The best revenge.

[Richard4444]

Gee... Shatner looks a lot better as young Kirk than pushing his Priceline commercials

 

[SJ1_]

I had been pushed into early retirement, not entirely voluntarily. If your were in the the corporate rat race, you probably had to deal with your share of unethical cut throats, who would undermine and stab people in the back both for their own advancement or strategic advantage, or it was from their shark instinct. I had been on the receiving ends of those acts.

Now that I am retired, I am thinking about what will be the best revenge on those people.

1. Try to do as well as I can financially, on my own, on my own time, and amass as big a pot as I can that will make them green with envy?

2. Living it up to my heart's desire. And laugh at the tormentors' enslavement by their jobs, their unhappiness and personal traps they set for themselves?

The flaw of option 1 is that I have no beneficiary and have yet identified my charitable cause, and I do not really want to leave the government with 45 or 55%. It is more with the satisfaction of achieving a set goal and subscribing to the notion that money is a way of keeping score in the game of life. I do realize that you cannot take it with you. I am torn between going all out with either option 1 and 2, but likely will have to settle with a mix the the two options.

Yes, revenge is for those with small minds and I admit to that character defect.

How about forgetting about it and enjoying life?

As far as choosing between number 1 and 2 we have tried something in between. We have a day to day living budget and a vacation budget with
a target balance in 20 years. That way we believe that we are enjoying our money and will still have enough to live on when we are in our 80's

 

[Milton]

I had to fire a guy once, my one and only time.... He ended up quitting engineering and becoming a lawyer. He came back a few years later and gave us some baseball tickets and said thanks for the push.

I gotta think it was revenge of a mild sort, the "I'm doing even better now in spite of what you did to me!" kind. But mostly it was just kind of baffling. If he wanted to be a lawyer, then great. But why did that involve becoming an engineer and working for us?

I don't pretend to know all of the facts, but I do know that it is easy to get caught in a rut and rationalize the decision to stay in a less-than-perfect situation rather than taking the risk of pursuing another option. Also, the idea of becoming a lawyer may simply not have occurred to him until he found himself out of work in the engineering field.

Again, I don't know the personalities involved; however, it sounds possible that his gratitude was sincere.

 

[Milton]

Now that I am retired, I am thinking about what will be the best revenge on those people.

1. Try to do as well as I can financially, on my own, on my own time, and amass as big a pot as I can that will make them green with envy?

2. Living it up to my heart's desire. And laugh at the tormentors' enslavement by their jobs, their unhappiness and personal traps they set for themselves?

Assuming that you proceed with your quest for "revenge" (and I agree 100% with those who counsel moving on and not devoting any time or energy to showing other people the error of their ways ... which is almost never a profitable endeavour), I don't see how you would put plan #1 into effect.

Even if you manage to be very wealthy, how would your former bosses and co-workers know? Sure, you could tell them, but unless you're prepared to provide certified copies of investment account statements and tax returns - which would be WAY over the top - I suspect that they wouldn't believe you.

 

[Midpack]

I don't pretend to know all of the facts, but I do know that it is easy to get caught in a rut and rationalize the decision to stay in a less-than-perfect situation rather than taking the risk of pursuing another option. Also, the idea of becoming a lawyer may simply not have occurred to him until he found himself out of work in the engineering field.

Again, I don't know the personalities involved; however, it sounds possible that his gratitude was sincere.

+1. Who knows what the absolute numbers are, but I don't think it's uncommon at all. Here's just one stat I found online (I suspect the numbers are a little high?)

Credentials aside, what matters is whether you're actually cut out for what you do. If you're in the right field, things will click and you'll start getting helping hands from mentors. If you're not in your element, or not sure you're in the right ballpark, your career will feel like it's not going anywhere.

Studies show that at least 65 percent of college grads picked the wrong major to study. After 10 years on the job, people declaring they're in the wrong field increases to about 90 percent. I realize this sounds high, but sadly, it is the state of things.

