Am I Dying Soon?

How long do you want to live?
Given a choice, would you want to live up to at least 100 years old?
Do you want to live long?

These are three questions I would frequently hear friends ask to each other, at coffee shops, coffee breaks, and long drives. I believe I’ve been asked the question at least twice, and my answer really hasn’t changed.

I don’t have any illusions about being a centenarian. In fact, I dread becoming one. Given a choice, I prefer not to live too long. I just wish for a life well-lived, and if possible, and miss out on the health problems of old age — strokes, heart attacks, diabetes, rheumatism, etc. I dread the day when one would depend on caregivers and relatives to clean your behind, just like in Tuesdays with Morrie. Sometimes, I would think of being happy just reaching 40-ish. But this, I suppose, would change if and when I get married and have children of my own to live for. So who wouldn’t want to live a long life, if it were full of blessings?
In any case, I will be thankful with what I will be blessed with. And, I am not afraid of ageing. Having said this, I don’t think I will subject myself to botox or plastic surgery — like a wannabe president, who regularly undergoes botox to hide his real age, he prepares for 2010.

Whether or not I live long, what I wonder about from time to time is just how long I will live — and when I will enter the departure lounge. This, given the kind of stress I get and used to get, the kind of environment we now have in Metro Manila, the amount of exercise I do, and the kind of food I eat. Years back, a friend had told me about a morbid site on the internet called The Death Clock, which actually predicts the exact date of one’s death, by providing certain details about your lifestyle. I’ve never had the courage to calculate my own demise, as I don’t think the site is very scientific anyway. However, I would joke friends about having calculated theirs. Hahaha!

On the Martha Stewart Show tonight, I heard what could be a more scientific way to measure one’s life expectancy. This is the Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator, which is said to be based on the latest scientific research. Martha Stewart tried it herself and apparently will live up to 110 years old. Unbelievable! Good for her if she does.

You will just need to take a 40-question internet test on your health, lifestyle, etc., and you get your results presto!

I’ve tried it myself, and at the rate I am going, I would live up to 79. That’s not too bad, I thought. It even came as a pleasant surprise, for I was expecting a lower number, given the kind of environment we have nowadays. Not bad either, for the latest World Health Organization puts the average life expectancy at 64 years of age for Filipino men, and 71 for the women.

Again, I have no illusions about living too long. But the results are challenging me to step up my exercise and balanced lifestyle. And what a relief also to know that our office promotes a work-life balance. I may have given myself additional years on earth after all.

So, no more chocoloates? No more spaghetti? No more hotdog? Try the test yourself at livingto100.com.