In a couple of days, I turn 60. The long-awaited kanreki!
In preparation for this milestone, I took a tour through some of my life’s data. What does my life look like as a spreadsheet and a chart or two?
I read a long time ago that when life is viewed as a series of encounters, our time with parents, siblings, and other significant people can be counted in months, weeks or days. There are fewer of them than we realise and each time we enjoy someone’s company could very well be the last time. It’s a sobering and bittersweet reminder to embrace all the moments.
That hits home as I reach 60. How much time do I have left on the planet? When will you and I greet each other for the last time? We probably won’t know it when it happens.
It’s probably not too soon. US government actuarial charts indicate I will live until 86 and the most pessimistic estimate is 67. Meaning I have another 7 to 26 years. That’s quite a span. Since I can’t know what it will actually be, I will enjoy each day and all the encounters until they are over.
Data Points
Anyway, what have I done with the 60 years (720 months) I have lived so far? You can scroll through the blog for stories, but I have stats, too.
My Life in Months
I have been keeping this particular spreadsheet since 2018, which was a chaotic time when I needed something to cling to. I’ve kept it up ever since. It covers my whole life month-by-month:
The bands of colors depict location. I marked the months I was in education with /, time I was ‘working for the man’ with *, and self-employment (or lack thereof) as •. Significant incidents are noted and the life-changing months are highlighted with yellow.
Where I’ve Lived
Many of the significant changes in my life involved moving from one city to another.
| Oakland, NJ | ~7 years | 82 months |
| Valley of Lakes, PA | ~9 years | 105 months |
| Kamogawa, Chiba | ~11 years | 132 months |
| Pittsburgh, PA | ~12 years | 146 months |
| Tokyo | ~17 years | 207 months |
| 6 other places | ~4 years | 48 months |
So far, I’ve spent the largest portion of my life in Tokyo – 207 months or almost 29%. It’s been 132 months in Kamogawa, where I thought we’d been for a year or two at most. And I had about 4 years scattered in various places from Chicago to Bangalore.
Cadence of Changes
But moving wasn’t the only kind of significant change. The month table allowed me to create this cadence graph of when things have shifted in my life – moves, marriage, and other events. I guess these are the eras of my life, in a way. But there’s no regularity or actual cadence that I can find.
- Only Child, 3 years
- Girlhood, 6 years
- Into the Woods, 9 years
- University, 5 years
- Marriage, 6 years
- Moving on Up, 3 years
- Expatriation, 2 years
- Tokyo Blogger, 8 years
- Circus Life, 6 years
- Hillhacks, 1 year
- Kamogawa, 6 years
- 555, 5 years…
Versions of Me
There is a lot of overlap in what I do, no matter what location or era I’m in. I am true to myself regardless of the circumstances. Here’s a chart showing how many years I have been/done things that are important to me:
Johari & Nohari
In 2006, twenty years ago, my sister introduced me to the Johari Window and its counterpoint, the Nohari Window. These are ways for you to compare how you perceive your personality (good and bad) with how others see you. These were my results from 2006:
Looking back at these, I feel that I have changed, so I made a new Johari window for myself today. You can see the new version (and contribute) if you wish. The negativity of the Nohari window is harder to take and I am not in the mood for that level of criticism at this point in my life.
The Big Five
Some self-assessed data is in this post from 2008. I had created a chart of my “Big Five” personality traits over the decades of my life. Today I filled in the more recent decades, reflected again on the others, and here is the updated version:
I think it’s interesting to compare the similarity of earliest and latest ages. Maybe I am entering my second childhood after all. I was kinda cute back then, at least.
