Does Age Quash Our Spirit of Adventure?

[Snowflake]

Originally Posted by Prudence

I can't say I'd eat a tempuraed prawn head again, but at least I tried it.

Oh man! Love those, of course the better part of that deal is the sweet shrimp that comes before!

[AllyOops!]

What a facsinating question!

I think of this often. I sometimes can't believe my actual age, because I feel like a kid most of the time! However, my boyfriend is 8 years younger then me, so the question of my actual age weighs on my mind often. However, we're an amazing match- he's a very mature guy with just the most sensitive, caring & wisest Soul, and I'm still.. a dork. Perfecto!

The only arena in which I EVER notice our age difference is music. He's pretty hip to today's hard rock & punk bands. I'm pretty unhip to anything new. Our office listens to K-Big, so I'm familiar with certain pop hits, but at home? I listen to First Wave on Sirius. Home to my "youthful" music. Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Bauhaus, P.I.L, the Sex Pistols. I feel that embarrassing sting when my younger girlfriends are like, "You've NEVER heard this song?" I am absolutely not familiar with rap, hip-hop, or even Top 20 at this point. I almost wanted to weep when my girlfriend was pumping rap (and it wasn't old skool good stuff- it was gangsta-ish) once and I actually tried covering my ears. I was like, "oh this is so much noise & too loud!" THAT SCARED ME. That & the fact that I still get excited when Adam & the Ants play on the radio.

I love trendy things, but I know at my age certain things just aren't going to work. I favor more classic styles as I get older, although I was that way even in my twenties. However, some things that I find darling I know are just not suited for a girl my age.

It may be trendy, but you won't see me in stillettos, a flouncy ruffled mini-skirt and a baby tee that says "Flirt" or "Sexy Angel" or the worst offender of all, "Dontcha Wish Your Girlfriend Was Hot Like Me?"

But that's not an age dealie. That's just tacky.

[Capt Jack]

nope, not me. Im as boring as a hand full of wet dog hair...pretty much always have been. just ask anyone who knows me beyond 'hey, I know you'

tatoos. my dad had tons of tatoos. lifer navy, so I think he had one from every port he ever visited. one I remember staring at for hours as a kid. huge geisha in the middle of his chest. it was awesome. I've just never been able to decide on a single one I felt like represented me, but I have zero against them. btw, his looked great till the day he died. he was 70 or so at the time. gray hair (what there was of it), wrinkles and all. a little faded over time, but the tats always looked good....him...eh, not so much.

piercings? lets just go with dont hold your breath. I've accidentally punched enough holes in myself to avoid doing it on purpose.

music? dunno...I hear new stuff from time to time, but Im not one to go in search of anything just because its new and Im not around enough 'cutting edge' folks to bring a lot of it into range.

food may be the only true exception to my 'rules for a boring life'. (ok, theres perhaps one other I wont go into here) I think I've stumbled across maybe a hand full of things I just plain dont like. Persian, Vietnamese, Turkish etc....rarely am I disappointed or sorry I tried it. sometimes in a new eatery, I'll just close my eyes and point at the menu. Ive lucked out with that more times than I can count.

I still like fast cars and speed sports, but I am alot less ready anymore to "go and do" vs "go and see"...so maybe the decrease with age has merrit, but Im still not personally convinced since there wasnt all that many adventurous tendancies to begin with.

[Alex]

I would love to get a tattoo. I thought of getting a small UPC one on my lower back so if I was ever found dead they could scan me....I thought 'who else would have one?' Well, that idea is outta here since I saw a guy at the swapmeet with one on the back of his neck.

Everybody thinks that is a unique idea. I know I did when I wanted one but then I ran into why you don't see them often. The artist talked me out of it. He said he had several people a week want one but usually succeeded in convincing them it was a bad idea. Since it is just a series of thin straight lines they tend to look like crap after a few years as your skin moves and stretches in sublte ways as you get older. Also uneven fading will be very obvious.

Several other artists I've talked to since all say they also try to talk people out of them.

[MouseWife]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

Everybody thinks that is a unique idea. I know I did when I wanted one but then I ran into why you don't see them often. The artist talked me out of it. He said he had several people a week want one but usually succeeded in convincing them it was a bad idea. Since it is just a series of thin straight lines they tend to look like crap after a few years as your skin moves and stretches in sublte ways as you get older. Also uneven fading will be very obvious.

Several other artists I've talked to since all say they also try to talk people out of them.

I hadn't even thought of that aspect of it. Yuck. What turned me off when I saw it on this guy was that it reminded me of inmate numbers....that took the glory away.

So, the other one I am considering {and more in a serious way} is my last name surrounded by bramble bush {is that how you say it, or just bramble?}. I can't decide on the font for the lettering. Not that that is the only thing stopping me...

