u/thecallofthevoid2020

So, I think somehow it has finally dawned on me, many years too late, that I'm not in my 20s or 30s anymore, and that I need the counsel of my peers for a change.

Would like to hear from others, let's say mid-40s to mid-50s, who aren't living the life most people associate with people of this age. How are your interests different from those of your peers? Do you feel like an outlier or just like someone living life as you've always done? Are you dealing with a sense of isolation, and if so, how are you handling it?

Here are some of the types of people with whom I think it might be fun to correspond (not that you necessarily have to fit into any of these categories....just throwing out some examples):

• Gen X-ers formerly active in 80s/90s subcultures/music scenes (punk/HC, indie, goth, industrial, and so on);
• Anyone who has successfully navigated a mid-life or third-life, crisis (or is still in the throes of the same);
• People who have reinvented themselves (whether successfully or otherwise);
• Anyone who is thoroughly convinced they were born at the wrong time;
• Expats;
• Autodidacts/self-learners/independent academics;
• Stand-up comedians (I've performed a bit myself, mostly open mics and occasional MC-ing);
• Writers.

And here are just a few subjects in which I'm interested (again, not limiting myself to these topics; just putting a few ideas out there):

• The Western Canon (but don't worry, I don't expect you to be conversant in the entire Western Canon);
• Postmodern American literature (I have a love/hate relationship with it myself, though I am partial to Barth, Barthelme, Brautigan, Coover, Pynchon, and of course Vonnegut);
• Gnosticism;
• Asceticism;
• Minimalism as a lifestyle (something I'm nowhere near achieving myself!);
• Fasting (intermittent and extended);
• Nootropics and supplements.

Yes indeed, these are just a few of the light and airy topics we can just dive right into! Heh. Don't be intimidated, though...I have been known to discuss things as prosaic as the weather with great interest and sincerity.

I prefer email but wouldn't mind exchanging paper letters and postcards here and there in the course of an established correspondence.

As for turnaround time, I will assume that you are busy with adult responsibilities and personal projects and will reply at your own pace. I will always do my best to reply in a reasonably timely manner, applying the aforegoing caveat to myself as well. That said, I can get pretty verbose, so expect rambly emails once we've built up a solid dialogue.