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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 2, 2016 15:01:22 GMT
Congratulations, Mick!
I love Mick's post because it's the perfect rebuttal to people who somehow imagine the won't know what to do with themselves if they retire from the daily grind.
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Post by htmb on Mar 2, 2016 15:18:56 GMT
Sounds like you're going to be kept busy, Mick.
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Post by htmb on Mar 17, 2016 20:03:59 GMT
I realized the other day that I was three months away from my self-imposed retirement and I believe I'm in a good place inside my head. I absolutely love what I do, and have felt like I've made a big difference for a lot of young people. At the same time, I no longer want to be there doing the job and am ready to pass it on to someone else. I almost retired last year, but the time wasn't right. Now I'm ready for the change and it's a great feeling.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 18, 2016 10:23:11 GMT
Well, it's all going swimmingly although I'm rather bored of staying in waiting for the bloody TV repair man this morning.
I have lots to do outside!
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Post by htmb on Mar 19, 2016 14:47:40 GMT
Glad it's working out, Mick. Do you vary your days, or work the same three days each week?
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Post by htmb on Apr 14, 2016 21:47:04 GMT
I had signed some preliminary stuff a few weeks ago, but last week, before leaving for Cedar Key, I filled out and submitted all the required papers, so my retirement is officially going to happen this year. I've also started quietly telling a few people at work, though I'm not sure how to respond to the question of "Why?," except to say that it's just the right time. I was also asked to serve on another community committee, and my response of "No" came out of my mouth quite easily. Anyone want a little mini refrigerator? The one I've had in my various offices for the last 24 years will no longer be needed.
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Post by chexbres on Apr 16, 2016 13:22:07 GMT
Why don't you just keep the little fridge and fill it full of refreshing adult beverages? These will come in handy during the first few days and weeks when the panic hits and you realize you no longer have anything to do and aren't beholden to anyone at all and you have the impression that you've just stepped off the edge and into some Dantesque abyss...
Congratulations on getting those "NO" muscles to work properly!
When I retired for the last time, people had this annoying habit of asking me "But what do you do all day?" My standard answer used to be "Anything I want to!" - but this seemed to make people angry, so I just smile and leave everything up to their imaginations.
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Post by htmb on Apr 16, 2016 13:41:52 GMT
Why don't you just keep the little fridge and fill it full of refreshing adult beverages? These will come in handy during the first few days and weeks when the panic hits and you realize you no longer have anything to do and aren't beholden to anyone at all and you have the impression that you've just stepped off the edge and into some Dantesque abyss... Congratulations on getting those "NO" muscles to work properly! When I retired for the last time, people had this annoying habit of asking me "But what do you do all day?" My standard answer used to be "Anything I want to!" - but this seemed to make people angry, so I just smile and leave everything up to their imaginations. Well, Chexbres, I'll be more in your neck of the woods for quite a while, so expect some occasional back patting (pun intended) from you when I am tempted to bemoan my decision to retire. Actually, a slap or two will suffice. And, I have a large frig at home, so don't really need the small one from my office. My replacement has her own that she will be moving in. I'm pretty proud of my little refrigerator. It replaced one that died after only a few years. This one was fairly cheap and has been with me for at least twenty years while still working just fine. Someone at work will be happy to snap it up, I'm sure. The good thing about retiring is that whatever clutter gets left behind becomes the next person's problem, though I do plan to leave my office in a fairly organized state.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2016 14:08:02 GMT
I was going to repatriate the little refrigerator from my mother's room at the nursing home, but the municipal social services preferred to confiscate it. When my grandmother died, I took her little refrigerator from the retirement home and kept it hidden away in an upstairs corner, containing beverages exclusively. I found that super convenient, especially when one considers the size of a 'standard' apartment refrigerator in urban Europe. I finally had enough room for food in the kitchen refrigerator. Unfortunately, the little one stopped working after only about two years, which I suppose is normal because it was 10 years old by then.
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Post by htmb on Apr 16, 2016 14:23:07 GMT
Too bad I can't give you mine.
I suppose, since I am expecting a lot of company in August and September, I could bring it home and use it, but I'm trying to downsize, rather than accumulate more home possessions. I wonder how much electricity it actually consumes.
Edited to say: I'm not going to bring it home. Someone at work will take if off my hands.
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Post by bjd on Apr 16, 2016 14:41:24 GMT
One of my sisters-in-law was a nurse and in charge of the geriatric department of a hospital. She retired about two years ago and when I saw her and asked what she did with her time, she gave me a huge smile and said, "Nothing at all!".
