PARA LO QUE ME QUEDA DE ESTAR EN EL CONVENTO...AND SHORT-TIMERS

I have noticed of late that I suffer from short-timer’s syndrome (attitude). At my age, I believe I have every right to suffer (enjoy?) this malady. At 88, I can afford to lose focus, motivation, and emotional attachments. I am now a short-timer, someone who is on borrowed time and doesn’t give a fig about anything.

As someone said on NPR Morning (10/02/1998), “I’m a short-timer. What do I care?”

And I often muse in Spanish: Para lo que me queda de estar en el convento… Fulgencio Argüelles put it more fully in Letanías de lluvia (1993): “Para el tiempo que me queda de estar en este convento, me cago dentro.”

So there you have it: Short-timer’s syndrome (attitude) — Para lo que me queda de estar en el convento, me cago dentro.

“I’m a short-timer. What do I care?” NPR Morning, 10/02/1998. US.

“… is himself a short-timer. He is about to turn 68 and is subject to mandatory retirement at age 70.” San Francisco Chronicle, 10/17/2004. US.

“Short timer syndrome is the common term used to describe a person’s non-caring attitude toward a job he or she is getting ready to leave, be it from retirement…” Josue Conley, “Avoid the Pitfall of Short-timer Syndrome,” LinkedIn, October 16, 2015. US.

I am a short-timer in life. Who cares now? But unfortunately, I do care!