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

[BBQ-Nut]

nuthin'

 

[W2R]

Now that I am finishing up with packing for the move (which will be in a few weeks) I decided that in addition to R&R I need to get back to the gym to stay strong. So, I did some light weight lifting and cardio while he walked on the indoor track.

We went to lunch together and split a Chinese vegetable dish with nothing else except water to drink. We wanted to eat lightly because on Wednesdays, another local place has a $10 steak dinner special which is utterly fabulous. So, we plan to go there together tonight. .

Since I haven't used them in years, I gave away my patio furniture, grill, and large electric gardening tools to a couple of very deserving fellows who will put them to good use.

 

[harley]

We're still pulling the MD house together after the winter in FL. Been pressure washing the decks. Also making points with DW for my romantic ways with water, algae, and dirt.

 

[braumeister]

Any advice or stories of dealing with the ambivalence of leaving a great organization welcomed.

Don't be surprised if the feeling persists for a while, but it will eventually fade.
When I retired from the USAF, I felt like that for several years. Greatly diminished now, but I still get a funny (good) feeling whenever I enter a military base. The special camaraderie is something you almost never find in "normal" life.

 

[HFWR]

Taking a few vacation days for an extended Memorial Day weekend, ostensibly to catch up on spring cleaning...

 

[LinCella]

Comcast coming between 2-4 and so I'm cleaning the incredible amount of dust that has collected behind my TV cabinet. This may be an all-day thing...I am ashamed to say.

 

[Walt34]

I've been trying to sell a small folding boat and the motorcycle for months. Sold both today before noon.

The guy who bought the boat drove 3+ hours to get here and he rang the bell at just after 10 AM.

We went to the gym and then out to lunch to celebrate. Two less items (and a lot of accessory stuff) are mostly gone, the rest will be gone tomorrow. It was raining so the guy who bought the bike left it in the garage here and will pick it up tomorrow when he has his license plate. I canceled the ads and the insurance on it.

Glad that's all done.

 

[freebird5825]

I spent this morning bringing my tomatoes, peppers and eggplants from the enclosed porch into the house. NWS tells me that there may be patchy frost early Friday AM. Par for the course around here if the jet stream brings colder air down from up north.

I am going to wait until next week to call the boat storage place to launch my boat. Why bother if the temps will be low for a while longer ? Plenty of time for summer boating.

I went searching through the upstairs freezer looking for ingredients to make dinner with. I settled on ham, hot sausage crumbles, peppers, and chopped up tomatoes, along with 2 fresh potatoes that needed to be eaten, to make a pseudo jambalaya dish in the crockpot. It smells heavenly.

Mr B and I are hanging out being house slugs. He went hunter-gathering (shopping) earlier to BJ's and Aldi's for me, so he needs a nap.

I love lazy days like this...

 

[BBQ-Nut]

Blustery grey pre-rain weather, cool - so just hanging out doing some inside and some outside chores around the house.


I had done some spring planting outside in my above ground planters.


I noticed a squirrel foraging around in the backyard eating some of the bird seed I throw down for the doves, finches, and scrub jays.


But then I noticed one of my bell pepper plants had been ravaged down to the stems....the squirrel is now on my 'wanted' pest list.


He better not show his face....

 

[HFWR]

Went on a buying binge, oddly enough, as part of my ongoing decluttering.

Way back in the last millennium, I bought a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder for my home studio. Of course, for the past several years I've been using a laptop and DAW software instead of tape, but was still using the mixing portion of the Tascam. Bought a Mackie six-channel mixer to replace that function; nice, new, clean pots, and about one-third of the footprint, plus USB for direct recording.

Second purchase was an Epson network printer. Using a new laptop for the studio after the old one finally died, so the studio computer is the only computer in the house. Didn't want the printer on the studio desk, so it's tucked away in another room. Plus, being a multi-function printer, I'm now able to get rid of a scanner as well.

Final purchase was a cheapy Samsung flat screen from Costco. TWC went digital on their basic cable, so the bedroom TV, a 13" color set about 22 years old, became obsolete, since it only had an analog tuner.

I now have a pile of surplus electronics, destined to be sold, given away to friends, or donated to charity, whichever is more expeditious...

 

[ERD50]

...
Way back in the last millennium, I bought a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder for my home studio. Of course, for the past several years I've been using a laptop and DAW software instead of tape, but was still using the mixing portion of the Tascam. ...

