Personal

Old Man Yells at Cloud

Effective immediately, I'm protected by the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 šŸ‘“šŸ»

Jan 28, 2022 3 min read
Generic blog post cover image

Despite my best efforts, Iā€™m turning 40 today. Itā€™s a somber day for me, as Iā€™m another year olderā€¦

Nah, just kidding. Itā€™s literally just a number, and Iā€™m totally comfortable with it :) My back hurts, but itā€™s been like this for decades so no changes here.

Still, I want to tally up some things. You know, ā€œZukerberg is a quadrillionaire, and what have you acheieved?!ā€ kind of thing.

First, the best way to be permanently unhappy is to compare yourself to others. Not gonna happen; it only makes sense to compare yourself to yourself yesterday.

Second, Iā€™m doing fine. Iā€™ve got my family, a place to live (and call my own at that!), a job I like, and a bunch of hobbies. I have my books, my journals, and a firepit in my backyard. I do my little things trying to make the world a better place even if in a small way.

I was born in the Soviet Union, lived most of my adult life in Russia, moved to Canada, then to the U.S., and made it here too. In total, Iā€™ve moved ~13 times since turning 18 (including 2 immigrations). Iā€™ve made some friends along the way, and only a few enemies.

I almost got my private pilot license (and I still may get it at some point). I hiked around a volcano, piloted an airplane over the Hoover Dam, joined, started and failed a few businesses, and had a podcast for over 14 years. I helped a few good people meet each other, and Iā€™m mostly proud of folks in my close circle.

Iā€™d worked as a paper delivery carrier, a reporter (and a frontline one at that), an editor of a magazine, radio host, editor, producer, DJ; Iā€™d been a college student in my 30s and the oldest person in my class. Iā€™d been unemployed, been a landlord, a contractor at three different Fortune 50 companies, and a full-time software engineer.

Most importantly, Iā€™m not embarrased by how I live my life. I stand with those less privileged and less fortunate than me. I think Iā€™m on the side of justice more often than not, and Iā€™m not afraid of the future generationsā€™ eventual scrutiny of my life. I try to live my life honestly, give back whenever I can, and Iā€™m convinced that this is a big part of why Iā€™m so organically comfortable with myself. Iā€™ve got a head full of gray hair, and Iā€™m going bald, and itā€™s ok with me :)

Hereā€™s to the next 40 years!

/>

P.S. Obligatory ā€œget off my lawn, you darn kidsā€! Going to buy a Harley, a leather jacket and suspenders, and join other old farts in bitching about the good old days. Just watch me! :))

P.P.S. As a ā€œclass of ā€˜99ā€ person, I shoudā€™ve really used more sunscreen :)