Re: Transcription of Larry's talk (wherein he lays the foundation for Perl 6)

"The third thing I noticed is that I want to start reminiscing about my youth. Old people really only have three things to say: how good it was back then, how bad it is now, and (if you're lucky) how much worse it will be in the future."

OK, thanks to Larry Wall, I now know the name of the malady I have been experiencing more and more acutely over the past 8 months. It is called "getting old".

No, I'm serious. I am more resistant to new things, in an "I've seen this kind of thing before, I know better" way. I have been posting things to mailing lists without thinking about them first (yeah, but I didn't always do that, unlike many). I've been resentful when confronted with things in which I should instead be interested.

It took almost 38 years to get here, so I can't fix it immediately. The first step to solving a problem is admitting it's a problem. Sure, I can't turn back the clock, but there's a difference between physiological aging and attitudinal aging. It's more clear than ever that I need some time off, and a different approach to things.

I've tried living my life "the adult way"-- which really seems to have meant "the grownup way". I said years ago in my barely-20's that I was looking forward to becoming an adult, but never wanted to become a grownup. Now here I am acting like one. Ugh. I quit!!! I sincerely hope that I've learned enough useful material in my life so far that I can be more irreverent, spontaneous, and fun-experiencing without screwing up my life. If not, well, things may get interesting in unpleasant as well as pleasant ways. We shall see.