Boomer Humor

I've been accused of not having enough sense of humor so here's proof that's not the case:

You know you're getting older when...

People call at 9 pm and ask, "Did I wake you?"

You wake up looking like your driver's license.

You begin sentences with, "Nowadays..."

Okay, and this is pretty funny too:

Did you ever think that:

One day you would drive a fancy truck that you bought for over $50,000 and costs over $100 to fill with gas, with big cushy bags that pop out into your face and body if it's involved in an accident, and listen to 22 speakers in it blasting 1,000 watts of Mick Jagger's latest album from a 6 inch wireless music player with 40,000 songs and 12 movies somehow stored on it, and an only slightly larger gadget that electronically displays a map accompanied by a soothing voice that directs you to a store that stays open 24 hours a day where you can buy, while being photographed by a thimble-sized camera, both a 42 oz. drink with no calories that makes it feel as though your brain is frozen and a phone from a company named after a person who has not had set yet, without any wires that costs $200 and plays Bob Dylan's Positively 4th Street when it rings, that you can use immediately to call China for less than 5 cents a minute from your truck that maintains its interior air temperature at 72 degrees, to order an illegally copied operating system for $10 for your very own computer that you use to write your personal thoughts for all the world to see in something called a blog.

Ha ha.

08/08/08

Not only is today the start of the summer Olympics in Beijing, it's also considered a very lucky day to get married in China. 16,400 couples are planning on tying the knot. The word "eight" in in Mandarin, "ba," sounds like "fa," the word for wealth and prosperity. Two other numbers, six and nine, are also considered lucky and dates that have any combination of the three are popular for weddings and other ceremonies. Considered a tradition more than a superstition, couples around the world are borrowing from China; twenty six couples are signed up to get married in Palm Springs today. The city clerk says it's a record and when asked about the popularity of certain dates, remarked that there are none scheduled for Halloween.

Generation Ageless

In the late 1960s, Yankelovich Inc. first coined the phrase "baby boomer," and in a book published last year (that I'm only now getting around to reading) they've presented several distinct categories that we fall into. Ready? Here they are: Straight Arrows, Due Diligents, Maximizers, Sideliners, Dis/Contenteds, Re-Activists

Well, I can eliminate several right off the top. How about you? 

Claiming "fresh, original data...they provide new insights into the world's most talked about generation." Generation Ageless is available from Harper Collins. Here's the link. 

And, if you're needing some nifty glasses to read the book with ease, try this site: boomereyeware.com

Going with the Flow

Stats vary, but as much as a third of the workforce appears to consist of baby boomers, tens of millions of whom will retire by 2010. And although boomers are still making up their minds about what exactly that retirement will look like, the trend is to continue working in some capacity or another. With Gen X and Y nipping at their heels, the workplace is becoming increasingly multi-generational, and the trick is to discover way to increase compatibility. In an excellent article at careermag.com, the generations are compared according to values, as a way to discover similarities and differences. For the most part, boomers have always had a strong work ethic, and are motivated by being recognized for that and for their commitment, loyalty and team work. Gen X, on the other hand, tends more towards entrepreneurial and independent work styles, can work in isolation quite well and is comfortable communicating electronically, not requiring the face-to-face interaction that boomers prefer. Not as apt to stay with an employer who doesn't challenge them, Gen Xers don't have the same company loyalty as boomers.

Gen Y, those born between 1980 and 2000 bring another set of values to the table. The children of boomers and siblings of Gen Xers, these youngsters are competitive due to being goal and achievement oriented and want to be recognized for their ideas. The world as they know it is highly diverse, and they are most motivated by managers with integrity and quality.

This is a subject that truly fascinates me and I'll be returning to it again.

  

Communes Re-visited

According to an article in today's Washington Post, those who track consumer trends are noticing an increased interest in intentional living communities. While once these communes, as they were called, were viewed as alternative lifestyles for hippies, today's intentional communities are hosting people from all walks of life. For a variety of reasons including common beliefs in spirituality, economics, sustainability or just to live among friends, it's estimated that 100,000 Americans have chosen this way of life, one third of whom reside in urban areas. Others who prefer a rural way of life often live on farms and grow and sell their own food.  The Fellowship for Intentional Community has information and links to intentional communities that are up and running as well as those who are forming. A visit to the site showed a wide assortment of environments from ecovillages or communes where all the income is shared, to cohousing where folks live separately but within easy reach of options for fellowship.

Happy Birthday Obama

Today Barack Obama is 47 years old, definitely a baby boomer though barely. I've been noticing a tendency among Gen X and Y, as they get into the spirit of things, to try and claim him as their own! Nice try. While we appreciate your voice in the matter, he's irrevocably ours. But keep up the good work. Maybe next time...

Marketing Your Legacy

This isn't such a horribly bad idea or anything, but in the frenzy to squeeze every last dollar out of us it's a little over-the-top. Preservingsentiments.com is offering a service that (for a fee of course) will compile your memories, values, sentiments, letters and photos and archive them online for you. Also, and I found this a little creepy, you can designate a time "in the future," up to 25 years when you want the archive delivered and to whom. Yikes! Seems just a tad weird - somehow it makes me picture my boys opening their e-mail one morning, years from now, and going "hunh? what's this?" It seems a little bizarre to blind-sight somebody like that. Not to trivialize personal histories one bit - they're fascinating and valuable - but there are so many cool tools available for storing information online that are more creative (and free!)