Life After Quitting My Job

[geist1223]

I remember a few months after we retired a couple friends asked where we were volunteering. We said no where. We did not feel the need to keep ourselves busy outside the home, except with travel. These are folks that have their life scheduled almost as much as when they worked. They have to arrange for a replacement volunteer when they want to travel. We have adjusted a bit. Patti volunteers one day per week with a group that helps take care of the Park across the Street from our House. I help out with their two large plant sales each year. They appreciate my large Pickup. Also from Thanksgiving to Christmas we help a Family Shelter with collecting, storing, wrapping, and delivering Christmas Presents. But we do not feel a need to keep ourselves busy with volunteer activities.

 

[VacationForever]

I was thinking about this the other day and it was a little strange to think about because now I'm so focused on a M-F 9-5 existence and am euphoric on Fridays and depressed on Mondays. So what happens in retirement? Are Friday not as great but Mondays not as bad in retirement? Or is every day like Friday? That could be a problem for me because Friday is the one day I like to unwind after a tough work week and usually have a few beers. If everyday is Friday in retirement I'm going to be drunk every day.

Everyday is Saturday in retirement.

 

[Talent312]

With only 12 months experience as a retired person I agree that it is very easy to loose track of what day it is...

I use Amazon Echo for reminders of day-specific tasks, lest it slip by me...
"Garbage pick-up tomorrow. Take can to street."
"Tomorrow is a holiday. Banks are closed. No mail."
"Dental appointment in 2 days - tomorrow - 1 hour."
"Leave for dental appointment now."
.

 

[Glynda]

As my physical therapist told me the other day, take tests and you’ll almost always find something wrong in the back or knees. Everything is connected and a good doctor will not look at the obvious.

My experience, damaged knees 25 years ago due to impact injury in a car accident. 21 years later knee was hurting, cortisone shot in knee did not work, four doctors said based on mri test I needed a knee replacement. This PT believed it was coming from my back so I went to a fifth doctor who agreed with the other four but when I pushed him I believed my knee pain was from my back, started testing me and then said it can be, let’s try PT on back instead of knee. Needle Therapy on back area and knee pain went away. No knee replacement yet.

Interesting! What is "needle therapy?"

 

[BJRSanDiego]

But we had some medical bills we had to lay out money for- my colonoscopy and my husband's eye surgery (angle closure glaucoma)

..

My wife, myself, my mother-in-law and father -in-law all had Acute angle closure syntrome "surgery" - - all from the same doctor.. As I understand it, it is likely if you have asian ancestry. AFAIK, I have no asian ancestry. So, my own impression is that it was basically just a "boat payment" for my PREVIOUS opthomologist.

 

[Panina]

Interesting! What is "needle therapy?"

https://mayoclinichealthsystem.org/...on-pins-and-needles-just-what-is-dry-needling

 

[Bwolf]

It seems time for a good ole Satchel Paige quote: How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

And a quote from my wife when asked why i wasn't acting my age: He doesn't know any better.

 

[WinniWoman]

I was thinking about this the other day and it was a little strange to think about because now I'm so focused on a M-F 9-5 existence and am euphoric on Fridays and depressed on Mondays. So what happens in retirement? Are Friday not as great but Mondays not as bad in retirement? Or is every day like Friday? That could be a problem for me because Friday is the one day I like to unwind after a tough work week and usually have a few beers. If everyday is Friday in retirement I'm going to be drunk every day.

LOL! Right! And because my husband is still working, I am still in that "M-Fri with weekends off" mode myself since he is on that schedule. For me it is just nice not having to get up at 4 am every day. I have gotten up at 5, but it is usually 6 or 6:30. I love getting up with the sunrise, which is actually getting more near 7am here.

You do have to be careful because a lot of people that retire do drink daily like everyday is Friday night. My brother (who also likes his drinks) commented about this happening at a condo complex he used to own at in Florida- the retired people there- all they did was drink- happy hour every day. As much as he likes to drink, he didn't want to do that.

I even find myself thinking about having a drink every night and I have to tell myself "no", though I confess I have given in once and a while. I am basically right now living Mon-Fri like I am working without a commute. I keep myself on a self imposed schedule and try to accomplish even the most menial tasks every day and keep my weekends a bit freer- even if it is to do nothing. Friday night I might have a drink (or three!) and also Saturday eve and then cease and desist beginning on Sundays like when I was working.

But I am a very scheduled, organized person to begin with, so it comes natural to me. I am mostly disciplined and review my calendar every day. I put everything on it no matter how trivial. But I have always been like that. I am OCD and I need that sense of control and the sense of accomplishment in crossing things off a list. (no cell phone calendar for me- I like the planner book)

It's just that now, if for some reason I can't finish something, it is nice to say to myself- well- I could probably finish it on such and such a day next week- I now have the time! So there is certainly less pressure.

 

[WinniWoman]

I always seem to stay busy Monday thru Friday, wind down on Saturday and often find I am bored on Sunday. It has been that way since I stopped traveling 8 or 9 years ago...

George

I find myself thinking a lot that I wish I could just go up to one of our timeshares for another week. After all, I am not working! Swimming would be great for my leg. But lack of funds and hubby is still working.

