Guess I'm not going to make it to 80

[thejohnp]

So even if I don't factor in my diet, my lack of exercise or other related health issues (and if I do factor those in, I probably shouldn't make any plans beyond say a month...), it's dawned on me that I'm probably not going to make it to my 80th birthday.

Why?  Because I think I'm in the midst of a midlife crisis. 
How can I tell?  Well let's look at some of the mitigating evidence:

According to Psychology Today (http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/mid-life.html), a midlife crisis (or as they put it, "transition") can contain -

• Discontentment or boredom with life or with the lifestyle (including people and things) that have provided fulfillment for a long time
• Feeling restless and wanting to do something completely different
• Questioning decisions made years earlier and the meaning of life
• Confusion about who you are or where your life is going

Or as I would like to put it -

• Check
• Check
• Check
• and Check

Well, there's the obvious unhappiness, unfulfillment, annoyance and general ennui at work.  I would like to find another job, I feel I really NEED to find another job.  But I don't know if I can or even if I want to do something along the lines of what I'm doing now.  And without having finished college or having any experience outside my marketing world, I don't know if I could find anything else.  Heck, I'm even getting to the point where I'm starting to question if I should continue my career in Atlanta or possibly up and move somewhere completely different.  As if a fresh start in a new city would make it all better.  Ugh.

And the other big tip off to my midlife crisis has been my increased interest in cars.

At first I chalked it up to a byproduct of car research when I bought my Mazda6 to replace my dying Honda Civic.  But now, I just keep reading about new and upcoming car models, following the news about the Big 3 bailout and other auto related information that I wouldn't have given two seconds of consideration a year ago.  Pretty soon I think I'm going to descend into "tinkering"...shudder.

And then I start daydreaming about what it would be like to own and drive around either one of the new muscle cars like the new 2010 Camaro, 2009 Challenger or 2010 Mustang.  C'mon, these suckers are BAD ASS.  Especially that Camaro.  Damn.





Or own one of the cute little sports cars like the 2010 MX-5 Miata or the new Fiat 500.  Just something small and fun to take out for a spin on a weekend jaunt or zip around town on a quick errand.  See?!?  These are the thoughts that are in my head nowadays!




(I'm kind of partial to the hard top version myself)



(Seriously, I mean how cute is this thing?  It makes the VW Bug look like a bug.)

But let's face it, I could barely make the used car purchase I made last October.  I started working a second job just to ensure that I had enough extra money coming in to cover a car note.  And now I'm "toying" with the idea of buying a muscle car or roadster?  Yup, really being realistic here.

So I think the evidence is conclusive.  I'm in the midst of a midlife crisis, and I'm only 38.
Guess I won't make it to 2050 after all...