Want2retire is retired!

[oldtrig]

W2R. You sound as though you are really enjoying life now. I am about your age and will make the move soon. I just have to figure out a few things on what I will do all day when that time comes. I have always been active doing something. I love golf but I do not think I could play everyday. I also have many hobbies so that and golf will keep me busy. Enjoy your retirement and I hope to do that same real soon. oldtrig

 

[W2R]

W2R. You sound as though you are really enjoying life now. I am about your age and will make the move soon. I just have to figure out a few things on what I will do all day when that time comes. I have always been active doing something. I love golf but I do not think I could play everyday. I also have many hobbies so that and golf will keep me busy. Enjoy your retirement and I hope to do that same real soon. oldtrig

Thanks, Oldtrig, and I hope you retire soon, too. You could play golf twice a week, and then spend some other days during the week working on your many hobbies. You will still have to fit in the usual laundry, grocery shopping, and house cleaning, maintenance, and repair, but they are much more fun to do as a retiree, at your own pace when you have lots of time. I haven't had much trouble getting out of the house during the past week, what with the gym on half the days, spending Saturday with Frank, doing some major grocery shopping one day, shopping for clothes and household items on another day, and having lunch with Frank on several other days. In between everything I read, nap, and post on the forum. And then tonight I am posting because I happen to be awake at 1:30 AM.

 

[Poundkey]

Poundkey, you don't miss running those lathes ? CNC machines ? Drill presses. I did notice you were a machinist. I worked as a self-employed truck mechanic in my other life. That was 13 years ago. I now work in a totally different job. Of all things I cross trained into a golf course superintendent. Big change. Retirement is right around the corner for me. I turn 63 soon so it will not be long and I will start another venture in life. oldtrig

Actually I do miss the CNCs sometimes. I had to stay sharp while programming. A decimal place on the wrong side of a number could result in a train wreck. There were some fun mental challenges at times. Like having to convince a machine that it could what I was asking even though it was flashing "no I can't" error codes at me.

 

[Stevewc]

I approached one of the higher executives in my megacorp on Thursday and ask for help on acquiring family health care so I could retire at the end of this year. The person told me they would take the idea to the top and see what happens.
I'm hoping and praying for positive results. Just maybe they would like to get rid of me as much as I would like to go .
Steve

PS. I learned they helped a guy 16 months ago in a big way. I made it clear I knew about that transaction. But I also let it be known that I was not pushing and would be OK with what ever they decided. Didn't want to go to far with it.

Well, no help from megacorp for my health care. They informed me today that there will be no extras in that area for me going out. Kind of disappointing news. Oh well, back to square one.
I still think I'm going to chance it on cobra. That leaves me hoping and praying that the legislators accidentally do something, that will be of help to my financial situation. I have waited so long for this year to come, I can't bring myself to hang around any longer. Thirty years on the job is just about long enough for any insane person to have to wait.
So, I've got to take a deep breath, hold it, get all the info I can, and get ready to sign my life and job away on the dotted line.
Can I do it ?
We will see !!!
Steve

 

[Martha]

WhereI w*rk, if you accidentally fall asleep for a minute it's a class II violation. Three of those and you're out the door. If you intentionally go to sleep(sound asleep) and you get caught it's automatic termination.

Airline pilot?

 

[W2R]

Airline pilot?

I couldn't quote an exact rule like that, but I would have expected similar consequences if one of our scientists had been caught sleeping at work. That's not what they were paying us taxpayer money to do.

On the other hand, normally we had reasonable hours - - nothing like what Harley mentioned with being required to be at work 36 hours straight.

 

[Lsbcal]

...(snip)...
I have been making efforts to develop a more active lifestyle than I have had for the past 44 years (since high school). It is so nice to be able to go to the gym, or go for a walk, any time I please. This alone has been a tremendous lift to my morale as I had been living an extremely sedentary life. I am hoping/planning to make physical activity of some kind a daily habit and enjoying the health benefits that I know this will bring to me.

I love to run and DW loves to walk in the state park behind our home. A word to the wise , try to avoid overuse injuries by ramping up at some sensible rate. Maybe no more then 10% extra per week or two. It's particularly important in cool weather when our muscles are not warmed up at the start.

You're going to be in really great shape!

 

[W2R]

I love to run and DW loves to walk in the state park behind our home. A word to the wise , try to avoid overuse injuries by ramping up at some sensible rate. Maybe no more then 10% extra per week or two. It's particularly important in cool weather when our muscles are not warmed up at the start.

You're going to be in really great shape!

I hope so! Thanks for the advice. I am not so worried about overdoing when shopping, but it is hard to know how much is challenging without being too much when it comes to my gym routine. So, I'll keep your cautions in mind.

I feel so much better already! I worked out again today, and I really feel great.

 

[Purron]

I am not only taking time to smell the roses, I feel like I am languishing in a sea of roses at the moment...

A sea of roses? What a wonderful image! Makes me think of this song. Hope this is suited to your post-retirement mood. Reminds me of your profession. Give Frank a big 'ole hug next time you see him.

YouTube - Sea Of Love by Phil Phillips

 

[W2R]

I love that song, Purron!!

I am going to have lunch with Frank tomorrow, but I may or may not want to hug him - - I think he is coming down with the flu. Hopefully he will feel better by then.

 

[Purron]

I love that song, Purron!!

I am going to have lunch with Frank tomorrow, but I may or may not want to hug him - - I think he is coming down with the flu. Hopefully he will feel better by then.