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2016 15:56:22 GMT
I was offered one of those mini refrigerators in good working order and foolishly turned it done.
Anyway, Bravo HTMB!
I have the fullest confidence that you will transition into the next phase with grace and wisdom and the ability to look back at your accomplishments with a sense of satisfaction. Job well done. When I quit my job as a clinical social worker due to subsequently burning out, I was able over time, recognize that I had indeed helped many people and had no regrets about leaving. I then began my own little business doing what I enjoyed best, gardening. I did this for almost 20 years before I began to downsize to a few chosen clients. I'm not officially retired but I do call my own shots and am responsible to no one but myself.
You strike me as a person who can say no without hesitation or the need to make any excuse for what you do not want to do.
OH!! and congrats to you Mick. I am looking forward to your accomplishments in your garden over time. A word of advice. Try not to do too much in terms of feeling like you have to because you have the free time. My mistake was feeling overwhelmed and daunted until I finally got to a point where I could sit back and relax a bit with the knowledge,"yeah,I'll get around to that in due time".
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 16, 2016 15:59:49 GMT
In the Paul Newman film, Cool Hand Luke, there is a scene whereby Newman has motivated the rest of the chain gang prisoners to work hard and finish off the road they were for a long time building. They collapse on the road bank and he is asked, "What are we going to do now?" Newman stretches out and replies, "Absolutely nothing". (That's how I remember the scene anyway) That was often my answer when I was asked what I was going to do upon retirement.
My other answer hinted at the song from "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court". I'd say I'll be busy doing nothing, searching the whole day through trying to find lots of things not to do.
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Post by htmb on Apr 16, 2016 16:45:45 GMT
Thanks everyone for the sage advice. I'm really looking forward to this next phase. During my adult life I have worked, been in school, and raised four children, much of that at the same time. It's all been good, but I'm ready to change my focus a bit and do more things for myself while I'm still healthy enough to get around. I could see freelancing a bit, doing the things I enjoy and am good enough at to supplement my paltry retirement check, but I plan to be picky. My daughter thinks I'm joking when she occasionally asks me for a little help with her job, but I'm not. Casimira, a few years back, the idea of gardening for a living would have been my dream job. Not that I know all that much about gardening in a very detailed way, but I used to be great at mowing, pruning, and caring for a yard back when I had one. It always felt very meditative for me. Plus, the idea of being outside, except in Florida in the summer, is always appealing. I no longer have much of a yard, don't want one, and am not interested in caring for anyone else's, so I guess I've moved on. I am sure I will have no problem filling my time. I've planned it out, though a bit loosely, through the end of this year, and then I'll see what I want to take on next. It should be fun.
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Post by mossie on Apr 16, 2016 18:53:33 GMT
Actually a common saying among people who have been retired for some time is "I don't know how I had the time to go to work", you won't miss it after a month or so.
I had a shock yesterday when , out of the blue I had a phone call from the man who had been my number two, and who took over from me when I left in December 1974. I have had minimal contact with him since and it must be 40 years since we last spoke.
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Post by htmb on Apr 16, 2016 19:05:42 GMT
Mossie, did you have much to talk about?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2016 20:02:42 GMT
Isn't he retired yet?
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Bixa being a guest
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Post by Bixa being a guest on Apr 16, 2016 22:56:58 GMT
One of my sisters-in-law was a nurse and in charge of the geriatric department of a hospital. She retired about two years ago and when I saw her and asked what she did with her time, she gave me a huge smile and said, "Nothing at all!". That's what I tell people, but I say, "I do nothing and I do it very, very well."
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Post by questa on Apr 17, 2016 0:06:57 GMT
I retired 10 years ago with the idea that at last I would have time to sort years of photos, including scanning many oldies. Uh-oh, they are still waiting for me to get to them. My excuse is I discovered 'knitting as a competitive sport' and the time just flashes past.
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Post by chexbres on Apr 17, 2016 13:11:15 GMT
People never used to ask me what I did when I retired and was still living in New Orleans. But when I had been living in Paris for a while, people thought I was busy doing fascinating touristy stuff all the time. They were all terribly disappointed when I explained that I just do pretty much the same things I did when I was living at home - but I just do it in French, now, and everything takes about 3 times longer to get done.
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Post by mossie on Apr 17, 2016 15:16:31 GMT
My friend is only about 3 years younger than me and has been retired for some time, although he still does odd things.
