what did you do today? (2008-2015) (closed)

[freebird5825]

Mr B contines his final exam mission...1 down, 2 to go. I checkpointed his answers for one of his take home finals, the class with the linear algebra that he has come to love. I have labeled this Management Science course as the equivalent of Organic Chemistry (the dreaded course) for Accountants.
He had all of the answers correct.

I'm killing time doing laundry and dry marinating 2 pork chops while he gets together with another student to finish up a group project.

I discovered a few mouse turds in my lower family room, so I set up some more traps. I bought a box of 72 traps online, so no more removing the dead mouse and re-using the sprung traps. I keep a list of how many traps get set and where I place them.
I still have 3 missing traps to find in the garage area, but no smell. Odd...

[haha]

I was leaving Trader Joe and while waiting to cross at the light, I noticed an older guy wih a reunion jacket from my university. I confirmed this, and he told me he was class of '57. He introduced himself, then asked what I do. I said I retired, and he said, oh..kind of disappointed maybe. He said I still go to the office every day, but mostly for fun now. His name was an old NW brokerage, and he is still at the helm.

A lot of 1%ers live down the hill from me, to the East on Lake Washington, though I don't often see identifiable group members in Trader Joe. Or maybe I just would not notice them without the class jacket.

Ha

[Khan]

Filled out the paperwork to start withdrawing from the TSP. What have I been saving it for?
I want to leave a very small estate, so that none of my relatives will fight over it.

[RAE]

Decided it was time to put our pontoon boat in the lake today, out at our lake cottage. So, got it out of storage this morning and hauled it to the lake. Motor started on the third pull......a nice surprise . Took a ride around the lake to celebrate, then came home and cooked a nice dinner. Now sitting in front of the wood stove (it's still cool here in northern Michigan), reading, and listening to music. Life is good!

[M Paquette]

"There will be new growth in the spring!"
- Chance the Gardener

Yup. Fed and trimmed the roses, did some tree trimming, mowed the lawns, pulled weeds, and dropped a dead birch that was near the house. (No spectacle here. It wasn't a big tree...)

This is the second warm weekend we've had since February, a nice day to work outside. Since the rain came late this year, there was plenty of growth. I'm probably going to be in hack-n-slash mode for a few more weeks. Lots of outdoor time. I just hope the Senior Catcher doesn't spot me...

[Nords]

Today is the 10th anniversary of my last haircut. I got that haircut while I was on retirement leave from active duty.

My 10th anniversary of retirement is on 1 June, of course, but the haircut anniversary seems to carry more significance for me. I've thought about getting it cut on this anniversary, but spouse says she thinks it looks good on me. (My opinion on this subject doesn't matter.) So now I'm balancing hair-maintenance hassles against... other benefits.

My cousin the Army Ranger got married a couple days ago to a great woman, and their wedding reception could best be summarized as "epic". (You wouldn't believe how fast a hotel can rustle up a uniformed police officer to "help" with a 40-something woman who disagrees with the bartender's assessment of her sobriety.) So we spent yesterday lazing around the hotel and today we plan to do some stand-up paddleboarding. His "problem" with leaving the military after 13 years of enlisted/officer service was choosing among MBA programs and employers. He decided to wait on the first and he starts the second next month.

Our daughter's identified about five used cars. She's hoping for a 5-10-year-old hatchback that can haul a moderate load with decent gas mileage. She's now proficient with Consumer Reports and CarFax and Craigslist, and she's learning to ask the right questions. I'm not surprised at the number of 1990s Honda Civics still on the road, but I am surprised at the number of CR-Vs. PT Cruisers seem to be holding up far better than expected, too, although people appear to dislike them for style reasons.

Today she's looking at her first test drive-- a 2001 Jeep Laredo with 170K miles for $4500. I don't expect it to turn into a purchase but the practice will help her. (I'm just along for the ride.) She should be wrapping this up by the end of the week, and then she can shift her focus to finding good cheap apartment furniture.

She moves into her off-campus apartment next week. Her summer school starts at the end of next week, and she was just told that her NROTC summer training will be June aboard a submarine. It'll be an OHIO class, perhaps one of the SSGNs that already has women officers. She's stoked now, but we'll see how she feels about it in July...

It's kinda nice to hang out with her & spouse, not having to worry about chores or repairs or other projects, and just enjoy the family time while she sorts out her life.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords It's kinda nice to hang out with her & spouse, not having to worry about chores or repairs or other projects, and just enjoy the family time while she sorts out her life.