Hah! I fired up my Fostex X-15 4-channel cassette a few months back to digitize a few tapes I made in my home studio back in the 80s. Some day I may edit them, and manage to pick out a few that aren't too embarrassing. It was fun (and scary) to listen to this stuff. There are a few songs I played that for the life of me I didn't know I knew how to play. Weird to hear your voice and instrument and not recalling ever playing/singing that song (it's not like I have a wide repertoire or anything!).

I've got an 8 channel Yamaha mixer, so I'm set there. I really need to start digging into the computer way of doing this in the current century (I did some midi stuff way back then as well as live multitasking).

-ERD50

 

[Meadbh]

Played golf with friends in the early morning, followed by breakfast in the clubhouse. Later I visited my doctor for a routine checkup. Everything looks good and my BP reading was the best it's been in years. I told him how much less stressed I have been since ER and we are going to do a trial of no blood pressure meds! ER is great!

 

[HFWR]

Hah! I fired up my Fostex X-15 4-channel cassette a few months back to digitize a few tapes I made in my home studio back in the 80s. Some day I may edit them, and manage to pick out a few that aren't too embarrassing. It was fun (and scary) to listen to this stuff. There are a few songs I played that for the life of me I didn't know I knew how to play. Weird to hear your voice and instrument and not recalling ever playing/singing that song (it's not like I have a wide repertoire or anything!).



I've got an 8 channel Yamaha mixer, so I'm set there. I really need to start digging into the computer way of doing this in the current century (I did some midi stuff way back then as well as live multitasking).



-ERD50

Error, Will Robinson! The new mixer is an Alesis... OFM...

I have experience with a Cakewalk product called Sonar Artist. Has way more capabilities than I do! Good for recording audio, or recording/authoring midi tracks. Has virtual midi instruments, and once you're happy with a midi track, you can convert it to an audio file for final mixing. I have to keyboard-style midi controllers, and two sound modules, but I generally just compose backing tracks like drums, bass, keys, etc. by "hand", with the judicious use of copy/paste...

 

[Hermit]

I've been trying to sell a small folding boat and the motorcycle for months. Sold both today before noon.

The guy who bought the boat drove 3+ hours to get here and he rang the bell at just after 10 AM.

We went to the gym and then out to lunch to celebrate. Two less items (and a lot of accessory stuff) are mostly gone, the rest will be gone tomorrow. It was raining so the guy who bought the bike left it in the garage here and will pick it up tomorrow when he has his license plate. I canceled the ads and the insurance on it.

Glad that's all done.

Not even a tinge of sadness when the motorcycle goes?

 

[davemartin88]

Yesterday we had the "final" inspection on the house we're building for family. Had one outlet that should have been GFCI but otherwise, all was in order. Changed out the outlet and inspector will be back this morning to check the outlet and leave the inspection pass sticker- been a busy few months but the end is in sight. We have a few things to finish up related to closets and shelving, hanging tvs, etc. but hope to begin the big move in this weekend or early next week.

We're looking forward to having our guest cabin back for others to use and my SIL/BIL/FIL are looking forward to getting in to their own space. I'm sure I'll have to be figuring out an antenna for my FIL's ham radio but we have the house ready. We put in extra ground wires to his room, a pvc conduit to the outside for his antenna wire, and 220V for the radio along with extra outlets- he's excited I think.

 

[Lisa99]

Came dangerously close to resigning yesterday.

Being FI is awesome but it has its danger side as well. I work for the company that is splitting into 2 fortune 50 companies and I run global internal communications for the financial separation.

Yesterday one of the senior vp muckety mucks calls an emergency meeting to talk about everything that's wrong with the comms plan. Every single thing he brought up is in the plan but surprise, surprise he hasn't read it!

Instead of my VP correcting him, he agrees with everything the nut job says and says "I'll get it fixed". I just about blew a gasket. After the call was over I called my VP to let him know that he was wrong in his approach and I didn't appreciate being thrown under the bus.

This time last year I would have probably kept my mouth shut but knowing I'm a very short timer gave me the freedom to speak my mind.

Just started a 4 day weekend; headed to a Pickleball tournament in CA so no more thinking about w@rk till next Tuesday.

 

[MichaelB]

Came dangerously close to resigning yesterday.

That must feel like a roller coaster ride. Brings back memories It sure does help to have a plan like you do.

