have known that from his writing. Why would he be wearing a suit?
Some thoughts:
1. His new book, Eleanor Rigby, sounds cool, at least based upon the excerpts that he read.
2. I am thrilled that he is currently working on a sequel to Microserfs! It is called J Pod, and he read from it last night. Bonus! He read a part in which the protagonists start talking about Ronald McDonald, and decide that it would be funny to write personals-style letters to Ronald McDonald to explain why they would be the ultimate mate for him. It was very funny. I can't wait.
3. Douglas Coupland is a spazz and very normal. The most bizarre thing about him is that his reading-out-loud style sounds exactly like his speaking-style, so I kept getting confused as to what was being read vs. what was not being read. Very casual, very spastic. I wonder if he always read out loud that way, like in elementary school. I hate reading out loud. See previous posts about ulcers and neuroses. The thing about reading out loud in school is, though, when you get that post-traumatic-stress-blocked-the-experience-out thing, you have no idea what's going on because you essentially missed everything from the part you read. Then you are confused and can't catch up, on top of being traumatized. Awesome.
4. The Q & A was weak - only three questions - but the third person who asked a question was like "I saw you about ten years ago and you were talking about how the 30's were the best years of your life. Can you reflect, now that you're in your 40's, on that?" He then went on to say that the 30's are, in fact, the best years. He said "And 26 is the worst year. Anyone? Does anyone agree that was the worst age?" Preach on. So true. 26 was the worst year ever. He still feels that the 30's were great, and that 40 is too close to death and people treat you as such. He told some 40's related anecdotes, but said "You know, amongst people in their 50's and 60's, the age that they think of themselves in their minds is 33 or 34." Interesting. So things pretty much peak at 33 or 34, which is scary. Only 4 or 5 more years!!!! And then stagnation.
Hmmmmm. Well, I'm not sure how old all of you readers are, so I'm not sure that we have data on this yet. I wholeheartedly agree with Douglas Coupland that 26 sucked, as did 27. For me, I think my early 20's were the best - the first two years out of college. Man. I loved that. And I have also liked 28, and think 29 will be even better. I feel like most people probably like the college years best. But man, 11 was awesome!
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
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6 comments:
maybe for a woman, but for a dude i think the worst years ever are 22-25.
Why, dude, why are those the worst years?
Ages:
9 - good times, good times
13 - horrible horrible horrible
23 - bad (of course, it's all downhill after 20), but only because I was stuck in first year of grad school
26 - no special feelings one way or the other, except for the still-stuck-in-grad-school-ness
28-29 - awesome, because I am no longer stuck in grad school
M
12, 13, 18, and 21. I agree with Mo about the downhill. In my case, 23-26 definitely the worst, but that's owing to personal dramas and the like, because I think that if I could go back in time and kill the appropriate grandfathers, or y'know, otherwise prevent them from meeting the appropriate grandmothers, 23-26 could have been some of my best. (Then again, that could be just sour grapes.)
Either way, I agree with Doug (I'm gonna call him Doug) that the 30's ought to be the best -- you're the adult you, you're still young and relevant, and you've gotten over your horrid 20's. Yes/no?
it's highly subjective so there is no magical age of bliss. but, generally speaking i think women fear getting older due to biological clock concerns. not so much having a baby, but they are nervous about whether or not they will be in the proper situation to choose whether or not to have a baby. therefore, women who are not in this position to properly choose will probably start to feel more and more stress as they age (unless of course a woman is positive she doesn't want a baby). the more stress they feel, the more rosy the early-20s glasses start to get (a blissful time when this problem had a good 15 years or so before it needed to be resolved).
Guys on the other hand HATE being young. they are tired of hitting on girls at bars and being laughed at when they are rejected as a 22 year old by a woman who just happened to be 25. women gravitate toward older men, yet the 22 year old man has no younger women to turn to because they are all still either in high school or college. The 22 year old guy, therefore, badly wants to be in his late 20s or early 30s. Therefore, that age will never be idealized.
This argument doesn't explain why you would like 26 a lot less than 28 or 29, but it's just a speculative generalization that's not meant to apply directly to you.
Oh. I didn't know we were talking about sex. If we're talking about sex -- definitely age nine was the best.
That's right, baby. Sneaking into the human sexuality section of the public library, ogling line drawings in 'The Hite Report', walking the half mile home at land speed record pace, my parents asking me why I always took a bath after I came back from the library.
Ah, memories...
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