@FOUND SOUL,
The only thing that irritated me about turning 50 was the predictable and irritating habit of someone decorating the whole office with black balloons, gifts of prunes, depends, denture tablets with the same stupid jokes over and over about being on a sliding board heading to the cemetery. Every cliche that had ever been voiced, voiced again by someone who was definitely having the time of his/her otherwise crappy ass life.
I dropped a lot of hints that I would be hard pressed to stand and pretend to enjoy any quasi-festive stunt celebrating turning 50. That sounds irritable, and I think I was irritable because I've had to stand around and watch the same circus when any other coworker turned 50. I hated watching it happen to others, but I have to say they were better sports than I would have been. They never seemed to enjoy it, they seemed to endure it.
So, knowing it would be hard to not be a poor sport, I opted to take vacation days prior to and after the birthday target. I had a great time, I was doing things I wanted to do, instead of listening to the same tired excuses for clever. Sorry, Im not good about sharing events in the workplace. I still remember getting ticked the first day I had to transition to maternity clothes (I was 24). Women I barely knew were screaming and hugging me. It was dreadful, I wish I was a better sport about this sort of thing, but unfortunately I'm not.
And by the way, turning 50 was painless. I think getting older gives you a confidence and increased awareness of situations. There is a freedom that you experience when you need to buy a car, you can waltz in and drive a pushy salesman to drink. We were an inch away from buying a particular car about 18 mons. ago. We knew exactly what we wanted, had the funds, should have been easy. The new cars carry a ton of tech gadgets and I was asking the salesman to explain the feature that warns you if you are drifting out of your lane, you know, things like what happens, do lights flash..what happens? He didn't know for sure so he brought the car expert (who appeared to be a unkempt 23 year old) so I asked him "what happens if you drift, what's the tip off?" He talked awkwardly for a time but he still wasn't telling us how the car lets us know when it's in a drift, so when mr. GB asked again, he struggled and gave us this example "you know, like when your playing Grand Theft Auto and like, blah blah blah happens and like your X Box joy stick like wobbles blah blah". At that point I look at my salesman with that WTF expression and all three of us started to laugh, the expert walked away in a huff, but why in Gods name would he think either one of us ever sat down on the floor to play video games. That wasn't the actual game ender, that happened while we we being handled by the sales manager. Well this has gone on too long, I'm going to make dinner and give someone else a chance.
I believe we are called spring chickens again, well Dutchy called me that so I am sticking with it. Ya young annis, young... What ever you do, it will be awesome... If it helps you more, I'm 51 a month before you 
