On this day...

This is the oldest photo of me I can find easily. It might be the oldest one I have. I think I was judging (rather harshly) whatever it was they were waggling to catch my attention while trying to be a good sport about the whole photo session.

So far, so good on number 72. Fitbit and I agree that I had a great sleep. My treadmill, on its new mat, gave me zero dead stops. I'm thinking win win!

I think this is going to be a Popeye's birthday. I'd sure rather meet Deb at Endolyne Joe's but Popeye's is a solid Plan B especially since kitty cornered is a Dollar Store so I'll treat myself there. My happy places.

Then there will be a baseball game and knitting. An excellent day plan.

When I asked for Ask Me Anything questions for my birthday, I expected the easy quick answer kind. Instead, I now have a Google Doc that has spawned some wonderful memories, debates, inspiration, and explorations. I am so delighted and so grateful. Thank you and thanks for the birthday wishes.

Birthday Answers

sherlock999

1. What kind of work did you do before retirement?

I most spent the first part of my working life in corporate communications - a lot of that at IBM where I wrote speeches for executives.

I spent the last part of my working life building and populating web pages.

I loved both jobs.

2. What kind of advice do you have for someone approaching retirement age? What were your best retirement decisions and worst ones?

My worst retirement decision was not planning soon enough. I lost $18,000 in IBM retirement benefits because I just ignored the information they sent me. I never 'planned' to retire. I loved working. It was who I was. Retirement, to me, was inability to work and so not acceptable. I put money into 401K and I saved but otherwise, I really ignored the whole thing.

And then I got laid off from a job that I really did like. I admit that I did not really look that hard to find another. And then one day, I realized I was retired. Because I had not spent any effort into even thinking about it, it was not a smooth transition.

But now I love it and my advice is just that. Get yourself to a place where you can love it.

Birthday Report

I did, in fact, travel to Popeye's and The Dollar Store and neither disappointed at all. It was delicious and fun. And, unlike last time, Popeye's didn't screw up my order so there is nice, leftover chicken in the house.

And, weirdly, there was no Mariner baseball game. I turned on Netflix to find watch the next on my list and discovered it was a movie called The Dig. Ugh. This was something my brother recommended. It didn't even look remotely interesting. I clicked figuring I'd watch the first 5 mins so I could say I tried.

It was captivating from the first minute to the last.

Biggie is right here next to me snoozing away in his pod. All in all, a very excellent birthday.

Biggie 2021

The Flickr album of all the days.