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New Equation ER=ER (Emergency Room = Early Retirement)
10-22-2007, 04:08 PM
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#1
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Pasadena CA
Posts: 3,207
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New Equation ER=ER (Emergency Room = Early Retirement)
Short version, what a difference one day (or in my case, night) can make in retirement plans. I have been planning my retirement for several years now. I could technically have retired 2 years ago @ 55 but I still had my younger son in high school and a few other lose ends. So now wife retired last year & loves it, keeps asking when I’ll have more time to do things together. Our son is off to college and the house is a bit quiet. I figured on taking a buyout in March 2008, if I can get it. Not a lot of money involved ($25K) but worth waiting a little, and the time is right from a work perspective, we will be having cutbacks so less fun at work. Well last Tuesday, Oct 16th was memorable for me. I had been feeling some chest pains for a couple weeks but was hard to distinguish anything different than a pulled shoulder muscle. I talked to our work doctor and he said he had the same issue and he went to see his cardiologist so he would recommend I do the same. I called my HMO and they said come right down. They treated me in the emergency ward (they have less sense of humor than airport guards) and found some patterns they didn’t like on the EKG. Kept me overnight and more tests the next morning. Looks like a (hopefully) mild case of aterial fibulation . Meaning a mixed up heart beat, sort of like doing a polka instead of techno; I told younger son, the rock drummer.
So in the last few days we 1) bought a travel trailer ( www.tada-rv.com - T@DA - Microlite RV Teardrop Travel Trailer - TADA TAB Daddy ) DW did a major compromise in taking this when she really wanted an Airstream but that would have cost $25K more and needed a larger towing vehicle. and 2) the vehicle I really wanted, a Jeep Liberty diesel to tow it with, had to get a used one, they don’t make new ones since 2006. Depleted the credit union account, it will be interesting to see if it refills over time. But we are fortunate or disciplined enough to have enough savings to not have to go into debt for our toys. But 3) decided I would go out in January 2008 if the buyout becomes available or as soon as I find it will not be offered (historical note: I applied for a buyout last year and it was not approved. Manager says I should be covered this time but I don’t assume anything after the last experience.)
I really liked my job with NASA, especially with my last manager where I told my wife they would have to pry me out of the place. But its amazing how one night in the emergency cardiac ward changes perspectives. I am just not that interested in work anymore. I am more interested in whats ahead of me and I’m not looking back.
__________________
T.S. Eliot:
Old men ought to be explorers
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10-22-2007, 04:10 PM
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#2
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
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Good for you !
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10-22-2007, 04:21 PM
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#3
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,895
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...and all it took was a heart attack. go figure.
__________________
"off with their heads"~~dr. joseph-ignace guillotin
"life should begin with age and its privileges and accumulations, and end with youth and its capacity to splendidly enjoy such advantages."~~mark twain - letter to edward kimmitt 1901
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10-22-2007, 04:26 PM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Independence
Posts: 7,011
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 Quote:
Originally Posted by yakers
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Good on ya! I saw one of the T@B originals in Salem a few days ago and thought it was a very cool looking rig - didn't know what the corner handles were for...
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10-22-2007, 04:29 PM
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#5
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 46,763
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You made the right decision. Life is too short to work any longer than you have to! Well, that's my opinion, anyway.
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Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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10-22-2007, 04:43 PM
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#6
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: At The Cafe
Posts: 6,873
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yakers
But its amazing how one night in the emergency cardiac ward changes perspectives. I am just not that interested in work anymore. I am more interested in whats ahead of me and I’m not looking back.
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I know several people who retired at this point. Hope it's something you can live and retire well with. I'm walking around with a cardio-stent and doing very well but didn't have the good sense to retire when it happened four years ago. Best wishes.
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10-22-2007, 05:54 PM
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#7
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 8,827
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Glad you're OK, and atrial fibrillation is manageable.
I know what you mean, at least vicariously from my work in a cancer center.
And welcome to the RV subcommittee!
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Rich
San Francisco Area
ESR'd March 2010. FIRE'd January 2011.
As if you didn't know..If the above message contains medical content, it's NOT intended as advice, and may not be accurate, applicable or sufficient. Don't rely on it for any purpose. Consult your own doctor for all medical advice.
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10-22-2007, 06:10 PM
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#8
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Florida
Posts: 854
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Glad to hear that things are ok. Lots of changes on the horizen, but becuase of your planning you are ready for them, so things should go smoothly.
__________________
I would not have anyone adopt my mode of living...but I would have each one be very careful to find out and pursue his own way, and not his father's or his mother's or his neighbor's instead. Thoreau, Walden
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10-22-2007, 06:22 PM
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#9
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 229
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Good for you. I love the retro look of your new outfit. Seems like it is time to make the leap. I'm glad you were not having a heart attack! Since you have been planning for this for so long, it will be fine.
TG
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10-22-2007, 06:36 PM
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#10
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
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Hi Yakers -- glad to hear you're OK, and I like your new perspective. Take care of yourself!
P.S. I borrowed a video with a season of Rockford Files so I could see the place we had lunch.
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Al
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10-22-2007, 08:09 PM
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#11
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,371
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Glad to hear that you are okay. It is soon going to be "your time" to do whatever you want and go wherever your heart desires. I love the look of your travel trailer. I hope that you have many many good adventures in it!
How is your son doing? Isn't he in his first year of college? Hope things are going well with him.
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10-22-2007, 08:33 PM
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#12
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 377
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Glad to hear that you are ok Yakers.
Had a really good friend who put off ER year after year until then finally pulled the plug and died of a heart attack in his sleep a few months later. I really think the stress of working the last few years did him in.
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No Soup for you! Come back 1 year!
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10-22-2007, 09:00 PM
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#13
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,275
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Even with that scare (and because of it), it sounds as if you are a lucky man...you have your finances and priorities in order. Here's to wishing you a wonderful future. 
__________________
There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
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10-23-2007, 06:02 AM
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#14
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,085
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Congrats on your decision yakers. I'm sure you will enjoy spending time with your family and tooling around in the trailer more tahn work.
__________________
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
- George Orwell
Ezekiel 23:20
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