I listened to this podcast from Adam Grant ( a new favorite!) about career decline, usually happening in the 40s. It was a super interesting talk. The reason many people suffers from career decline after 40 is because our IQ or fluid intelligence declines with ageing. A clear example are programmers, have you seen a successful programmer in his 40s or 50s? Unlikely. However, as we age, our synthesise intelligence increases, the ability to gather and synthesise large amount of information and have a crystal idea of big pictures, increases over time. So jobs that value synthesise intelligence flourish after 40s. I found it fascinating because my role has gradually shifted from doing the actual work to ask question about existing work and tell a big picture story. The more I think about it, as my role is shifting this role, the more I realise where my value should be. That is to ask the right questions. Every important decision/project starts with asking the right questions. Then someone else, ideally, can help to answer them. That would be the idea way to lead and mentor because it doesn’t pose threat to the teams that are actually doing the work, but to guide them through questions.
Back to our days this week. After Tuesday late night work, it took 3-4 days to recover fully. That’s why this year I’m implemented the policy of not taking evening meetings after 7pm unless absolutely necessary.
On Friday I took the girls for a wellness check up, first time in 3.5 years because I suddenly realised that they might need some vaccines. The girls were not nervous at first but when the needles came out (two shots this time), they both cried and resisted. Oh well… let’s see how I convince them to go back in a month for another shot.
Saturday morning was spent making a new cake for the following week breakfast, my beloved oatmeal to the freezer, and made a vegan pad thai. It was relatively easy to make and it turned out perfect. Definitely will make it again when I crave it.
Vegan Pad Thai
PAD THAI SAUCE (blended)
- 6 dates
- 2 tbsp almond butter
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp tamarind paste
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 inch fresh ginger minced
- 1 tsp sriracha
- 1 nori sheet
STIR-FRY ingredients
- 200 g flat rice noodles
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 100 g broccoli, cut small
- 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
- 3 garlic cloves, diced finely
- 100 g bean sprouts
- 200 g tofu prepared with a marinate and panfried
- 2 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts, to serve
TOFU marinate
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp finely grated ginger
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
COOKING
- Precook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet.
- Heat oil and add broccoli, stir-fry for 1 minute, followed by carrot, sprouts.
- Add in pad thai sauce, tofu, mix for few minutes
- Serve with crushed peanuts.
The girls had pizza with broccoli with Sofia’s friend over.
After lunch, hubby and I took a short nap, then I read until Sofia finished her classes and went out for a walk to buy some dress for Lizzy who keeps asking for new dresses for days. Unfortunately the girls were not allowed to go inside the shop, so I chose two and showed her through the window. We got two that look comfy and cute. They are in the age of wanting to make decisions about their clothes, so I don’t buy clothes without them checking anymore. Since I didn’t find anything good for Sofia, I bought her a kid friendly nail polish which she loved.
Evening was kids TV for them while hubby and I chatted in our room. We talked about his friends lives, those that I know of. It was a quite long conversation. When we finished, I wonder what do other couples at our age talk about? I bet household logistics, kids, work, parents, world news, and other people? Do you ever talk about your two? We do maybe 5% of the time 😆 is this normal?
Sunday plan
- run solo and run with Sofia biking
- call mom
- family golfing
- read and finish this book
- might have to work (hopefully not)
- plan for next week
Our New Journey 