We had lots to chew over, I had very fortunately changed jobs at a time of great upheaval in our industry, and had landed on my feet in a job which challenged me but which I was capable of holding down. The oil producers cartel OPEC had doubled and later redoubled the price of oil in the early '70's, which had a very significant effect on our industry, about half the cost of blacktop material nowadays is oil related. In addition the whole construction industry suffers from a lack of people with management potential, with the result that people get promoted to situations above what they are capable of dealing with properly. So the firm I had been working for, and others got into big problems and had to restructure with all the attendant aggravation and loss of jobs.
Capable managers are not found under every bush, and are certainly not made by formal education. There is a thing called "the Peter principle" by which people rise to their natural level of ability and when they go beyond it trouble can easily ensue. I had earlier been through this process so had learnt to live with it, I am not the worlds best manager but at least I could recognise my limitations and act accordingly.
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Post by htmb on Apr 17, 2016 15:43:13 GMT
It's nice to catch up with old friends like that, Mossie. Glad you had a good talk.
I've seen the Peter Principle thrive in the field of education, too, and though I do support our union, it is particularly difficult to remove someone who has proven to be incompetent in their job.
My boss has a very nervous, Type A personality. Almost every day last week he stopped by my office to chat about various global concerns, and each time he managed to slip in a "you could change your mind, you know." As the kids say, "yeah, no."
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 17, 2016 18:13:57 GMT
My friend is only about 3 years younger than me and has been retired for some time, although he still does odd things. I enjoy doing odd things. The odder the better sometimes.
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Post by amboseli on Apr 18, 2016 12:45:04 GMT
Congratulations htmb and Mick. I've been reading all your replies with great interest because I also think of retiring this summer. I'm a freelancer and for the last couple of years I haven't worked many hours ... 12 hrs a week at most. I really like having so much time for myself and I can keep myself busy, yet I'm not so sure I will have enough to do if there isn't any job at all anymore. Furthermore, my husband will be retiring too. As much as I love him ... the tought of being together 24/7 scares me. He feels the same way. We don't have any particular hobbies. We don't have grandchildren (yet). We both love to travel but we realize we can't be gone 365 days a year with our small pension. We have been doing a lot of thinking lately. It's not an easy decision.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 18, 2016 13:56:03 GMT
Structure part of the day as 'alone time' whereby you do different things in different rooms/places. Take up a hobby he doesn't like, like ballroom dancing or something that takes you out of the house, without him. He can do the something similar to get away.
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Post by breeze on Apr 18, 2016 14:29:37 GMT
As my husband eased into retirement over about a five-year period, he took the energy he formerly put into his job and started putting it to use around our place. He had had a demanding job that didn't leave much energy for things at home. I had no idea he was so energetic! Yes, sure, I knew he was a hard worker when he was younger, but I didn't know he still had it! This has made a big difference in our lives. It was like getting a whole new husband.
amboseli, if you can keep freelancing, why not do it?
Like you, I was a freelancer (after my second retirement). I really enjoyed it and would still be doing it if the publisher hadn't changed their arrangement. I worked as much or as little as I wanted. Even though I was paid in US dollars, I thought of it in terms of euros for our next trip. At lunch I'd announce how many euros I'd earned that morning and whether it would buy both of us a good restaurant lunch in France...or just me.
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Post by amboseli on Apr 18, 2016 16:04:25 GMT
I might keep freelancing but financially it's not very interesting. Business is getting worse every year. There are months that I have not one single assignment, which means no income at all. My pension would generate a fixed monthly income. Not very high but 1) I know that there will be money at the end of each month 2) I have worked for 41 years and paid for my pension. I'll be 62 in August and I don't want to go on forever.
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Post by htmb on Apr 18, 2016 19:09:51 GMT
I've always been the handy one around my house so I can hope I'll be as inspired as your husband to fix things up a bit, Breeze. Besides, one day I'd like to downsize even more, so I figure any work I put into my home will eventually pay off.
Amboseli, I feel the same about my pension. Though it will not be all that much, I've earned it. I'm ready to start drawing it. That doesn't mean I don't want to dabble in anything else, but I'm ready to let go of my current work responsibilities.
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Post by questa on Apr 18, 2016 22:50:35 GMT
I had accrued enough money in a superannuation fund to allow me, when I retired, to take occasional trips to Indonesia to visit friends. I would still be eligible to draw my pension. Along came the Global Financial Crisis and I lost over half of my hard earned nest egg. As a government worker I had to use a particular Super Fund which was completely out of touch with the events going on. No more travelling for me now, and I still get angry when I think of the places I wanted to see.
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Post by htmb on Apr 19, 2016 0:01:43 GMT
I worry about things like that, Questa. I'm sorry it happened to you.
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