traineeinvestor
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
No issues of this kind with family, friends or colleagues (a bit of "you'll be bored" and "what will you do all day").
Although I have not experienced it with the MFA faculty and students, I am a bit sensitive to the fact that all of these people are writers or aspiring writers and it is very very hard to make a living as a writer (a lot of the faculty are teaching in order to supplement what they make as writers and most of the students are working full or part time for financial reasons). So, I don't tell them I am retired - I tell them I am taking a career break for two years to pursue the MFA while doing some consulting (which is true - I think I must have worked for about four hours this month).
Although I have not experienced it with the MFA faculty and students, I am a bit sensitive to the fact that all of these people are writers or aspiring writers and it is very very hard to make a living as a writer (a lot of the faculty are teaching in order to supplement what they make as writers and most of the students are working full or part time for financial reasons). So, I don't tell them I am retired - I tell them I am taking a career break for two years to pursue the MFA while doing some consulting (which is true - I think I must have worked for about four hours this month).