{I had also toyed with putting Chris Cornells caracature {sp} eyes peeping over my pantline but some people told me that would be hazardous to my sex life. ???}

[lizziebith]

I couldn't listen to the show here at work, but the summary seemed to indicate that we don't crave new experiences so much as we age. I'm not sure if I'd characterize that new experiences as "adventure," or "thrill-seeking," but here goes:

I've never been a thrill-seeker (as in sky-diving, bungee-jumping, etc.) so I can't say I'm less adventurous in that area.

As for music, I still seek out new music...in fact, new art of any kind still interests me. I don't go out as much as I used to due to work, so I "consume" new experiences differently -- I tend to study about things. Yes, that is a mediated experience but it is still exposure to new things and ideas. Whenever possible, I bring them into my home. Different arena, but still new.

I travel as much as possible, and have been to more new states in the last five years than in the previous 40. I also enjoy exploring my new city (moved to L.A. in 2001).

I have a wider variety of friends and acquaintances, so I get to experience more world-views than ever before. I think I've gotten much more open-minded as I've aged, so that has left me more receptive in general. I've jettisoned a truckload of old beliefs and I feel wonderfully unfettered.

I've already got piercings and tattoos, and am interested in more -- but not to the point of doing anything about it yet. I do think it's funny that these things matter! Why not haircuts and colors...other forms of fashion experimentation? I'm doing the fashion make-over of self thing these days.

Food? Well, that's difficult due to my major personal taboo: I hate seafood. Still, at least once a year I try out a seafood dish, to see if my tastes have changed. In fact, once a year I like to try my hand at a new skill, too: dressage, violin, kayaking, French -- these are some things I've tried in the past few. This year it will be fencing. I don't much care if I become proficient at these things...the fun for me is in the trying.

Anyway...I suspect that the LoT denizens will not support this gentleman's thesis.

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by lizziebith

I couldn't listen to the show here at work, but the summary seemed to indicate that we don't crave new experiences so much as we age. ...

Anyway...I suspect that the LoT denizens will not support this gentleman's thesis.

The summary is the guy conducted some surveys to discover some interesting benchmarks;

age 35 was a mark where 95% of the population was no longer interested in listening to new music

at age 39, 95% of the population who had not already tried sushi would try sushi

When it cam e to tongue piercings 95% occured between the ages of 16-23

So, yeah I think this group will skew those results - but these studies just hit 3 areas so I have to wonder if as we age, our interests target us for more adventure in some places and less in others?

There was also a baboon study of older baboons not trying new foods when relocated - I supose you could construct a biological reason for that, but I wonder how music and fashion fit in - as well as travel and other sorts of adventurousness.

[alphabassettgrrl]

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

age 35 was a mark where 95% of the population was no longer interested in listening to new music

at age 39, 95% of the population who had not already tried sushi would try sushi

When it came to tongue piercings 95% occured between the ages of 16-23

I'm over 35 and while being willing to listen to new music, I find I don't have the energy to seek it out myself. I have been falling away from music entirely lately, and listening to NPR nearly exclusively, with AM1070 as a backup.

I'm under 39 but I love sushi. I'm perfectly happy to try new food though some of the ... "delicacies" make me cringe. I'll try it, but wow. Can't believe some of the things people call food.

Piercings... not so much a fan of them. I have considered a tattoo, but it would have to be something meaningful to me, not just "it was pretty". I work with guys who have "just-because" tattoos and I wonder what they'll think when they are my age. I know I wouldn't want them.

Sky-diving: still on the to-do list.
Shark diving: still on the list.
Bungee jumping: not so much. Not afraid, just not interested.
Scuba diving: certified, just don't like the water all that much.

The newest hobby in the ABG house is biking. Hubby and I bought bikes and since May I've put nearly 700 miles on mine. He's got over 900. Our city is small enough that bicycles are perfect; I can be nearly anywhere in town within 3 miles. Makes me happy though I'm not sure it counts as adventure.

[Gemini Cricket]

I don't like piercings. Not for me. I don't need extra holes. And I think those ear stretching earrings are creepy. They look fine when the ring is in but when you take it out it's flappy skin with a hole in it... Ewww!

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Ever curious, not always adventurous. I've dropped everything to move from one city to the next. I've taken risks with my employment in an attempt to try something new.

I'm a creature of habit, in some respects, but not exactly set in my ways. Open to new foods, new music, new cultures, new experiences, ideas, new books, new art, etc.

But, for a Romantic, I'm a coward and I always have been. Age has had no influence. I'm positively hiding in a cave.

And if doing what I really wanted meant giving up everything I had, I'd probably be too scared to do it. An adventurer wouldn't.