40 is the New 20

We went skiing again this weekend at Whitetail. The kids went on the blue and black slopes. I was still on the greens, but started dipping in a blue. I took a level-three lesson in the afternoon. The instructor was helpful. He gave me confidence to go back on the blue slope I fell horribly on the first day I skied. I thought I would never go back, but I did five runs without falling. Because the kids didn’t use their ski lessons, I used them for myself. I took another lesson in the evening, unfortunately it was not as good as the earlier one. I was a bit disappointed. Nevertheless I am loving this expensive sport. We went nearly every weekend and I didn’t even want to look at the charges. I felt a bit guilty about it, but my wife encouraged us to go. She kept saying winter is almost over; therefore, go enjoy while we can. Isn’t she a fantastic mom? Since this is our first season, we just dived in. Next year, we will plan better with seasonal pass, rental, and advance booking.

I feel fortunate that my wife and I have jobs that allow us to spend on these activities on top of other expenses. I am not bragging, but acknowledging the importance of having a stable income. If I were to do freelance for a living, I would be dead broke. I had quoted three potential projects earlier this year, but none sealed the deal. The latest one came from an old friend in middle school. She reached out to me to redesign her business website. I gave her a quote with a generous discount and we both agreed on the price and the services. Before starting the project, I asked her to provide me access to her web server. She seemed startled and wanted to know why. I explained to her that in order for me to make changes to her existing website, I would need to upload the files (webpages) to the server, which is a standard practice on any web development project. Of course, the client has to trust me with the credentials. She went completely silent and didn’t respond to my emails. It felt weird. I guessed she didn’t trust me.

I wanted to do freelance to give me opportunities to do more creative projects than my full-time job. These incomes cannot support me full time, but more like bonuses for vacations or ski trips. Still, they are much harder to land these days. It’s all good though.

In addition to skiing, I am also getting into ice skating. We went to the rink near our house every Sunday. I also discovered a rink near my work with only a dollar on Tuesdays. I am going to incorporate that into my lunch break. I am taking my time to learn one technique at a time from watching YouTube. I am still in the process of learning the hockey stop. I am a grown-ass man trying to learn these sports. I guess it is true: 40 is the new 20.