Cut and run? Or stay and rot?

Best thread I've read this week:


WAAHHH! Mid Life Crisis

Ok. I'm 39, been at my current job for 15 years, so sick of it I wake up with a stomach ache, and so burnt out that I don't want to start another job and get in the same rut. What I want to do is get on my bike and ride away and escape for about 3-6 months, just riding around the country and sampling some choice mtn biking. But that's not the "responsible" thing to do.

What do you all think? Anyone ever been there? Anyone ever done it or done something similar? Any regrets?

By the way, I have no wife, no kids, no house payment, no debt (to speak of), so I wouldn't necessarily be leaving a trail of obligations unmet...aside from a girlfriend who isn't too keen on a 3-6 month walkabout...

Ease my pain! Let me know what you think.

-- Uruk-hai


There's a great line in Thank You for Smoking, where the answer for doing every--and any--thing is "to pay the mortgage." I've observed men stuck in dead-end jobs which they hate, but they stick with it, year after year, decade after decade, just to pay the mortgage, feed the kids, and keep up pretences appearances. And then, upon hitting the mid-life crisis, purchase a sports car and/or get a mistress. These are men who most sincerely pray that there's a heaven after this life (or a time machine), IMHO.

It is one thing if you enjoy sacrificing and providing, it is another if you do it out of obligation. But I digress.

The replies.

Godspeed, Uruk-hai!
Run, don't walk!