My brother tells me to fly down to Florida (to his new home he just bought there) since I am now not working. But he doesn't get that I can't afford to fly down plus spending money and so forth. Even if you are staying with someone you need to have some spending money with you. We are living on the one paycheck right now and not yet withdrawing any money to make up for my lost income. Plenty of time for that later.....

 

[WinniWoman]

https://mayoclinichealthsystem.org/...on-pins-and-needles-just-what-is-dry-needling

Is this like acupuncture kind of?

 

[Phydeaux]

Is this like acupuncture kind of?

From the article: "Acupuncture is based on Eastern medicine, while dry needling is rooted in Western medicine and evaluation of pain patterns, posture, movement impairments, function and orthopedic tests"

Tomato, tomato imho. A needle is a needle is a needle.

 

[Karen G]

A needle is a needle is a needle.

Not all needles are alike. Fortunately, when I had the dry needling procedure the needles were quite tiny and I found them to be not painful at all.

 

[Phydeaux]

Not all needles are alike. Fortunately, when I had the dry needling procedure the needles were quite tiny and I found them to be not painful at all.

And how did they differ from acupuncture needles? Are you suggesting acupuncture needles are larger gauge, and are painful?

"People have used acupuncture for centuries, and it is now well regulated. Dry needling has been developed more recently, and there are no official guidelines. Due to a lack of regulation and guidelines, a person can perform dry needling with minimal training and no license.Needles are inserted at strategic points to stimulate the flow of energy throughout the body. While some evidence is inconclusive, acupuncture is widely recognized as helpful in treating certain ailments. Dry needling was developed much more recently. With no formal regulations in place, a person has a much higher risk of experiencing side effects."

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321989.php

 

[clifffaith]

With only 12 months experience as a retired person I agree that it is very easy to loose track of what day it is. Yes, you are free to travel, work on projects, hike, read, but checking my wall calendar and phone became a new routine for me.

Mary Ann, I hope your body heals fast and you can experience all what you were hoping for from your unstructured time.

I watch way too much television, so I know what day of the week it is based on what I watched last night and what I'll be watching tonight. We just retired at the end of October and we sleep until almost 10am every day. Used to be that either the cats or an appointment would get us up by 8ish, but now no appts. and we figured out if we filled cat bowls full enough at their nighttime snack, cats will sleep in too. Problem with sleeping to ten is that we are finishing the paper about the time the noon news comes on, so I spend the next hour with Shepard Smith. Then maybe I'll wander down to my desk to see what's going on with my eBay sales, and next thing I know it's time for the local news with Chuck, Coleen and Fritz, followed by the national news with Lester, followed by the evening's programming or Netflix.

I'd already bought the same kind of appointment book I have for the last thirty years before we decided not to renew our contractor's license at the end of October. I suspect I'll miss a Monday or Tuesday personal appt next year because I'm already finding myself not flipping the 2018 appt book pages until half way through the next week. Between baking and decorating for the holidays, I'm "busy". What comes after the new year for retirement remains to be seen. We used to laugh at my mom. "Let's meet for lunch" I'd say. "I'll be done with my morning appts by 11:30, and don't have to be anywhere else until my next appt. at 2pm". She'd say "I have to take the dog to the vet at 9", meaning "my day is spoken for, pick another day". That's how we're getting, oops dental cleaning at 1:30, my day is all set!

 

[Karen G]

And how did they differ from acupuncture needles? Are you suggesting acupuncture needles are larger gauge, and are painful?

I've never had acupuncture so I don't know how they differ, but the dry needling needles were tiny compared to sewing needles and needles I've had for various injections.

 

[Phydeaux]

I've never had acupuncture so I don't know how they differ, but the dry needling needles were tiny compared to sewing needles and needles I've had for various injections.

I'm afraid you missed my point, no pun intended. I'll try to clarify - I suggested a needle is a needle in the context that dry needling is attempting to differentiate itself from acupuncture. I find that a rather weak endeavor, because their needle is undoubtedly identical to acupuncture needles. Having quite a few years of handling and using needles as well as intracatheters on the delivering end of patients, I'm intimately familiar with various needles.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

I’m retiring in 2027, and I look forward to relaxing and having the ability to travel on my schedule vs that of my company’s.

 

[Panina]

Is this like acupuncture kind of?

It’s not Accupuncture

 

[Panina]

I've never had acupuncture so I don't know how they differ, but the dry needling needles were tiny compared to sewing needles and needles I've had for various injections.

I thought my dry needles were larger then Accupuncture needles I had in the past, maybe, maybe not but dry needles hurt where acupuncture didn’t.

 

[vacationhopeful]

Mary Ann ... my experience on life without punching a time card.

1) Routines - establish a FLOW to your life. Human bodies are fine tune timepieces. Even cavemen had a clock .. called the sun.

I have NOT had to work a 'real job' since 1987 but I do work for myself. Technically, I can set my own schedule but I have to interact with the working dayjob world. Internet surfing at 6:20AM is on MY time. But checking my email is before 8AM is a good way to prevent an "oh crap" moment of "should have" or "could have" fixed it before it became an emergency.