Hey W2R, I've been married to the same guy for 35 years this December and when he has the flu, no hugs from me. Instead, I pamper him with hot tea with lemon and honey and tuck him in with extra blankets. Hope Frank is feeling better soon.

 

[Tigger]

Congrats, W2R!

Freedom at last!

 

[Bikerchick]

Belated Congratulations - woohoo!

I used to be known as Want2retire on this forum, but today is my retirement day

And as for the inevitable "How does it feel?":

!!! !!!​

W2R, you are an inspiration! There IS a finish line, you found it!

 

[W2R]

Thank you! It is still better than I had ever imagined, too.

 

[Meadbh]

Great party, W2R.....we must drop by again!

 

[Kroeran]

interesting discussion about sleep on the job.

Last year I moved to a different unit within national HQ which actually reports through a regional Director 3000 miles away.

very different culture to the, how shall I put this, power seeking androids, that I have had the pleasure of working with.

we are on video conference with the regional boss online, and I look around and 2 of my collegues are asleep!

in most HQ units this would be fodder for vicious snickering and gossip if one person was simply chin dropping.

in this unit, well, one of the persons is 65, within a year of retiring, and has vast corporate memory that is highly valued...well, actually, he is the last of a breed with no-one behind him to step up in his technical specialty

the other person is a young savant, whose working level is ten+ years ahead of her age, who has a nodding-off disorder, and management is scared to death of her moving on

 

[Alan]

I think sleeping on the job is going to be dependent on the job rather than the company. If an operator at one of our chemical plants falls asleep and misses a critical alarm then termination will be the first thing considered.

A few years ago we were holding a teleconference and one of our managers, "Jack" had dialed in from his hotel room in Brussels having flown in overnight from New Jersey and spent a day in the office. It was 1pm for us, 8pm for him plus jet lag. There was also another location or 2 in the call when Jack started snoring and in these calls, the person with the loudest voice "takes the mike" and it's hard for anyone else to get heard. It was hilarious - we were banging on the table and shouting "Jack, Jack, wake up". Eventually he did wake up and was incredibly embarrassed when we told him his loud snoring had dominated the air waves

 

[W2R]

All in all, I can tell you that sleeping at home during the day is MUCH more fun than sleeping at work!

I love, love, love the freedom to just go take a nap when I am sleepy. Not that I do it that often (so far), but the freedom is delicious.

This morning I awakened twice - - decided it was too early the first time, and just slept until I was ready to get up. Every day's a Saturday.

 

[RunningBum]

This morning I awakened twice - - decided it was too early the first time, and just slept until I was ready to get up. Every day's a Saturday.

Yeah, well, even most of us working stiffs did that today too!

 

[harley]

one of the persons is 65, within a year of retiring, and has vast corporate memory that is highly valued...well, actually, he is the last of a breed with no-one behind him to step up in his technical specialty

the other person is a young savant, whose working level is ten+ years ahead of her age, who has a nodding-off disorder, and management is scared to death of her moving on

That's what it was with me! I was 65 with a vast corporate memory, and also a savant with a nodding off disorder! "Yeahhh! That's the ticket!"

 

[REWahoo]

This forum doesn't have an off topic rule, but it seems a shame this congratulatory thread has drifted into a less than cordial discussion of the relative merits/ease of govt work vs. the private sector.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to move along and get back to congratulating W2R for her retirement, discussing how things are going, etc.

 

[hellbender]

Congratulations!

It's a great feeling isn't it? I retired (CSRS) on March 29 of this year. If I remember correctly . . . . weren't you in the FERS retirement plan? I don't know how similar the processes are, but I imagine you are in the throes of waiting for OPM to finalize things.

I received two interim payments of about 80% of my expected pension before OPM finished things up. I received my first normal pension check on July 1, 2009. Now they come in like clockwork.

Regards,
hellbender

 

[W2R]

Thank you, hellbender!

Yes, I am a FERS retiree and thanks for your info on how long it took for you to get your normal pension checks. As for me, I have been in "retirement limbo", waiting to hear from OPM. The day before yesterday I got a letter from payroll saying that they had finally verified my FERS contributions and sent my packet on to OPM on December 3rd. So, hopefully OPM can then process things. So far, no pension check or reimbursement for annual leave - - but given my odd retirement date, I knew it would take a while. Probably they will finish processing me in January, I would guess. You know how it is in government - - slowly, but surely.

Since FERS checks are so much smaller than CSRS checks, I am not really too worried about the pension checks. They will be welcome when I get them, but let's face it, they will also be tiny! My main benefits are health and TSP. This morning I had my blood drawn for routine lab tests, and it was great to know that my health benefits should be continuing seamlessly. Pretty soon I will call the TSP and see if they have been notified yet that I am retired, so that I can start monthly withdrawals.

So, things are progressing! I will be utterly thrilled when everything falls into place.

 

[militaryman]

Since FERS checks are so much smaller than CSRS checks, I am not really too worried about the pension checks. They will be welcome when I get them, but let's face it, they will also be tiny! My main benefits are health and TSP.

You must have a killer TSP -- I thought I calculated my FERS checks to amount to be greater than $30k per year (today's dollars) when I retire in 15 years. Add in an estimated $15k for the FERS SUpplement until Social Sec. kicks in at 62 and I am hoping that check is about $3700 a month. Maybe I did not calculate that correctly.

 

[FinanceDude]

This forum doesn't have an off topic rule, but it seems a shame this congratulatory thread has drifted into a less than cordial discussion of the relative merits/ease of govt work vs. the private sector.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to move along and get back to congratulating W2R for her retirement, discussing how things are going, etc.

Boy, you are grumpy and sensitive these days..........