2023 Week 48: Older

Whoever said "age is just a number" never tried applying for working holiday visas. I recently checked some out and was dismayed to learn that many are restricted to ages 18 to 30. It's stunning to learn that I have missed the boat for these privileges. (I wish someone had told me to make better use of my 20s!)

So it's December, and Jon has turned 40. It will be my turn soon. I actually feel okay about going over the hill, although it feels like I didn't take enough risks while I was younger. 

Mainly I regret not having worked and lived overseas while I was younger. There was that one year I tried to relocate to Hong Kong, but that experiment was a flop. Ah, never mind. Now that I'm older and less willing to be an employee, my dream of living abroad is going to be a little harder.

-

In the latest attempt to recapture my youth, I've been going to Hom Yoga. I have memories of going there a lot in 2018, when I was at MoneySmart. It was kind of a crazy life. Every weekday I worked from 10am to 7pm, then went for double yoga from 8pm to 10pm, then finally got home and dropped dead. The double yoga - and the shower afterwards - I recall, was always the best part of my day.

Since then I have considered going back to a full-time job so that I can afford a Hom Yoga membership again. I have even applied for a job there for the sake of free staff classes. 

When they launched their new weekly membership I thought it was a great chance for me to try and relive that magic. At first, I had high hopes. The lavender shower gel was as good as ever. I still loved the heated rooms, the floor-to-ceiling windows, the smell of the towels, the teachers. 

But I am not the same person I was 5 years ago. The yoga classes don't challenge me much anymore - I must have gotten better somehow during my home practice, which began during Covid. My body is also less tight now that I don't work at a desk, so yoga doesn't deliver that intense relief that it used to.

So maybe it's now time for me to discover new kinds of exercise. During one yoga class my mind was wandering and I found myself hankering for a run, of all things. I guess running is new enough to me to be interesting and a bit terrifying.

Anyway, it's a good thing I didn't get a full-time job just for yoga. Probably not worth it.

-

I ate a lot of "homemade Stuff'd" while Jon was away at reservist. Rice, beans, lettuce, salsa, and either spicy tuna or avocado.

-

My way of processing getting older seems to be to try out stuff that I was once really into - like the yoga thing, or like watching arthouse movies at Le Projector - and finding that I've completely moved on. I invariably think: "I could do this at home and it would be so much better." I guess a really key difference between me and my younger self is that I have a home now, and it is my paradise. 

Jon processes it by feeling annoyed at people who do interesting things and go to interesting places and yet remain resolutely conventional. Some growth opportunities are just wasted.

-

Check-ins and outs this week. Helloooo Mokka!

Hellooo again Jill! And Jett, not pictured because he is still scared.

Bye bye sweet Hershey :,(