(no subject)

[darchildre]

The trouble with turning 37 (as I am doing on Monday) is that 36 is basically aesthetically the perfect number and there is no other number that I will reach in my potential lifetime that is as good. It is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, and 12 (which are all excellent numbers), it's square and also divisible by a square (9) into 4 equal pieces that you can think of as a square of squares (which is very satisfying), there are no 5's or 7's involved anywhere (7 is my least favorite single-digit number and 5 is only slightly better), and both 3 and 6 are pleasing to look at. I do honestly feel bereft that I will be leaving this number behind and have nothing near as good to look forward to again.

This is made worse by the fact that the next several numbers are 37 (prime, contains a 7, despicable), 38 (marginally better but only divisible by 2 and a particularly ugly prime, basically a bad shape), and 39 (divisible by 3, which is good, but also 13, which is dreadful, essentially a sad parody of 36).

It is an extremely stupid thing to have feelings about, and yet.

Comments

[silveradept]

And yet, those are valid feelings about the passage of time.

[darchildre]

The reason it's silly is that it's emphatically not about the passage of time - I am quite happy about being a year older, as the past year contained many things that I'm glad to have learned or done or accomplished. Time passing is great. I just have negative feelings about the aesthetic qualities of numbers arbitrarily attached to aging that I find unpleasant for idiosyncratic reasons and am aware that those feelings are a bit absurd, even as I continue to have them.

[silveradept]

Oh, I misunderstood. But the feelings are still valid, even if you think they're silly and idiosyncratic.

[frenchroast]

My husband also has feelings about numbers and ages, except he's like your opposite: he is always super happy about prime numbers, and he hates the number 6.

I'm with you about the ugly primes. I don't like prime numbers.

[tricksters_queen]

I have a bit of a bizarre thing about numbers, too, though I don't know where most of it stems from... I love 8. It's round, and I like writing them, and depending on your penmanship, it can look rather like an eternity symbol that happens to be vertical, or otherwise *incredibly* round, both of which make me very happy. I keep volumes at numbers that generally have a 0, 2, 5, or 8 in them (10, 12, 15, 18, 20, and so on) when watching tv or listening to the car radio... as for age, any age that has a 5, 10, or 8 in it tends to make me happy. ::shrugs::

Also... Happy belated birthday to you! <3