90 Years Old

Do what your 90 year old self will be proud of doing.

I wish that was my line, but it’s not. It’s from Gurwinder Bhogal from the Subversive Voices podcast with Alex Kashuta. And, it’s not a feel good episode about “being your best self,” or “living your authentic life,” or any other meaningless jingle. It’s about the increasing gamification of modern life. If anything, its either a depressing or a cautionary tale, or possibly both. 

Right now my 60 year old self is trying to get back into rock climbing shape after too many months spent ocean kayaking. The glorious autumn weather we are experiencing is soon to be a thing of the past as an East Coast Low moves in with up to 200 mm of rain sometime over the next couple of days. It was my fourth climbing day out of the last five so I must be getting in better shape.

I went down to Grey Rocks to boulder on the solid granite down there. I’ve been wandering around Grey Rocks, Bingie Bingie and Mullimburra Point for half a dozen years bouldering and never seen another person, but the boulders are now up on the Crag website and I saw the tiniest smidgen of chalk. It’s good to see other folk enjoying the area. I even got up the courage to top out on the highest boulders, something I had not done before.

Afterwards, I went for a walk. The water is so clear right now – that’ll be gone in a day or two – the wind was light, and there was a low swell. A more perfect day for sea kayaking was hard to imagine. But the bouldering was pretty good too.