Friday, November 21, 2008
Retirement
After threatening for the last several years to retire, I finally pulled the plug on Wednesday. I'm still in a state of shock over my sudden decision, but it salves my psyche immensely to be still sitting around in my pajamas at 12:47 P. M. I was going to call it quits to write the great American novel back when we were at the other site and I was still going by the pseudonym, "Kim." Well, a funny thing happened; I actually finished the great American novel; and it turned out not to be all that great. I found an agent and finally a publisher, but my novel has yet to see the light of day in print. I have no idea what is next for me, but sooner rather than later, I shall be on to new and wonderful endeavors. Frankly, my dears, I am frightened to death.
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13 comments:
Congrats, Annie. Best to you and Jack in your retirement.
Congratulations.
the thought terrifies me. I've known too many people from my profession who retire & have a heart attack & die 2 weeks later due to lack of stress in their lives.
On the other hand I can't wait to let my hair and fingernails grow long, maybe even try growing a beard. I only shaved once a week when I started this job, I wonder if I've matured enough to even try.
Annie my Sweet,
anything new is scary as hell. Hang in there, you're smart, kinda cute, a great conversationalist, and an A-1 blog hostess, something will tickle your fancy. Maybe it'll be Jack.
Especially if the pj's are skimpy!!
Thank you guys for your sweet words. I, too have seen too many people who have worked all their lives looking forward to the day that they retire, and when that day comes they sit down in front of the TV...pretty soon they're dead. I believe that it is necessary for people to make a contribution to society. Whether we get paid for it is immaterial. One of the few people I ever respected in that business we laughingly called "mental health" said that it is a fundamental need of every human being that he be of service to another person.
Congratulations! I'm sure you will find something to occupy your time!
I laugh about being at this job way to long-but with the stock market tanking, I will probably be here forever. I tell my co-workers that I'll have to get a rascal scooter and a cane. I'll use the scooter to get around and if anybody gets in my way or gives me crab, I'll wrap them on the head with my cane and call them a whipper snapper!
Are you sure you didn't get a call from the Obama team to head up some cabinet post-Oh! never mind, you can think for yourself, therefore you wouldn't be qualified.
That should be crap! This work place ain't that wild!
Goober says that people have a fundamental desire and need to be relevant. That means, to accomplish things; to be useful to society in one way or the other.
It is unhealthy to "give up" and watch TV until you die.
However, I will fight to the death against anyone, like Mrs. Obama, that says that senior citizens "owe" the world labor of some sort, especially in return for "social security" whcih is not an entitlement, it is an account that they've been paying into their entire career.
It is a choice thing. Be productive when you want to, be lazy when you don't.
Oh, and Annie, I'm absolutely sure you can find some honorable task to keep yourself occupied, if you try really hard.
Remember, I said HONORABLE.
Most people work 40+ years for someone else and bring in, for that employer, 10's of thousands of dollars per week, for a paycheck of less than a thousand.
All those years being of benefit to someone else.
Retirement is the time when you can be beneficial to whomever you want, or only to yourself. Your choice.
I'm sure there are dozens of things you wanted to do, or places you wanted to go, and didn't have the time...or the money.
Now's your chance to do them.
My whole working life was following somebody else's schedule. Being retired, I do whatever schedule that suits me...at the time. Or, have no schedule whatsoever.
The main thing I feel is FREE. The stress of the workplace is all gone and I like it!
Do not, I repeat, do not start watching TV as a filler for your free time. As everybody above has said, it's death.
The next years can be the best of your entire life.
RT
Annie,
Congratulations! I bet all of us here would love to read your book. We heard the author of The Shack a couple of weeks ago (William Young). He "published" 17 copies of his book at Kinko's and gave them to family. They encouraged him to have it published and 26 publishers turned him down. He and a couple of friends started their own publishing company and now over 4 million copies later.....
So....Don't give up!
O.T. In Dallas and headed to Austin/San Marcos with my daughter. Stopped at Cheaper Than Dirt in Ft. Worth and took care of Mr. Bug's Christmas gift. It was a VERY crowded place!
I retired 18 months ago.
i wake up every morning with nothing to do & spend all day doing it.
life is good
Don't let it scare you Annie darlin. And to hell with society. You owe them nothing. Your time is now for you and your loved ones to do with as you wish.
The secret to being retired is to keep your self busy. Not crazy busy, but simply occupied. It works. And if there are times you feel like doing nothing, so be it. But the biggest problem with doing nothing is that you never know when you're done! Enjoy.... ;)
My goodness...
I really am touched by everyone's comments. Here are the things I plan to do in the next several months.
1.Get my FFL [already sent the paperwork]. Now I need a storefront [I think].
2. Volunteer at a local hospice [I used to be the administrator of one].
3. Shoot in an IDPA [International Defensive Pistol Assn.] match. Jack and I've been members for some time, but neither of us has shot in a match.
4. Volunteer for SCORE [Service Corps of Retired Executives]. They're part of AARP and evaluate business plans, financial pro forma and the like.
5. Take the NRA instructor's course.
6. Jack and I are scheduled to attend a 4-day defensive handgun course at Front Sight Firearms Training Institute in December.
Oh dear...my schedule seems to be very heavy with shooting and firearms related activities. I'll probably have to go back to work to pay for all that ammo I'll be burning through.
Oh, and...
No one from President elect Obama's transition team has called me to offer me a cabinet post. Possibly, I wasn't home and missed the call. The only job I'd consider would be to head the BATFE...in order to preside over the orderly disbanding of the agency.
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