> This really does - I don't mean it in a disparaging way - read like a mid-life crisis writing.

OP is living in a world of hyperreality of his own making. dude has always been doing software and never been able to break out of that.

it's not like he's been bartending though college and then slide into CS/dev work and is struggling with how startups are it's own weird universe. it's all hes ever known and is now convinced that the hinge dates and axe throwing are the weird, not-real thing.

homie has been in his weird autism-tech-bubble and never had a reason to get out of it