 

[ElizabethT]

Staying in town over the holiday weekend for the first time in as long as I can remember. We generally meet still-working friends for a long RVing weekend of wine tasting in Paso Robles but darned if they didn't up and decide to get a divorce (mid-50's).

Instead, we'll 'stay in' and go hiking, biking, and out to eat, plus shop for new kitchen appliances for an upcoming kitchen makeover.

 

[pb4uski]

....Instead of my VP correcting him, he agrees with everything the nut job says and says "I'll get it fixed". I just about blew a gasket. ....

You are much more diplomatic that I am. I would have interrupted and corrected the complaining VP on every point to make him look like the ignorant a-hole in front of everyone ... diplomatically of course.

 

[Meadbh]

Came dangerously close to resigning yesterday.

Being FI is awesome but it has its danger side as well. I work for the company that is splitting into 2 fortune 50 companies and I run global internal communications for the financial separation.

Yesterday one of the senior vp muckety mucks calls an emergency meeting to talk about everything that's wrong with the comms plan. Every single thing he brought up is in the plan but surprise, surprise he hasn't read it!

Instead of my VP correcting him, he agrees with everything the nut job says and says "I'll get it fixed". I just about blew a gasket. After the call was over I called my VP to let him know that he was wrong in his approach and I didn't appreciate being thrown under the bus.

This time last year I would have probably kept my mouth shut but knowing I'm a very short timer gave me the freedom to speak my mind.

Just started a 4 day weekend; headed to a Pickleball tournament in CA so no more thinking about w@rk till next Tuesday.

My approach would have been different. I could not have sat quietly while my plan was trashed by people who did not bother to read it. Using my most professional demeanor, I would have asked that each "omission" be discussed by drawing their attention to how it had been addressed in the document during the meeting, and asking for constructive feedback.

Of course, incompetent executives may react defensively to such outspokenness, and may fire (FIRE?) their subordinates for showing them up.

 

[Ronstar]

Came dangerously close to resigning yesterday.

Being FI is awesome but it has its danger side as well. I work for the company that is splitting into 2 fortune 50 companies and I run global internal communications for the financial separation.

Yesterday one of the senior vp muckety mucks calls an emergency meeting to talk about everything that's wrong with the comms plan. Every single thing he brought up is in the plan but surprise, surprise he hasn't read it!

Instead of my VP correcting him, he agrees with everything the nut job says and says "I'll get it fixed". I just about blew a gasket. After the call was over I called my VP to let him know that he was wrong in his approach and I didn't appreciate being thrown under the bus.

This time last year I would have probably kept my mouth shut but knowing I'm a very short timer gave me the freedom to speak my mind.

Just started a 4 day weekend; headed to a Pickleball tournament in CA so no more thinking about w@rk till next Tuesday.

Life is too short to put up with such bs. Retire and concentrate on Pickleball.

 

[Khan]

Set up my new phone, and installed E-R.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[REWahoo]

Driving into town this morning I passed a large gravel truck (like the one below) poised to pull out on the highway from a rock quarry. The truck caught my attention because the dump bed was fully elevated and I wondered if the truck driver was aware it was in this position.

He wasn't.

I watched in my rear view mirror as he pulled out onto the highway, caught the electrical and phone lines as he passed under them, ripped the two adjacent utility poles out of the ground, and drug them across the road completely blocking it. This was accompanied by a very large fireball and the boom of a nearby transformer exploding.

The road was shut down for a couple of hours. I drove by on my way home and counted seven CPS utility bucket trucks and five AT&T phone trucks working to repair the damage.

I suspect the gravel truck driver is seeking a new job - but not before a change of undies.

 

[Walt34]

Not even a tinge of sadness when the motorcycle goes?

Oh yes, there was that. But I know it was inevitable and I knew it when I bought the bike - I was 58 and figured I'd have it for roughly five years or a bit more. I really wanted to be the only resident in a CCRC who rode a motorcycle but alas that is not to be.

But traffic has increased around here a lot and the two things that trouble me about riding now are deer (increasing) and the morons on their cell phones, also increasing. Throw in being on anticoagulant drugs and that just makes the combination too risky for me.

 

[braumeister]

You are much more diplomatic that I am. I would have interrupted and corrected the complaining VP on every point to make him look like the ignorant a-hole in front of everyone ... diplomatically of course.

No question about it; exactly what I would have done.