Paganello in one shot

Paganello: JB Mastermind's Destruction
Originally uploaded by lovegreg

People often ask what kind of things happen at Paganello. Check out this picture and imagine the rest.

I am really going to miss the tournament.

The glass is half empty

Today marked birthday number thirty-five. Are you kidding me? 35! Me? What the? Who put my VHS tape of life on fast-forward?

I've just about crested the hump of life according to the Death Clock which lists my date of death as January 12, 2044. That's only 36 years away. Which means that I'm in the middle of my life. Which may be interpreted by some, and by some I mean me, to indicate that I'm middle aged.

According to the Wikipedia:

Middle age is the period of life beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings.

The US Census lists middle age as 35 to 54. AAAGGGHHH! Say it ain't so, Joe.

Fortunately, the remaining "various attempts" at defining middle age are OK. One lists the period as 40 to 60. The other lists it as 45 to 60. Woosah! Blood pressure dropping without the aid of drugs.

Wait. There is more.

In many Western societies, this is seen to be the period of life in which a person is expected to have settled down in terms of their sense of identity and place in the world, be raising a family, and have established career stability. It is also a period often associated with the potential onset of mid-life crisis.

Sense of identity? Check, I guess.

Sense of place in the world? Check.

Raising a family? Nope. But, my diaper changing skills have been requested by toddlers with dirty diapers.

Established career stability? What does my asking a colleague how much notice was required to quit indicate to you?

Potential onset of mid-life crisis? Ha! No way. I'm way past "potential" and am fully engaged in "onset."