0-49=50?

N

o, it's not not some stupid quantum physics mumbo jumbo. It means 0 to 49 equals 50 numbers. It made sense to me yesterday, I wrote "Next week, I will turn 49, the last year of my first half century." But I got the following comment from the enigmatic enygma81.

To be completely anal, 49 is the second to last year before the end of the your half century. ;p Anyway, 50 isn't very old. You're still pretty youthful, or at least, you seem that way to me. :)

Thanks, I feel young--as I said, I am emotionally immature... which is why you'll have to let me be anal-er than you.

Now, I'm pretty sure that my 49th year is my last year of my first half century. I know the argument about the turn of the millenium, when the 21st century began in 2001 not 2000, but that's simply because the first year of the first century began with the year 1. You count 1 to 100 and you have exactly 100 years, the equivalent of one century, and the next century would begin with 101. As a result, the first 2000 years ended at 2000, and the next millenium would begin on 2001. Right?

But when I was born, I was considered--as I suspect everyone else here too--0 years old. I couldn't call myself one-year old before my first birthday, not only because I couldn't speak yet, but because that is the custom in our modern society: One has to live the whole year before you can be called that age. In other words, my first years of life I was 0. When I turned 1 year old, I could them be called one year old, but I had actually entered the 2nd year of my life, no? On my 2nd birthday, having lived 2 full years, I began my 3rd year. See a pattern emerging here? So on my 49th birthday, I will have lived 49 full years, and begin my 50th year, at the end of which, I will have lived an entire half century, 50 full years.

In Japan, however--and you knew something wierd would come from Japan, right?--they used to count age by the actual year in which a person lived. This method is called kazoedoshi 数え年. In other words, you receive an age for every calendar you are alive, and you turn you the next age on new years, since your age is based on the calendar year. I was born on December 15. On January 1st, I would be two weeks old in this modern world, but if I was born 100 years earlier in Japan, I would be two years old! Get it? I was one year old at the moment I was born and alive in my first calendar year, say 1855. Then in the next calendar year, 1856, I would be two years old. In this system, I would already be 50 years old.

Man I'm glad that I'm they've let the past be the past...

Speaking of weird things from Japan....

I got two e-mails from women I don't know. Really freaking me out. (translation in italics)

久美だよ。。 この前、電話ありがとう！話せてよかった♪ ･･会えるんだねッ楽しみぃ♪ ( It's me, Kumi. Thanks for the previous phone call. I'm glad we were able to talk. We're gonna meet, right? Can't wait! )

Say what? I did not call this girl. Did she input the wrong e-mail address? Is someone calling girls using my e-mail address? Or is this some kind of scam? I ask because I got another e-mail as well...

はじめまして☆平田と申します。えーとですね、以前メル友募集してましたよね？？その書き込みにとても興味を持っててアドレスを控えてたんです。ちょっと前の書き込みでしたけど。ぜひぜひ仲良くなりたいと思ってるんです☆ ( Nice to meet you. I'm called Hirata. Let's see... you previously advertised for an e-mail buddy, right? I was really interested in what you wrote, and took down your address. Tho' I wrote it down a while back. I really really want to get to know you... )

最初ですので、自己紹介を致しますね☆平??智美、２２歳でフリーターをしております♪ 趣味は旅行と読書で、好きな作家は筒井康隆さんです。筒井さん、初期の不思議な実験的な短編が特に平田のお好みでございます☆ ( Since this is the first time, let me introduce myself. I'm Hira?? Tomomi, 22, and am free lancing. My interests are travelling, reading, and my favorite author is Tsutsui Yasutaka. I especially like Mr. Tsutsui's early strange experimental short stories. )

平??のスリーサイズなんかはまだ言わないほうがいいかな（笑）？そんなワケでして、平??、お返事待っております！趣味や、どこに住んでるのか教えて欲しいです☆ あ、あと何て呼んだらいいでしょうか？
平??のことは、平??と呼んでください☆ ( I suppose I don't have to tell you my measurements yet, right? Anyway, I await your response! I want you to tell me your interests and where you live. Oh yeah, what should I call you? As for me, please just call me Hira??. )

Damn, if she told me her measurements, I might have responded. Heheheh Just kidding, guys. The fact of the matter is that this is really freakin' me out. These did not come to my onigiriman e-mail, but to my other private hotmail account, so its not what I wrote here... I hope its just some mistake. This has never happened to me before. Has it happened to any of you?