Quite a while ago I turned 30.
In my family and amongst my friends it's a standing joke to ask on one's birthday "how it feels to become 30". It is herein implied that age is a construction which doesn't affect your life from one day to another.
This blog entry is however a description of the changes I've gone through lately which I hence attribute to turning 30.
Some may find similarities to a process people go through earlier in life, of a much more liminal character...
After I've turned 30 I've experienced some changes. Of course I can never list them all but I'll make a list for all structural purposes:
- My body
- Hair
- Voice
- Economy
- *Girls*
My body
"..is a cage, that keeps me from dancing with the one I love" as Arcade Fire sings. Though my situation may not be as dramatic, it has become true that a year ago I had reached the 0.1 metric tonne in weight. Through media I have learned, that losing weight becomes harder with age. So at the entry of my 30'ies I have become accustomed to spending an hour+ three times a week at the gym (Homer S: What's a [GAJM]?).
And to some effect. I am constantly moving further away from the dreaded number, and people has actually begun going around me while passing, rather than jumping over me (it seemed easier to do the latter until I did something about it).
Hair
"I got hair on my chest - I look good without a shirt" is actually quite describing for my situation. However the dear Tom Waits has some shortcomings in focusing solely on the hair on the chest, as hair seems to be appearing all sorts of other places...!
I've stopped shaving my face, too. But as I did it for a costume party, I realized that I no longer look 16 when I shave. I actually look 30 with all my wrinkles and all... Still, I'd go for the beard. It saves me five very valuable minutes in the morning...
Voice
My voice has changed too. And now and again I'm simply not able to recognize it, as it is very strange.
I actually sometimes hear my voice speak in positive words about children, family, jobs and future.
While my voice wallow in these strange, strange words, my mind find it really weird and tries to do something.
But apparently the voice is stronger than the mind and these strange words and sentences keep reoccurring...
Economy
I am ever so much a single as I've ever been, and hence still spend a lot of my money on stuff that singles use their money on. That is; concert tickets, cinema tickets, beer, gadgets, wine and sushi (this all being for one, as I am - like I said - single).
However new items has found their way into the space I like to call my interest; furniture. I have - as many other men - a very much love/HATE relationship with IKEA. I remember being fooled out there by an ex-girlfriend by the promise of having meatballs at the bistro. Only too late realizing that I was actually at IKEA with my girlfriend...
But though I had my share of IKEA furniture through my life I now have developed some sort of a dogma-approach towards furniture; no plywood is allowed and design is crucial. I have taken interest in vintage second hand furniture and has by now cramped up a leather sofa and two chaiselong chairs in my 17 m2 which already was a bit cramped with my 1½ size bed.
So. I have started spending money on stuff which seems reasonable but really is a luxury with no guaranteed resale value (I know that by the time I'll move in with a woman all my valuable thoughts of furniture will be insignificant - those sort of realizations just is a part of turning 30).
(I should here note that if my banker is reading the paragraph above, it's all fictional. I am - of course - spending all my time trying to earn money so that my bank can get whatever I owe them. The same goes for The State. I should also note that I am looking for a bigger place to fill with furniture).
*Girls*
...or should I say women. Because honestly - though I'd always favored (mindly) mature girls - I especially find girls-girls really annoying and no longer see them as 'potential'. I strongly dislike teenagers and even more women/girls in their 20'ies who don't realize they no longer are teenagers. Sure, some of them may be very attractive, but MY! The YACK and self-centeredness...
But this also has lead to that I have suddenly found myself actually listening to and taking interest in what women say. Boy, was THAT a change!?!
