Don't retire

[JRA]

Keep your day job.

well now, those are words i never wanted to hear!

i've been retired for 8-9 years. i like the freedom i have, but i miss some of the busy-ness. if i could gig 1-2 times a week i'd be in heaven (or so i think), but i do enjoy the music opportunities that i have. i write and arrange more these days so i appreciate that i have more time for that.

edit: cats are cool!

 

[el murdoque]

Weird things start happening once you do.

My effective date of retirement was this August 1 past, and for a variety of reasons I promised myself I would never get another pet. Yet before I had been retired even two weeks a cat FORCED her way into my house and never left. And I don't mean leaves and then comes back every few days. She stayed and just took over the place.

And she is a black cat, one year old; absolutely the worst sort of pet for me to have at this stage of my life. But instead of viewing her as a safety hazard I have adopted the position that the cat is an omen I shall have many years of retirement. My cats nearly always live well into their teens.

Even stranger, this afternoon I was visited by four police officers driving three cruisers (must have been a slow day for the police). Someone had not seen me out and about for a few days and had called the police to come check on me. When I came to my door the senior officer recognized me immediately and told me he had been my library student worker. In 1996 (!). Then he says that back then he had long hair, was in a rock band, and played bass. I replied that there was a time when I had long hair, was in a rock band, and played bass. Coincidence on top of irony!

I brought out one of my 6072s and all were suitably impressed. Then he showed me a cell phone photo of him and his long hair and his Peavey and another of his Hofner Beatle, which for him is a grail bass.

All so very, very strange, and how do I explain this?

Keep your day job.

I don't know. Sounds fun so far.

 

[GretschWretch]

well now, those are words i never wanted to hear!

i've been retired for 8-9 years. i like the freedom i have, but i miss some of the busy-ness. if i could gig 1-2 times a week i'd be in heaven (or so i think), but i do enjoy the music opportunities that i have. i write and arrange more these days so i appreciate that i have more time for that.

edit: cats are cool!

But if it's a choice between continuing to work or entering the Twilight Zone? Actually, I do not regret retirement. Without going into details, it was time. When we are working, a lot of us are wondering "When?" Not to worry; when the time arrives you will know.

I hope to brush the cobwebs off my musicianing, but right now I'm trying to bring order out of the chaos of my filing system. My "throw it in the nearest box" approach has put me in a mash-up that is half Discovery Channel and half being an eight year old on Christmas morning. Day before yesterday I found in one box eight packs of new bass strings, only two of which I have any recollection of buying.

 

[JW56789]

I quit playing out 10 years ago.

I retired as of this 4th of July weekend this year.

I see a trend developing . . . .

 

[Holdsg]

I'm hoping to retire "early" at 60 in 2 years.
Hoping to never retire from music, but I'm sure that time will come as well.
I'm thinking I need another hobby...but one that doesn't suck all the discretionary income out of the bank account (unlike music)

 

[voodoobassist]

Retirement,.....the hours are great! But the pay kinda sucks........

 

[BargeOn]

When people ask, “What are you doing now that you’ve retired?”, I reply, “Absolutely nothing. And it’s everything I always dreamed it could be.”

Thanks, Mike Judge!

I have a similar response:
"Anything I want to and nothing I don't."

 

[GretschWretch]

if you are short of cat toys, I have an Eden rig to send along..LOL!!!

Whoops! I misread your post first time through. The Eden would be redundant. She already has my stack of Yorkvilles to clamber around on.

 

[JRA]

I quit playing out 10 years ago. I retired as of this 4th of July weekend this year. I see a trend developing . . . .

when i retired i thought i'd enjoy the 'freedom'. within a year i missed almost everything i thought i'd never miss. now i want it again (some of it). i guess retiring was a half-fast move. but at my present age, i couldn't do what i used to do, anyway, so it all fits.

right now I'm trying to bring order out of the chaos of my filing system. My "throw it in the nearest box" approach has put me in a mash-up that is half Discovery Channel and half being an eight year old on Christmas morning. Day before yesterday I found in one box eight packs of new bass strings, only two of which I have any recollection of buying.

(check out @slobake's thread):
Are keepsakes worth saving?

 

[GretschWretch]

when i retired i thought i'd enjoy the 'freedom'. within a year i missed almost everything i thought i'd never miss. now i want it again (some of it). i guess retiring was a half-fast move. but at my present age, i couldn't do what i used to do, anyway, so it all fits.


(check out @slobake's thread):
Are keepsakes worth saving?

Or, are purchases worth remembering where you put them?

 

[JRA]

are purchases worth remembering where you put them?

i have not been able to answer that to my own satisfaction!

 

[lfmn16]

I'd love to retire. I was laid off a few years ago and it was a great 6 months. I almost shed tears when I finally found a job. If we didn't have this ef'd up healthcare system in the US I wouldn't ever have gone back, but at my age health insurance for my wife and I was over $2,000 a month. I'll never understand people that get bored in retirement. You mean you've been on the planet for 65 years (or so) and you haven't developed enough interests to keep you busy? You need to be told what to do every minute by someone? Wow. I like my job, but I'm looking forward to retirement.

