The person who coined the phrase “Life Begins at 40” knew what he was talking about, because when you go way beyond calendar age, your body ‘begins’ to tell you that it is not the same one you had 20 years ago - your joints start to creak, you lose your quickness, it takes you longer to recover from physical activity and your stomach, which was flat, and your butt, which was round, suddenly interchange adjectives. It is a sad fact that when you are in your 20’s, you and your friends brag about the number of women you conquer; but when you’re 40 and above, you brag about the number of maladies you have.
But aside from the physical changes, the one thing I hate about getting old is that I am painfully close to, if not already, being branded a D.O.M. If the pickup lines I used to deliver merited a "smooth!” before, now if I use the exact same script, word-for-word, I would be greeted with an “eww!” and a slap on the face (or worse, a kick in the groin, which as stated above, would take me quite a while to recover from).
The terms used also betray one’s age. There are no ‘discotheques’ now; there are ‘clubs’. Live musicians are no longer referred to as ‘combos’. ‘Bongga’ is now replaced with ‘Da bomb’. And words such as ‘jeproks’, ‘baduy’, ‘haybol’ and ‘kelot’ or ‘bebot’ are virtually extinct (though the Filipino member of The Black-eyed Peas revived the word in one of their hits last year – he must be my age) . The obvious indication that a word is in the same class as the dinosaur is if Microsoft Word puts a red, curvy line underneath it, short of the program saying:”What the hell is that?”
If you see a guy on the street sporting Topsiders, Penny Loafers, Espadrilles or Crayons shoes, chances are, that person is old. Granted, some fashion styles from the past have recently enjoyed a revival: bell-bottoms were used by hip-hopping bagets, er…teenagers, and ‘baston’ pants evolved into ‘slim-fit’ jeans. Fortunately, bikini trunks (aka Speedos) have been replaced forever by board shorts.
There is a supposed silver lining to being old, aside from the obvious you-can-enter-an-‘R’-rated-movie-without-question, your reputation gets an upgrade: people think your are wiser, mature and financially stable. It is ironic though, that the flashy sports car you yearned for in your younger years, by the time you can afford it, the intended ‘stud’ effect will not be achieved anymore because an old man driving a Ferrari will only elicit two impressions: 1) that his grandson lent it to him or 2) gimme a ‘D’! gimme an ‘O’! gimme an ‘M’!
But come to think of it, I did get wiser and more mature (2 out of 3 ain’t bad). I now don’t get bothered by stuff that used to really bug me as a youngster, such as what other people think about me. Plus, there’s my lovely wife and two daughters who make growing old tons of fun.
So aging is not as bad as it seems. You get more respect, your opinion matters more to others and you enjoy the experience of raising a family. He’s right: life does begin at 4o!*creak*
But aside from the physical changes, the one thing I hate about getting old is that I am painfully close to, if not already, being branded a D.O.M. If the pickup lines I used to deliver merited a "smooth!” before, now if I use the exact same script, word-for-word, I would be greeted with an “eww!” and a slap on the face (or worse, a kick in the groin, which as stated above, would take me quite a while to recover from).
The terms used also betray one’s age. There are no ‘discotheques’ now; there are ‘clubs’. Live musicians are no longer referred to as ‘combos’. ‘Bongga’ is now replaced with ‘Da bomb’. And words such as ‘jeproks’, ‘baduy’, ‘haybol’ and ‘kelot’ or ‘bebot’ are virtually extinct (though the Filipino member of The Black-eyed Peas revived the word in one of their hits last year – he must be my age) . The obvious indication that a word is in the same class as the dinosaur is if Microsoft Word puts a red, curvy line underneath it, short of the program saying:”What the hell is that?”
If you see a guy on the street sporting Topsiders, Penny Loafers, Espadrilles or Crayons shoes, chances are, that person is old. Granted, some fashion styles from the past have recently enjoyed a revival: bell-bottoms were used by hip-hopping bagets, er…teenagers, and ‘baston’ pants evolved into ‘slim-fit’ jeans. Fortunately, bikini trunks (aka Speedos) have been replaced forever by board shorts.
There is a supposed silver lining to being old, aside from the obvious you-can-enter-an-‘R’-rated-movie-without-question, your reputation gets an upgrade: people think your are wiser, mature and financially stable. It is ironic though, that the flashy sports car you yearned for in your younger years, by the time you can afford it, the intended ‘stud’ effect will not be achieved anymore because an old man driving a Ferrari will only elicit two impressions: 1) that his grandson lent it to him or 2) gimme a ‘D’! gimme an ‘O’! gimme an ‘M’!
But come to think of it, I did get wiser and more mature (2 out of 3 ain’t bad). I now don’t get bothered by stuff that used to really bug me as a youngster, such as what other people think about me. Plus, there’s my lovely wife and two daughters who make growing old tons of fun.
So aging is not as bad as it seems. You get more respect, your opinion matters more to others and you enjoy the experience of raising a family. He’s right: life does begin at 4o!*creak*
No comments:
Post a Comment