Aw!!! I am so glad you are enjoying the time with them, to the fullest. With your DD being in college, it won't be long before she has flown the nest. As you know, if/when she goes ahead with her Navy ambitions times like this may become more rare for your family (especially when she is at sea). Then your memories of this time will be even more precious.

Still, nostalgic empty nester feelings aside, I feel that it's a great accomplishment to raise a child who becomes a happy, productive adult with accomplishments of her own.

[eytonxav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Today is the 10th anniversary of my last haircut. I got that haircut while I was on retirement leave from active duty.

Common Nords, this post is useless without pictures

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Today is the 10th anniversary of my last haircut. I got that haircut while I was on retirement leave from active duty.

Happy anniversary?

Do you remember other dates and life events as well or was there something particular about this when it happened? In the overall scheme of things it does seem a bit, well, ordinary to recollect a decade later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords My 10th anniversary of retirement is on 1 June, of course, but the haircut anniversary seems to carry more significance for me. I've thought about getting it cut on this anniversary, but spouse says she thinks it looks good on me. (My opinion on this subject doesn't matter.) So now I'm balancing hair-maintenance hassles against... other benefits.

10 Years retired - now that's something to remember and celebrate. Congratulations (just getting it in early).

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFW_M5 Common Nords, this post is useless without pictures

The pony tail's been "stable" for about five years... it keeps replenishing itself by taking hair from the top of my head.

We're going to be waiting a while on the wedding pix. The photographers got enough "candid" shots at the reception to make plenty of relatives uncomfortably aware of their sobriety behavior for decades...

[TromboneAl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFW_M5 C'mon Nords, this post is useless without pictures

[W2R]

Today I got a new hot water heater installed, at a 50% discount for everything including labor.

My plumber had sent out his jack-of-all-trades four times in the past 18 days, to try to fix my old one, which was only 4 years old, but it fought back. My showers for the past 18 days have almost invariably been completely cold. This was rapidly becoming unacceptable.

So, this morning I called with the time tested, "I'm a long time customer of yours who has always been happy with your work, but right now I feel like I fell through the cracks and isn't there some way to get hot water in my house" line. He gave me the "I can't afford to replace it for free, so let's split it down the middle".

Works for me... and at last I will have hot water, just as though I lived in civilization or something.

[eytonxav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Today I got a new hot water heater installed, at a 50% discount for everything including labor. My plumber had sent out his jack-of-all-trades four times in the past 18 days, to try to fix my old one, which was only 4 years old, but it fought back. My showers for the past 18 days have almost invariably been completely cold. This was rapidly becoming inacceptable. So, this morning I called with the time tested, "I'm a long time customer of yours who has always been happy with your work, but right now I feel like I fell through the cracks and isn't there some way to get hot water in my house" line. He gave me the "I can't afford to replace it for free, so let's split it down the middle". Works for me... and at last I will have hot water, just as though I lived in civilization or something.

Well at least it didn't happen during the winter; nice discount!

[eytonxav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl

What a handsome fella

[FIREd]

Still preparing for the move. I have just finished piling up all the surplus furniture in the garage (waiting to be picked up by a local charity) and I have to make one more trip to Goodwill to get rid of the small junk. The house has a weird minimalist look with all the empty shelves and cabinets.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFW_M5 What a handsome fella

OK, OK, you guys win, I e-mailed the wedding photographer(s) and I'm anxiously awaiting their response...

[Lisa99]

Re-installed an electronic countdown to retirement calendar on my office computer.

I downloaded one when I first joined this forum, but being six years out at the time, the number of days left was depressing so I removed it.

In a flash, two years have passed and I'm down to four years, four months and zero days. Plus we've hit a financial milestone recently, so I decided it was time to put the calendar back into operation.

I sometimes have to share my screen in a meeting, so I'll be curious to see if anyone notices it and asks what "Exit stage left" means.

[Meadbh]

Filed personal income tax return. Today is the deadline in Canada. Thanks to proactive tax planning with the help of my accountant, my overall tax rate for 2011 was 12%.

[TromboneAl]

I took this nice new saw blade that I got for 50 cents at a rummage sale, and converted it into a red-neck pole saw.

PoleSaw.jpg

Then I cut a bunch of branches that were shading the wood pile and causing other problems.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl I took this nice new saw blade that I got for 50 cents at a rummage sale, and converted it into a red-neck pole saw.

Jacob Fisker will be proud of you, Al.