 

[mongo2]

My effective date of retirement was this August 1 past, and for a variety of reasons I promised myself I would never get another pet. Yet before I had been retired even two weeks a cat FORCED her way into my house and never left. And I don't mean leaves and then comes back every few days. She stayed and just took over the place.

And she is a black cat, one year old; absolutely the worst sort of pet for me to have at this stage of my life. But instead of viewing her as a safety hazard I have adopted the position that the cat is an omen I shall have many years of retirement. My cats nearly always live well into their teens.

The cat isn't your pet, you are her pet. You didn't adopt her, she adopted you.

I retired a little over 10 years ago. Not much strange happened other than Hurricane Sandy the year after I retired and a minor stroke a little over 3 years ago that threatens my retirement plan of playing music as much as possible.

 

[red_rhino]

I reached full retirement age this past August. I like what I do, and my mantra is “I’ll work for as long as they want to keep paying me.”

But I know how it will end; someday I’ll have to learn yet another “new” piece of engineering that’s merely the umpteenth re-spin of what I’ve already known for 40 years, scream “FIRE THE DRUMMER!” and rage quit.

We have a part-time cat. A real bada$$. After he’s done he’s done beating up the 3 dogs in his own yard, he comes over to sleep in our yard and rest up before heading back for more. (I feel a bit sorry for the dogs, but they’re kinda stupid.)

 

[GretschWretch]

when i retired i thought i'd enjoy the 'freedom'. within a year i missed almost everything i thought i'd never miss. now i want it again (some of it). i guess retiring was a half-fast move. but at my present age, i couldn't do what i used to do, anyway, so it all fits.

I put in thirty-six years as an academic librarian at a regional university and left when my retirement package was about as strong as I could make it. That wasn't the reason I decided to hang 'em up. I recognized that the fire in the belly wasn't what it used to be nor near what it should be, and that circumstance was not going to get better. And, while I could muster up maybe three reasons to stay on, I had six or eight telling me its time to go.

For those of you who have read Watership Down, that scene at the very end where El-Hrairah comes down to escort Hazel's spirit up to Rabbit Nirvana and Hazel looks back over his shoulder at his rabbits and El-Hrairah tells him not to worry, that they'll be alright. That's where I am right now.

Learning not to care anymore. That's the hardest part.

 

[BadSanta1281]

Retirement is the best job I ever had.

 

[gln1955]

I put in thirty-six years as an academic librarian at a regional university and left when my retirement package was about as strong as I could make it. That wasn't the reason I decided to hang 'em up. I recognized that the fire in the belly wasn't what it used to be nor near what it should be, and that circumstance was not going to get better. And, while I could muster up maybe three reasons to stay on, I had six or eight telling me its time to go.

For those of you who have read Watership Down, that scene at the very end where El-Hrairah comes down to escort Hazel's spirit up to Rabbit Nirvana and Hazel looks back over his shoulder at his rabbits and El-Hrairah tells him not to worry, that they'll be alright. That's where I am right now.

Learning not to care anymore. That's the hardest part.

After 35 years as a university prof, the cumulative BS of academia was getting to me. The university needed to shed faculty due to budget problems and offered a very nice retirement incentive. The deal was sweetened by a generous offer to return to teach select classes, since no one else could do it and they weren't going to make a new hire to replace me. I jumped on it and have zero regrets. I just finished my teaching for this year and am happy to be on down time. By next summer, I expect I'll be ready to go back to work. I don't how many years this will last.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

I've been gradually sliding into retirement for about 5 years now. After a career living by my wits and a word-processor, I've cut back production, then cut it back a little more. Having worked many decades in the wine business, I've given up my blog (winemule.com, which you can find only by using the wayback machine) and now write the occasional piece for my former employer. What I mostly do now is sweat over new material for my band, which grows ever-more ambitious. BL came at me with the Dan tune "Josie." Tellin' ya, that Chuck Rainey fella has a hell of an imagination.

 

[JRA]

Learning not to care anymore. That's the hardest part.

i hear ya, and i get (and agree with) everything you noted about the timing of it all.

i think i still care too much --- i should just steal cars!

 

[juancaminos]

We retired at the end of August last year and we are still learning how to be retired. I still feel guilty about being idle. Don't get me wrong we have so much to do I don't know how we found the time to work before retirement. We are still trying to find the time to travel in our RV, ride our motorcycles, do some kayaking, drive dune buggy, etc. That still hasn't changed...why? Working around the house, building she shed, he shed, green house, deck, rain water accumulation systems, fencing, playing in a new band every week end, etc. Going for groceries, hardware and rehearsals is a two hour round trip drive. blah, blah, blah. But I am very thankful to be able to do all of this with out the need of a full time job!!!! Again, we are just infants in this thing called retirement.