Frankly, most 20-somethings will endure a career mismatch until they hit 30. Finding a mate often takes precedence. If your gut hunch is telling you that might be in the wrong career, you're instincts are probably right. The sooner you deal with the pain of a mismatch or bad career decision, the faster and easier it is to redirect.

Sadly, most people just stay trapped it seems...

 

[Amethyst]

And suppose you accumulate $10 Million. Then they all inherit $20 Million apiece, and there you are on the bottom rung again

ta

Even if you manage to be very wealthy, how would your former bosses and co-workers know? Sure, you could tell them, but unless you're prepared to provide certified copies of investment account statements and tax returns - which would be WAY over the top - I suspect that they wouldn't believe you.

 

[Lazarus]

I have some bitterness about my working years. But I try and not think about it too much. I am no longer playing the game anyway. I took my ball and mitt and went home!

 

[Marita40]

W2R we are soul mates. Moby-Dick is my favorite novel of all time. I got a Ph.D. in American literature largely because of it, and I had the joy of teaching it to college students for many years. Several years ago I edited a new edition of it and spent several weeks in Nantucket--including touring the fabulous whale museum and the Quaker sights--to do research. It is truly an American epic--and one of the world's great religious/spiritual novels. Man, I'm getting hungry for chowder just thinking of it!

 

[Ally]

Moby Dick is my son's favorite book. He read it in high school and loved it. He was always trying to convince me to name our pets after characters in the book. in particular, he wanted me to name a cat something like "Queequay". I wouldn't give in though. I have to admit that I've never read it.

 

[W2R]

W2R we are soul mates. Moby-Dick is my favorite novel of all time. I got a Ph.D. in American literature largely because of it, and I had the joy of teaching it to college students for many years. Several years ago I edited a new edition of it and spent several weeks in Nantucket--including touring the fabulous whale museum and the Quaker sights--to do research. It is truly an American epic--and one of the world's great religious/spiritual novels. Man, I'm getting hungry for chowder just thinking of it!

Marita, thanks! I did not see this post until today, for some reason.

I can tell that you, Ally's son, and some others here truly do appreciate Moby Dick! So few of us do. Seems like the mention of this book most often elicits a groan from others.

The quote that I use as my signature line is the first sentence of Chapter 32. I have never seen it on a quotations website or book; it is a sentence that sprang out at me when I was reading Moby Dick myself many years ago. This quotation has meant a lot to me in life at various stages, as I launched upon one endeavor or another. Now, to me, it is about retirement.

I am a retired oceanographer, and in the cadence of Melville's words in Moby Dick, I can hear the ocean and I can (almost literally) feel the heave of the wooden deck beneath my feet. If you read my signature line over and over a few times and feel the rhythm of the words, perhaps you will almost feel this rocking, too. Moby Dick brings me closer to the sea than any other book I have ever read. Not only that, it is spiritually inspired and inspiring and simply breathtaking. To describe this book as his masterpiece is selling it short, IMO. I could go on, but I see that I am "preaching to the choir", so to speak.

 

[Nords]

"Wise one"?!? That emoticon should be named "Curmudgeon" or "Geezer"...

I bet Mehlville couldn't compete with Ricardo's 60 year old pec's either. Pretty impressive I dare say in that movie.

CGI.

 

[Major Tom]

You're never going to avenge yourself on these people if you keep living your life according to their boundaries.

You don't have a character defect. You have a problem. Get help for it.

Nords' answer might be a bit blunt, but I think he's pretty close.

I have never agreed with the whole idea of "living well is the best revenge", simply because if you were truly living well you wouldn't be thinking in terms of revenge to begin with.

Don't worry about them, and focus on someone far more important - you. Enjoy your life. The desire for revenge will occupy your head and eat away at you.

 

[Mulligan]

"Wise one"?!? That emoticon should be named "Curmudgeon" or "Geezer"...

