I’ve done no work this weekend. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Naught. Nada. Nil.
Hooray!
The next few weeks will be the home stretch. Four weeks of university, three weeks of exams then I’m done (for now).
I often start sentences, “When I grow up…” and people laugh. In Australia, being 18 years old is “grown up”. I don’t think I’ve ever felt fully grown up because I still depend on mum and dad for many things, like health insurance, advice and laundry. I also knew that there was plenty for me to learn still, academically and personally.
But I’m on the verge of being “grown up”. I can see how I could relatively easily transist (verb for transition, please?) into independence. I still don’t know everything but I have the tools to learn. My finances will fall into place next year when I have a full time job. I can go anywhere in my car, by public transport or plane. I am confident I can organise myself and the people around me.
I remember in high school thinking, “In 2006, when Melbourne hosts the Commonwealth Games, I’ll be 24 years old. Good golly! Jumping Jimminey!” And it’s almost here (in fact, I did some environmental work for the Government on the Commonwealth Games Village).
The course of life is unpredictable. Which is why I’m setting myself up for a fall because I will now set out A PLAN here. This is not what I want. It’s just me scenarionising. In writing this down, the biggest struggle was deciding the non-work things like marriage and kids — this is the topic I know least about!
| Age (years) |
Event |
|---|---|
| 22 |
Graduate Begin full time work as engineer |
| 25 |
Promotion Move into first home |
| 26 |
Oversears posting Engagement |
| 27 |
Marriage Move into second home Buy hybrid electric car |
| 28 |
Begin full-time PhD Kid 1 |
| 31 |
Complete PhD |
| 32 |
Kid 2 |
| 33 |
Back to full time work, this time in public policy |
| 36 |
Enter politics Buy hydrogen fuel cell car |
| 42 |
Become Federal Minister for the Environment |
| 48 |
Work overseas |
| 53 |
Win Nobel Peace Prize |
| 55 |
Start a Diploma of Education Move into third home |
| 57 |
Teach high school Geography, Mathematics and English |
| 62 |
Teach part time Be paid for speaking at important international conferences |
| 68 |
Fully retired |
| 100 |
Die |
Whaddya reckon?
Freaky! I was going to put up my goals on my blog as well… but was too lazy. 😛 Anyway, i have faith that you will definitely do well in life. 🙂
pickle
transit
beldar
Transit. Yes, I realised that early today while I was thinking about ‘impost’ and ‘imposition’.
Imaginate and Imagination.
Satisfy. Satisfication.
English. Unglish 🙂
I think you missed out a few things… like:
Become first female winner of the Tour de France
Become UN secretary general
Establish the first human colony on Mars
…the list goes on
you better stick to this plan. I don’t want to call you up in 80 years or so and hear “well Daniel, sitting in a deck chair next to the beach was so much more gratifying, oh! to surf again… so how’s Mars?”
Daniel
you’re going to have your first kid and start a pHD at he same time? are you fucking crazy??
(hi joan, nice blog)
mr joel
Haha! Hi Mr Joel.
Crazy, eh. Maybe. It’s the only place I can fit it in. The constraints were:
– Kid before 30 years old (otherwise there’s a significant increase in the probability of Downs’ Syndrome)
– PhD early so I can spend most of my life feeling important.
You’re right, of course. Having kid and doing full-on post-grad is a tad ambitious. Looks like I’ll have to marry a rich man so that he can hire lots of nannies 🙂
JUST KIDDING. I AM SO KIDDING.