# I just realised I am old **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2024, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575 "2024-11-02T12:50:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/381 "2026-08-12T07:02:23Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > One of them shot back, “Technically it’s called geriatric millennial. I was being nice.” “Get a clue, boomer!” The steady march from ignorant child, to clueless teen, to confused adult, to irrelevant geriatric continues ever on. None of us can escape it 🙂. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/382 "2026-08-12T09:03:59Z")
Oh, dear! I haven’t transitioned to MP3s yet! I hope it does not hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/383 "2026-08-12T10:07:41Z")
> [@Mortimus](#): > > I went to my 50th high school class reunion last night. My 40th HS reunion is next month. Doubt I’ll go to it. I had like… two friends, maybe? Very clickish and sport-obsessed Catholic school. I didn’t fit in, and really don’t want to see those people again. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/384 "2026-08-12T17:16:21Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > The steady march from ignorant child, to clueless teen, to confused adult, to irrelevant geriatric continues ever on. None of us can escape it At least I got to ruin the economy first. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/385 "2026-08-12T18:35:53Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Mine is closer to the Whitechapel Murders of Jack the Ripper than to the present. As is mine by a few years - a fact that weirdly delights me… except for the ‘making me ancient’ part. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/386 "2026-08-12T18:45:36Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Is it a sign of aging when one of the highlights of the week is refilling your pill dispenser? The sign of aging is that I need the fucking thing _at all!_ It is a highlight of my wife’s week. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/387 "2026-08-12T18:58:58Z")
So far, I’m at the, “Ibuprofen and antacid tablets have permanently moved from the medicine cabinet to the bedside” stage. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/388 "2026-08-13T14:47:09Z")
I fondly remember the days when knew exactly why I had sore muscles. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/389 "2026-08-13T16:13:01Z")
Ooooo, good one. My neck was killing me yesterday. I have no idea why. Seems much better today. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/390 "2026-08-13T17:40:46Z")
“I must have injured myself sleeping.” ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/391 "2026-08-13T17:47:40Z")
I once pulled the muscle in my left shoulder while putting icyhot on the pulled muscle in my right shoulder. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/392 "2026-08-13T17:55:07Z")
I shouldn’t laugh, but this was hilarious, sad and scary, all at the same time. I’m sorry it happened to you and now I know yet another unpleasant fate that awaits me! ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/393 "2026-08-13T17:56:21Z")
Oh, it’s funny. Everybody got a laugh out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/394 "2026-08-13T18:00:03Z")
The worst thing is, it totally makes sense. Good incentive to keep up my stretching routines! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/395 "2026-08-13T19:24:22Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Working in tech makes it very stark. Back in the day, you showed up to work, you produced some software, if it works you go home. Nowadays everyone’s an influencer and a podcaster. The atmosphere is thick with bullshit and personal branding. There’s also this horrible cultural milieu where individual qualities and and preferences are elevated above all, but everyone has to work as part of a constantly-engaged group. I don’t know how to articulate it well, but t’s the worst of all worlds IMO. > > I’ve realized that at least in the companies that are part of the Silicon Valley culture, this isn’t an aberration or a fad, it’s just how things are now. I don’t want my persona to be part of my work product, or to make “content”, so I’ll probably be getting out soon. Into what, I don’t really know. > > Anyway, my point is that work culture has changed in ways that I’m increasingly unwilling and unable to keep up with. I want to point out that the way we used to do things was superior in every way, and it demanded less of your personal time or emotional investment, but things have moved on. That’s kind of how I feel about work. It’s hard to explain, but it feels like this veneer of bullshit and corporate theater over everything that makes it impossible to figure out what’s real. Like last year I was at a business school alumni function. I met an undergrad who is working on some startup trying to build low-cost data centers in energy-rich countries or some such BS. I also met a few who were “exiting” some BS “asset management” venture where I expressed amazement at their ability to raise so much capital at such a young age (who’s underwriting you? Goldman? Blackrock? Ohhh…Bank of Dad. Gotcha). In my day, it was considered a “good job” when I graduated with an analyst job at Deloitte in Manhattan. And even at my old firm the young 20-something analysts talk with that affected “I’m really engaged to hear about your journey!” Uh…why the fuck are you talking like that? We aren’t pitching a client. Fortunately, while these young kids were talking my ear off in their GenZ corporo-influencer-speak, some Morgan Stanley Wealth Management guy around my age came over and was like “Hey do you guys want to drink some Scotch and check out some expensive classic cars across town?” “Ummm YES!” ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/396 "2026-08-13T19:58:27Z")
One of the most telling signs for that BS you are describing is in my experience when they claim they are not a corporation but a family. When I hear that I look for the exit. One IMO very accurate expression in Spanish is _los amigos se escogen, la familia te toca_. You choose your friends, you are stuck with your family. OK, _tocar_ in this sense is not easy to translate, but that is my best attempt. I don’t want to be stuck with a corporation. Never have been. I don’t want to have to pretend that I enjoy being exploited. Fortunately for me, I don’t have to. Being old has some perks. This, for me, is one. I can say no. I’m out of this monkey business. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/397 "2026-08-13T20:07:04Z")
Not sure if this is an old people thing or not, but the last few years I find myself getting choked up during a movie to the point I really can’t talk without exposing it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/398 "2026-08-13T20:10:00Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > when they claim they are not a corporation but a family Over here, you often hear “we treat you like family,” which always makes me think that they have a VERY different experience of family than I do. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/399 "2026-08-14T12:48:04Z")
I’ve mostly worked for large corporations in tech or finance in NYC. They don’t really give a “treat you like family” vibe. “Treat you like family” I tend to think of as more of a small to medium sized midwestern company in like transportation or manufacturing school supplies or something where half the owner’s family IS the company. Also that’s something I’ve heard in corporate culture my entire career, so I don’t see it as a marker of age or anything. I suppose what makes me feel “old” or at least from a different time than 20-somethings coming into the workforce is that I think young people are getting all the shitty experiences of work without all the positives we had. Sure, work always sucks and we would rather do something else. But for my generation, getting a corporate job in the city (Boston originally, then NYC) meant being able to move out of my parents home and be on my own. Work provide a place to meet other people at different points in their career. A fair number of my friends actually met their future wives at work. It was a lot more “face to face” in my 20s and 30s so I feel like I spent a lot more time traveling around meeting clients and coworkers. It just seemed like a fuller richer life experience. The best example I can think of is George Clooney in Up in The Air before Anna Kendrick comes along and turns everything remote with her Zoom calls. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/400 "2026-08-14T13:27:28Z")
There was certainly a time in the office when i looked around and thought, “i don’t want his job” or “i could see myself in his job”. (Most of the senior people were men at that time.) I suppose that’s harder for young workers today. I still love working from home. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575.md?page=21)