CGI.

I used to think that too. But that apparently was not the case. From movie website IMDb:

It has been widely debated that Ricardo Montalban's chest was actually a prosthetic piece that he wore during the film. In the director's commentary in the special edition DVD, Nicholas Meyer is quoted as saying that it was, in fact, Montalban's actual chest and that he was a very muscular man who worked out. During publicity for the movie, during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Montalban explained that he was able to achieve the look seen in the film by doing push-ups. "A lot of push-ups."

 

[pb4uski]

I like my co-workers. Is there something wrong with me?

Certainly not, but do they see you as serious competition for scarce workplace goodies (promotions, awards, perks)? If so, and if everyone still likes everyone, then you have achieved workplace Nirvana.

Amethyst

I'm with you LOL. I enjoyed my colleagues at work (and miss them and keep in touch with some of them). Since I was in a senior consultative role and had plateaued in my career I guess I was less of a "threat" to the younger hard chargers, but more importantly, our firm had a culture of teamwork based on a rising tide lifting all boats.

 

[Midpack]

I'm with you LOL. I enjoyed my colleagues at work (and miss them and keep in touch with some of them). Since I was in a senior consultative role and had plateaued in my career I guess I was less of a "threat" to the younger hard chargers, but more importantly, our firm had a culture of teamwork based on a rising tide lifting all boats.

I enjoyed most of my colleagues at work throughout my career. Anyone who dislikes all or most of their co-workers either has a problem themselves (you're the one everyone else hates working with) or a very small and poorly chosen workplace...

 

[Retire2013]

+1.

The times I remember is when there's a blizzard or pouring rain on a Monday morning and think, back in the day I'd be fighting the bad weather to get to the hostile environment of w*rk. But now, I all comfy and FIRE'd. That's good enough "revenge" in itself .

I agree with EasySurfer. I can't wait to be "all comfy and FIRE'd" myself. Looking at my "pile" I will soon have enough for 3SWR, will pull the plug really soon. Maybe in 2013 instead of 2014.

 

[ChrisC]

For the OP try this: Intro to Maum Meditation - YouTube. You appeared to be trapped in a mindset.

 

[easysurfer]

I agree with EasySurfer. I can't wait to be "all comfy and FIRE'd" myself. Looking at my "pile" I will soon have enough for 3SWR, will pull the plug really soon. Maybe in 2013 instead of 2014.

Maybe ahead of schedule? That a surprise of the nice kind .

In otherwords, you might need to look for a countdown clock sooner than later!

 

[RobLJ]

Marita, thanks! I did not see this post until today, for some reason.

I can tell that you, Ally's son, and some others here truly do appreciate Moby Dick! So few of us do. Seems like the mention of this book most often elicits a groan from others.

The quote that I use as my signature line is the first sentence of Chapter 32. I have never seen it on a quotations website or book; it is a sentence that sprang out at me when I was reading Moby Dick myself many years ago. This quotation has meant a lot to me in life at various stages, as I launched upon one endeavor or another. Now, to me, it is about retirement.

I always liked The Masthead: "But while this sleep, this dream is on ye, move your foot or hand an inch; slip your hold at all; and your identity comes back in horror. Over Descartian vortices you hover."
But every chapter has a quotable period.

 

[W2R]

I always liked The Masthead: "But while this sleep, this dream is on ye, move your foot or hand an inch; slip your hold at all; and your identity comes back in horror. Over Descartian vortices you hover."
But every chapter has a quotable period.

Pretty scary, hovering so high over the sea like that, on a gently rocking ship!

And perhaps, at mid-day, in the fairest weather, with one half-throttled shriek you drop through that transparent air into the summer sea, no more to rise forever. Heed it well, ye Pantheists!

Makes me glad that when I went to sea, I did not have to risk my life up there watching for whales.

 

[cj1717]

How about just shaking it off and moving on?