Looking through Retired glasses

The world looks a little different now that I've changed my work glasses to my retired glasses. Last night and this morning and have been consumed with changing the gels on my view of things. This will probably continue for a while...

Big stuff and little stuff. A nugget rolls through my brain and I evaluate and move on to the next one.

My living room will be minus one computer. Yeah! I can move my laptop over to that desk or get rid of the desk (it's a small rolling thing). The living room will be tidier.

Fortunately, I have been scrupulous about keeping my work computer for ONLY work - no personal stuff on it at all. So I can just close it down and drop it off at the boss's office. Easy peasy. I did make sure that I can access my company exchange mail on my personal computer so I can get any last doc's like my final pay stub (pdf). Also fortunately, a long time back, I set up my company email to send a copy of everything to gmail so I have it all here and searchable - all the paystubs and stuff.

No office so no office to pack up and no office supplies to pilfer.

I do need to get a better handle on exactly where my spending is. I downloaded a gazillion tracker apps last night but think I finally found the right one this morning. I just need something simple to jot down what I spend on what and when until I can get a clear picture.

I'm still waiting to hear from my finance guy - I'm giving him until 10, then I'm calling again. I did discover this morning that he transferred a bunch of money to a checking account that has been closed for 3 years. Not so good.

And I am wallowing in no-more-isms.... No more conference calls. No more dealing with work assholes. No more have-tos in my schedule. I can sleep when I want, wake when I want, take an hour to get to the pool if I want, take an hour to get home!

Let's do this thing!!!

Looking through Retired glasses

The world looks a little different now that I've changed my work glasses to my retired glasses. Last night and this morning and have been consumed with changing the gels on my view of things. This will probably continue for a while...

Big stuff and little stuff. A nugget rolls through my brain and I evaluate and move on to the next one.

My living room will be minus one computer. Yeah! I can move my laptop over to that desk or get rid of the desk (it's a small rolling thing). The living room will be tidier.

Fortunately, I have been scrupulous about keeping my work computer for ONLY work - no personal stuff on it at all. So I can just close it down and drop it off at the boss's office. Easy peasy. I did make sure that I can access my company exchange mail on my personal computer so I can get any last doc's like my final pay stub (pdf). Also fortunately, a long time back, I set up my company email to send a copy of everything to gmail so I have it all here and searchable - all the paystubs and stuff.

No office so no office to pack up and no office supplies to pilfer.

I do need to get a better handle on exactly where my spending is. I downloaded a gazillion tracker apps last night but think I finally found the right one this morning. I just need something simple to jot down what I spend on what and when until I can get a clear picture.

I'm still waiting to hear from my finance guy - I'm giving him until 10, then I'm calling again. I did discover this morning that he transferred a bunch of money to a checking account that has been closed for 3 years. Not so good.

And I am wallowing in no-more-isms.... No more conference calls. No more dealing with work assholes. No more have-tos in my schedule. I can sleep when I want, wake when I want, take an hour to get to the pool if I want, take an hour to get home!

Let's do this thing!!!

today's basket

today's basket

Not retired... financially independant... nah

I finally talked to my financial adviser. He said 'you don't need to retire... you can just be financially independent'. I'm pretty sure that's potaaaaato potahahahto.

But, he had only good thoughts and ideas and suggestions. Plus he agreed with my plan of living on the employment insurance for a while to get a level - an idea - of how things will work out financially. As part of the unemployment insurance, I will also do some job hunting. My job requirements are pretty strict but who the heck knows. I could fall into something.

Or I can start my social security early and my IBM pension early and just be retired.

The unemployment benefits run for 26 weeks so that should give me enough time to gather good intel.

I have a giant list of questions into my boss and then I remembered two more so sent them. He answered the last two but I not the rest yet.

So now I know that the HRA benefit goes with COBRA. This means that $1,500 of the $2,000 deductible (medical insurance) is covered. Yeah.

And, if, during the 18 COBRA months, he hires me back for as little as a month, COBRA resets and I get another 18 months. This is a question he came up with. Didn't even occur to me to ask.

I don't know a date yet, but I have to believe it will be this week or next. Meanwhile I move the work laptop over to the desk where it's still available but no long in the main. I did that more to see what it would be like than anything else. I like it. A lot.