2) WHO knows where you are - leaving town for a week or weekend, have a (local) person who know where you are. Cell phones are great leashes .. except 'crap' does happen or people don't have a number for you. I have a guy who is local and has keys ... he does NOT travel with me (has a wife who we do the 'friendly wave' of 'stay on YOUR side of the street' with smiles and 'how are you?' with NO INTENT on any deeper conversation or any answer beyond "Fine".). I call his cell ONLY during my HOURS ... his landline is only used if there is a "DEAD BODY"-level emergence involved. Those do happen in our work.

3) Continue to PLAN future stuff with other people. Yes, you can roll with the punches and do things on the 'drop of the dime' but MOST people CAN NOT. Their off-time from work is booked with chores, family, sleep or even Christmas shopping.

4) Vacations - not everyone wants to hear you went where THIS WEEK or planning to go NEXT MONTH. Your trip for a getaway might be their ONLY vacation for 'the decade'. They don't care .. but will be more likely to listen, if you there is a gift you bring back THAT really is a gem for THEM. Or take (or offer to) them with you as YOUR guests as the first line ... "would you be interested in going with us to our timeshare in XYZ during July (as OUR GUESTS or sharing expenses of about $321)?"

5) Re-connect with old friends and the family. My 93 yo aunt does NOT care if I don't take her everywheres nor will she go away anytime with me. BUT she still has dreams. 5+ years ago, I told her I was headed to NYC for a 4 day stay at the Wyndham Midtown. Her eyes lit up .. my intent was to tell her I was not going to be out the area ... but she wanted to go. BEST time ever .... and I took a lot of photographs as we dragged her walker around Manhatten due to a healing broken hip. Her eyes still smile when I mention that 'adventure' trip. And I still feel the $60 per day parking was money well spent (and I slept on the sofa while she had the King size bed). She told me STORIES of being in her 20s and 'doing the city' with her friends for shows and dating after work in Camden, NJ. And her handlers STILL remind me I have to ASK their permission to take her places to this day ... she is still of SOUND MIND and carries her cell phone with her.

 

[bbodb1]

I remember a few months after we retired a couple friends asked where we were volunteering. We said no where. We did not feel the need to keep ourselves busy outside the home, except with travel. These are folks that have their life scheduled almost as much as when they worked. They have to arrange for a replacement volunteer when they want to travel. We have adjusted a bit. Patti volunteers one day per week with a group that helps take care of the Park across the Street from our House. I help out with their two large plant sales each year. They appreciate my large Pickup. Also from Thanksgiving to Christmas we help a Family Shelter with collecting, storing, wrapping, and delivering Christmas Presents. But we do not feel a need to keep ourselves busy with volunteer activities.

I realize we all have different goals and objectives for our respective retirement years, but this is pretty much spot on with my plans.
For us, where we retire is going to be very important because I want to be able to walk out my back door, have a relaxing view with lots of trails or areas to walk and explore. I do NOT want neighbors 50 feet on either side of our house as we live now. Unwind as much as possible and detach - retouching with civilization when necessary or when desired. Interacting with nature a lot.

 

[Quiet Pine]

But I am a very scheduled, organized person

That describes me as well, and when I retired in 2006 I missed the schedule of a work day. Now my day planner always is open on my desk, and there's always a project to work on between appointments. I have a self-imposed rule of 1: 1 book club, 1 mahjong game, 1 political group, 1 volunteer assignment. It flows smoothly, and I keep my Kindle nearby so I'm never bored.

 

[WinniWoman]

I realize we all have different goals and objectives for our respective retirement years, but this is pretty much spot on with my plans.
For us, where we retire is going to be very important because I want to be able to walk out my back door, have a relaxing view with lots of trails or areas to walk and explore. I do NOT want neighbors 50 feet on either side of our house as we live now. Unwind as much as possible and detach - retouching with civilization when necessary or when desired. Interacting with nature a lot.

I have a secluded home in the woods going up for sale soon! Wilderness! LOL! This is how we have lived all our lives!

It's funny, because, although we value our privacy and like peace and quiet, I feel we need to be in a different situation now- at least we need to be in a 55+ community or something like that.

 

[geist1223]

I realize we all have different goals and objectives for our respective retirement years, but this is pretty much spot on with my plans.
For us, where we retire is going to be very important because

Salem is not a large city. We enjoy being able to walk to our favorite Restaurants, Bars, Coffee Places, etc. We live across the Street from a large beautiful Park. We are only 1 hour from the Ocean, 1.5 hours from the mountains, and 1 hour from a major city. So we love where we live. Everyone's wants/needs are different.

 

[Egret1986]

You DO need to temper that last impulse- though many retirees don't.

Have fun learning what works for you, but watch the happy hours.

Jim

An excellent suggestion that I really hadn't considered. My husband and I only drink on the weekends and on vacations, for the most part. Our weekend imbibing of wine has become somewhat of a ritual. Gosh, that mindset in retirement could linger all week long since every day is "the weekend". I can see where that could be a problem when days start running into one another with few set schedules.