h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

How ironic that this Talking Point is presently opposite a picture of Bill Bailey, who points out in his stand up show what a farce lists of 'things to do before you're...' are.

Exactly who is anybody to say you should do anything before a certain age?

I mean what should you have done by the time your thirty? Have a failed marraige? Three kids by two different fathers? Made you first million? Been to Glastonbury Festival? Attended a Fetish Club?

Or none of the above and just bibble along and do what makes you happy when you feel like it?

What makes thirty such a magic cut off point? If I haven't done these unmissable *things* by thirty does that mean the experience is worthless if I do it at forty?

I just hate the way that these lists give the impression that life stops once you've hit this age, and all you can do is be a vegetable till the kids cart you off to the nursing home .

It just reinforces the attitude of society at the moment that once you're past 25, you're past it. Whatever 'it' may be. What's to stop you doing these things at 40, 50, 60 or 70? I know people who, now their kids have left home and they've regained their freedom, are taking their chance to explore the world and enjoy their retirement now they have less pressure.

BTW, in some areas of the UK, three kids by two different fathers could be considered unambitious by the age of 20, let alone 30 .

The only thing me and my husband want to do before we're thirty is get the mortgage paid off .

I agree, age has nothing to do with this. Picking a random age is arbitrary, people's lives all don't follow the same path at the same pace. I think better lists would be "things to do before you have kids" or "things to do before you decide to follow your heart and take a fulfilling and rewarding yet ridiculously low-paying job". Yeah, the title would be awkward, but there are some things I wish I had done while I still had money!

"The only thing me and my husband want to do before we're thirty is get the mortgage paid off"

My wife & I did take that seriously in our early careers, making double payments since we were both working professionally and had no kids. The long term goal was to escape the rat race before the rats ran over us. E.g. my company over a 5 - 10 year period tripled in size, then laid off 2/3 of the employees, so you never knew ... We both managed to dodge the bullet (actually Uzi style bullets) until we could leave on our own terms, but it was mostly just luck, being on the right project when the ax swung.

IMHO, the comic strip "Dilbert" belongs in the non-fiction section, based on its description of management decision making.

My list doesn't have a cut-off age on it; it's entitled 'Things to do before I die and/or the world ends'

As Bill Baily also said in his show, saying it's something to do 'before you die' adds un-necessary pressure and makes it seem like a rush to do all these things.

Why can't it be called 'things to do while you're alive'

or more simply just 'things to do'?

(p.s. the idea of lunging wildly at the Pope in one of the other threads was a Bill Bailey idea too)

"Things to do" sounds more like work, and I think these lists are supposed to refer to fun things.

I mean, I can't see anyone on their death bed laying there and saying "Oh, how I wish I'd stayed longer at work to create such-and-such and got form CPDS signed off" or suchlike.

And the rate of beaurocracy in larger companies is such that for me at age 26, filling in something like the above form and getting it signed off will probably take till I'm 30.

Oh yes, I too think Dilbert should be classed as non-fiction - it's far too true .

Would things to do when I feel like it sound hedonistic or the opposite?

I used to be one of those things to do before I'm 30type of people and all that that did was make my 30th birthday miserable. Goals like having made your first million or playing sport for your country or having cured something or other is too much pressure to put on an immature mind. Now at 35 I actually have followed my heart and taken a ridiculously low paying job and the perspective has changed enormously. IMHO now that I'm over 30 and cleared my head of all of the superficial ambitious selfish crap I feel like I'm only just getting the experience and common sense under my belt to actually enjoy doing some cool things if I choose to do so. That may include travelling somewhere beautiful with my soul mate or helping someone less fortunate, turning pro with golf or just sitting on a nice grassy patch with a glass of wine and a trashy novel (or even a good one).

I don't know about anyone else but in the 5 years since I turned 30 I have come to realise that prior to age 30 I was probably a bit of a pratt anyway and wouldn't have actually enjoyed anything I achieved because I would have been thinking about the next thing...

It's nice to know that not everyone has the ambitions listed in the "some suggestions" thread. I was beginning to feel a bit of a non-entity. Not a failure. Not having done those things is nothing to be ashamed of, as far as I can see.

I like the idea that this talking point should have been "What would you not want to regret not having done when on your death bed" - it's a bit long-winded but would have prevented us over-30s being depressed realising we're not going to have achieved anything because we didn't go bungee jumping till we were 45 or learn Russian and read Tolstoy at 70, simply because we missed that magic date.

Having spent my 30th birthday up to my chin in nappies and painting books, I can't say I really felt it was much of a milestone anyway.