I am working on an even tidier idea maybe. It's all part of the process.

I went to the pool and it was good. Now I'm watching the baseball game and the Mariners are winning.

Everything is under control...

Not retired... financially independant... nah

I finally talked to my financial adviser. He said 'you don't need to retire... you can just be financially independent'. I'm pretty sure that's potaaaaato potahahahto.

But, he had only good thoughts and ideas and suggestions. Plus he agreed with my plan of living on the employment insurance for a while to get a level - an idea - of how things will work out financially. As part of the unemployment insurance, I will also do some job hunting. My job requirements are pretty strict but who the heck knows. I could fall into something.

Or I can start my social security early and my IBM pension early and just be retired.

The unemployment benefits run for 26 weeks so that should give me enough time to gather good intel.

I have a giant list of questions into my boss and then I remembered two more so sent them. He answered the last two but I not the rest yet.

So now I know that the HRA benefit goes with COBRA. This means that $1,500 of the $2,000 deductible (medical insurance) is covered. Yeah.

And, if, during the 18 COBRA months, he hires me back for as little as a month, COBRA resets and I get another 18 months. This is a question he came up with. Didn't even occur to me to ask.

I don't know a date yet, but I have to believe it will be this week or next. Meanwhile I move the work laptop over to the desk where it's still available but no long in the main. I did that more to see what it would be like than anything else. I like it. A lot.

I am working on an even tidier idea maybe. It's all part of the process.

I went to the pool and it was good. Now I'm watching the baseball game and the Mariners are winning.

Everything is under control...

All hail the packrat!!

This afternoon has been Hunt for the Solution. My work laptop is way bigger than this one and the rolling table also had mouse real estate. It's about twice as big as I need now. I tried a bunch of different configurations... my aching back.

My orange chair has options. There is a small table that can be on the left or the right and the chair part can slide one way or the other. So I tried it this way and that. I moved a small ottoman over for the laptop. Nothing really worked. I googled other options. Everything I found was too big, too ugly or too expensive and many were all three.

And then I remembered. In addition to being able to shift left and right with the lower table, it also came with a 'cocktail' table. When I first got it 5 years ago, the little table was damaged and had to be replaced. By the time the replacement came, I had decided I didn't really need it. So I put it up on top of a cabinet still in the box out on the terrace.

And that's where I found it today. I screwed it to the base and plopped it in the hole and, a you can see, it is PERFECT!!! It's exactly the right size and height. Out of the way and perfect.

But 5 years of dust came down with the box and I had a nice little asthma attack. A little inhaler, a lot of water, some resting and now all is fine.

I got an email this afternoon from my friend who is also my project manager on the fun project saying that she had some work coming in this week.... ooops. She's off now to talk to the boss. No idea what will happen there. I kind of wish he had talked to her like he said he would. Oh well.

I love my little cocktail table.

All hail the packrat!!

This afternoon has been Hunt for the Solution. My work laptop is way bigger than this one and the rolling table also had mouse real estate. It's about twice as big as I need now. I tried a bunch of different configurations... my aching back.

My orange chair has options. There is a small table that can be on the left or the right and the chair part can slide one way or the other. So I tried it this way and that. I moved a small ottoman over for the laptop. Nothing really worked. I googled other options. Everything I found was too big, too ugly or too expensive and many were all three.

And then I remembered. In addition to being able to shift left and right with the lower table, it also came with a 'cocktail' table. When I first got it 5 years ago, the little table was damaged and had to be replaced. By the time the replacement came, I had decided I didn't really need it. So I put it up on top of a cabinet still in the box out on the terrace.

And that's where I found it today. I screwed it to the base and plopped it in the hole and, a you can see, it is PERFECT!!! It's exactly the right size and height. Out of the way and perfect.

But 5 years of dust came down with the box and I had a nice little asthma attack. A little inhaler, a lot of water, some resting and now all is fine.

I got an email this afternoon from my friend who is also my project manager on the fun project saying that she had some work coming in this week.... ooops. She's off now to talk to the boss. No idea what will happen there. I kind of wish he had talked to her like he said he would. Oh well.

I love my little cocktail table.