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I love Dr. Seuss... just a quick note to anyone who is a fan of his, the last episode of South Park pays a nice homage. But the one written work that really ge

I love Dr. Seuss... just a quick note to anyone who is a fan of his, the last episode of South Park pays a nice homage. But the one written work that really gets under my skin, in the vein of being a spectator vs. participant in life... and this might be cliche, but it's Pink Floyd's song Time. ...Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town Waiting for someone or something to show you the way... ...And then the one day you find ten years have got behind you No one told you when to run you missed the starting gun... ...The time is gone the song is over, thought I'd something more to say... But then it goes on, yet there is a shift in tone. Instead of worry, it is utter resignation. What I find particularly interesting is this was written when the band felt they were losing relevance - by this point they had a run as long as and were about as old as The Beatles when they had broken up. A rock band back then entering their 30s who hadn't really broken out was doomed, right? What examples to the contrary were there? Yet Dark Side of the Moon is where their life as cultural icons began. Time is the only song on the album credited to all four members of the band. I'm 36 years old and spent the first 15 years of my professional life working in the enterprise doing C++/C#, with all the wonderful trappings of Office Space. I'm proud of some of the work I did but overall I was pretty unhappy. 5 mos ago I quit my job to become a contractor. I do Rails work for a couple long-term clients based in NYC. This might not be a big deal to most people here... all I can say is I've never been happier. It's like, "I did it. And this is just the beginning." They say it takes only 21 days to cultivate a habit. They also say major life decisions can happen in an instant, like a flick of the switch. I don't know how much of that is actually true, perhaps it's best to not ponder things like that too much.

lifeisstillgood 14y ago
As someone who hit that (perceived small but really large milestone) at 40, only last year, good luck, well done and keep on going. Don't want to sound patronising or empty, but that's great - keep going
atas 14y ago
I have the same age as you. One year ago I was thinking of quitting my job to turn my hobby into a business. I thought of staying in my hometown (cheap but not start-up friendly and family and friends would just see me as 'unemployed'), but I took an offer instead for a more business-oriented role to move abroad. Then one day, as a visitor in a nearby country (cheap and start-up friendly, far away from anyone I know) I saw an advertisement on the street of apartments for sale and it struck me. I now have a plan of moving to this country with cheap cost of living after I finish with my current project. I always thought of leaving my country as a good way to get me started (leaving next to family would just give me a delusion of security, would make me more complacent and/or I had to deal with discouragement), but cost of living would be a factor for staying anyway. Why I am saying all this? From just visiting a country as a tourist, a plan came up. And if I hadn't taken that offer maybe I would have quit. Or maybe not. And I am still considering of applying for some jobs abroad in the meantime (more waiting). But at least a more solid long-term plan has formed in the background now.
saltcod 14y ago
That's extremely cool. The world is your oyster! If you've got the skills, there should be more than enough independent Rails work these days to keep you busy, happy and keep a roof over your head. Congrats.

lifeisstillgood 14y ago

As someone who hit that (perceived small but really large milestone) at 40, only last year, good luck, well done and keep on going. Don't want to sound patronising or empty, but that's great - keep going

atas 14y ago

I have the same age as you. One year ago I was thinking of quitting my job to turn my hobby into a business. I thought of staying in my hometown (cheap but not start-up friendly and family and friends would just see me as 'unemployed'), but I took an offer instead for a more business-oriented role to move abroad. Then one day, as a visitor in a nearby country (cheap and start-up friendly, far away from anyone I know) I saw an advertisement on the street of apartments for sale and it struck me. I now have a plan of moving to this country with cheap cost of living after I finish with my current project. I always thought of leaving my country as a good way to get me started (leaving next to family would just give me a delusion of security, would make me more complacent and/or I had to deal with discouragement), but cost of living would be a factor for staying anyway. Why I am saying all this? From just visiting a country as a tourist, a plan came up. And if I hadn't taken that offer maybe I would have quit. Or maybe not. And I am still considering of applying for some jobs abroad in the meantime (more waiting). But at least a more solid long-term plan has formed in the background now.

saltcod 14y ago

That's extremely cool. The world is your oyster! If you've got the skills, there should be more than enough independent Rails work these days to keep you busy, happy and keep a roof over your head. Congrats.