I got this SMS on my office phone today :
"Tilly and me would like to invite you to golf today at ridgemoor 2pm."
a) Whoa! Hold it there buddy! You are inviting me to golf?! Are you insane ?! FOBs don't play golf. They wear running Nikes, buy 14$ 50c racquets and screech up the neighbourhood Tennis court.
"Tilly and me would like to invite you to golf today at ridgemoor 2pm."
a) Whoa! Hold it there buddy! You are inviting me to golf?! Are you insane ?! FOBs don't play golf. They wear running Nikes, buy 14$ 50c racquets and screech up the neighbourhood Tennis court.
b) Since you are bringing Tilly, I really need to rush to the pet shop nearest me and take Collie, my newly acquired pet dog.
c) Now since it is on the office phone I really need to be careful. Wit might lead to bit of bother. See everyone has the same first 6 digits. Its the last 4 digits that differ. So a misdial would lead to an office colleague (most likely senior as I am the lowest form of life). To explain how scarily well this works, I once had a friend who got robbed blind while on vacation. He got in touch with me (to go through his apartment and retrieve identification documents) by dialing random digits on the last 4 and asking the person who connected to look me up on Outlook!
Over the last few weeks I have been feeling really stupid. See, I am not a great techie. I can use a computer well enough that people who know nothing about computers think I know what I am doing. I suck at math. I know more math than the average social science major but can't hold a candle to anyone who knows what they are doing. And my interpersonal skills? Ha! Lets not even get into that. One might argue that a combination of these skills might be worth something even if each of these skills are worthless individually. But then comes the principle of comparative advantage. It just restates that there is little point in being the Jack of all trades and the master of none. Or that Roger Federer is better off playing Tennis than Golf. Why didn't I believe in worn out cliches?!
To be honest, the basic reason why I feel so blah is that I am going to be a quarter of a century old pretty soon and have squat to show for it. There were so many things I thought I would be when I was 25 (when I was like 17) - let me not embarrass myself by delving into my adolescent aspirations but just say that there is a disconnect between reality and past expectations. Lets try here, what can I show? Can I show you my biceps? I know it isn't going to make me mister universe but who are we kidding? All we need to kid is myself!
The worst part is I really have nothing to complain about. I find my job reasonably interesting, I have a varied group of friends, play Tennis, Soccer (terribly) and Swim when I can, and eat in nice restaurants and travel to nice places. Its the general sense of blahness in life that is getting to me, the sense I am missing what I really wanted at some point in my life.
That makes me wonder...How did you feel when you were going to be 25?
9 comments:
I'm not 25 yet but I'm already sure I would feel he same way :). There is no sense of accomplishment, no professional goals within driving distance.
hmm, can relate totally, but do not like it to be this way.. exploring how to get out of blahness.. and i just dont think its about becoming the 'best' at something..
ro
oh wait
scott adams had this recent blogpost where he said that if you want to be successful, you should either be in the top three in the world in something, or you should be in the top 25% in 2-3 different things! so being myabe jack+ on a few trades can help!
[ro] well it may not be about becoming the best at something. its more about some notion of your past expectations being satisfied.
[sk] really?! there is a good explanation why that cannot be. to be in the top 25% in 3 different things requires say 30x3 = 90 units of effort, being the top 3 in one thing requires 250 units of effort. i doubt if there is such an easily exploitable loophole available.
i'm sure hardly any of us tend to meet expectations that we set ourselves as teenagers. it might be coz of a couple of reasons. in general, most of us have a go with the crowd mentality. and secondly our expectations from life tend to evolve .
as for the blahness, maybe u can set urself some sort of short term goal and accomplish that like a marathon, say.
Err don't remind me of it...Not yet there but would rather not think about it.
Quarter life crisis..hmm My mom thinks its already got to me and that its worse than the mid life crisis folks in her generation get hit by...
Happened to talk to a cousin my age and she echoed the same feeling..life is so blah. So both of us have quit our jobs and are gonna study...so much for feeling younger :D
Ahh studying..you know thats one of the reasons i feel old..because i am no longer studying..
I feel exactly the same. I will be 25 in a month. I think of something to come out of the blahness, but that doesn't last. Blah!
Good to feel that others feel the same way too! Good good!
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