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

[W2R]

Reorganized my day to meet a delivery from Lowes. They said 8-12. It is now 1:00pm, and they are still not here. The rest of my day is now shot.

Why can't delivery people be more accurate in their estimates, and why am I always the last delivery of the day! End of rant.

I agree. Surely they have cell phones, too, and could update customers on their estimates if something came up.

 

[ohyes]

W2R, this is very good news. I had read references to your fall, but had missed how it happened. Just read the fainting-in-the-gym story. That could be a worry so getting the clean bill from the dr. is great! Been a long time since I took aerobics or Jazzercise or anything like that, but they always incorporated gradually cooling down. Thanks for the reminder.

Today is turning out to be one of my busier days since retiring...TWO planned activities. That seldom happens unless we are traveling. Bible study this morning and a hospice volunteer meet and greet at 1PM. I don't care much for meet & greets, but it will be nice to meet these folks...I do not know any of the other volunteers.

Tonight is Red Sox vs. Tigers game. DH and I might possibly end up in a sports bar for a few innings.

Yep, a busy, busy day which did not begin until 8:17AM.

 

[NW-Bound]

W2R, glad to hear the good news.

As we all get [-]older[/-] less youthful, things are bound to happen to our body, despite our best effort. All one can hope for is that it is not major, and if it is, we can overcome it once more.

 

[Walt34]

Why can't delivery people be more accurate in their estimates, and why am I always the last delivery of the day! End of rant.

I used to be one of them a long time ago. Not delivery, but appliance repair. The answer is they just don't know.

I'd start the day with about 8 service calls. One time they were all short calls, about ten minutes each and close together and I was done with the lot in three hours and called in for more work. Other times a couple of stuck bolts or calls strung out all over the county (and of course the two closest together each wanted "AM" or "PM") which made for a longer-than-normal day. But at 8:00 AM I had no idea. Well, I knew that the one closest to my house would be the last call of the day.

So the best we could do was give a best estimate based on averages. We did not have cell phones then of course but I imagine now the company does not want those guys getting involved in long conversations about "When are you getting here?"

 

[NW-Bound]

So, my portfolio sets a new high today, despite me living off it for the last 17 months. Let's see how long this lasts.

 

[W2R]

So, my portfolio sets a new high today, despite me living off it for the last 17 months. Let's see how long this lasts.

Mine too, a new all time high despite living off of it for the past 4 years! I am thrilled.

 

[Theseus]

Had a talk with my boss on a number of issues that needed to be discussed, had printed it off as a quick note to myself. Our work is so fast paced with demands coming from every direction, meetings, etc., making it difficult to find the time to have such conversations. Found him in his office just before we were both double-booked for meetings, had just enough time to go through all but one of the items on the list, which was simply "2014". I had handed him the list, and I suggested to him it might be better to talk about that one later when we had more time, and he agreed. I'm sure it had him thinking though several possibilities as to what that was about. When we got through our meetings, I followed him to his office, asked him what the next item on the list was - and he replied "2014?" I then closed the door behind me, and could see by the look on his face, he at that moment had a darn good idea what the topic was going to be. It was a good conversation, he was appreciative of some advance notice as filling positions in our field is quite difficult - the individual that was likely to fill my spot is scheduled for deployment in February, for up to 400 days - and when my boss asked if I had a date in mind, I replied July 5th before he had the question asked... That moment was a great relief for me, and gave him an opportunity to prepare. DW was somewhat stunned when I told her I had played my hand so soon, now she is grappling with whether she wants to leave her job this next summer as well, or stay on for OMY. We both well, really like, if not love our jobs; it took years to get into the positions we have, but as I told my boss - my body is getting tired and I want to enjoy life a bit more.

- one item on the list was simply "2014"

 

[NW-Bound]

Mine too, a new all time high despite living off of it for the past 4 years! I am thrilled.

Given that the effect of the government shutdown on the stock market has been surprisingly mild, most personal portfolios would do well, not just mine.

I have been trimming a few high flyers (which of course got even higher!), and am down to 67% in equities, compared to 70+% earlier. Else, I would do a tad better.

However, what I am proud to show is my low volatility relative to the US indices, even when I account for the 33% dead-weight component (bond+cash). See the chart below.

I have less beta, but better alpha! For [-]1 month[/-] 17 days though, so it meant nothing of course. Well, one has to find something to [-]pad[/-] pat his own back about.

PS. Thought about compensating for the 0.16% WR for last 30 days, not 17 days (2% annual WR), but that might be less than 1 pixel in the plot. Wow! One way to reduce WR is to get sick, then you can't spend any money (assuming that your medical cost gets picked up by insurance).

 

[Gumby]

Well done.

 

[NW-Bound]

About getting sick to save money?

 

[Gumby]

We must take our victories where we can.

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, there too!

I have survived my sickness and two major surgeries so far (emphasis on "so far"). Else, all that money would not mean much.

Cheers

PS. By the way, I did pick up a small position in MEOH (not even 1% of portfolio), per your mention a couple of years ago. Lost money initially, but hang on, and doing VERY well now. Who's to say one cannot make money off a tip on the Web?

PPS. MEOH is also one of the positions that I have trimmed off a bit. Don't want to be greedy, plus need a bit of cash to buy an emerging market.

 

[MichaelB]

Helped my brother move the last remnants of their previous existence - some things they had been storing with us - to their new home. Two flat screens and 6 cases of fermented juice of the grape. They are now only 4.6 miles away. The 4 of us are good friends so I'm happy.

 

[Walt34]

Went for a four-hour "follow your nose" motorcycle ride. Nice scenery this time of year in WV.

 

[Cassie]

Day dreamed @ work about the 5 days I just spent in NOLA...went to a cooking demo and saw gumbo, red beans/rice, pecan pie, pralines made...and we got to eat it. Took a French Quarter walking tour, had drinks at the Carousel bar @ Hotel Monteleone, dinner/s at Besh, Mannings & Ruth Chris. Also spent time gambling. Had a meet & greet at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville with friends from a another forum.

Cassie, class of 2014

 

[RetiredAndFree]

Participated in a two day, 100 mile charity bike ride this weekend and felt terrific, both during and after, because we had the time in early retirement to completely and thoroughly train beforehand.

And because we were so trained up, we don't need a recover day from the above, so this morning we are going on an 11 mile hike to start training for a backpacking wilderness training course we start in January. They expect you to come to the class already able to hike 10 miles carrying a backpack. The mileage requirement? No problem. The mileage requirement carrying a loaded backpack? Big problem currently! We'll be starting out today with about 10 pounds in our backpacks, and go up from there each week.

I feel most alive when I push myself physically, and what I love most about our early retirement is that I now have the luxury to do so almost daily.

 

[Walt34]

Finally we had a long enough dry weather to get the majority of the water sealing done on the back porch/deck. The rest I can use the sprayer on and be done in an hour or two. Then comes the chore of reinstalling 28 screens.

 

[FIREd]

I spent 0.01% of my net worth on some new clothes. Last night, I realized that our discretionary spending for 2013 was on track to be the lowest in a decade (except for 2008 when we radically cut back due to the financial crisis). It's down 50%+ from the past few years. So it looks like we can splurge a little.

 

[NW-Bound]

What? You spent 0.01% on clothes?

In the last 12 months, I think my wife only bought me some new underwear. Let's see that in percentage of NW.

Oh wait! She used a coupon from Kohl, so it was almost free!

 

[W2R]

I spent 0.01% of my net worth on some new clothes. Last night, I realized that our discretionary spending for 2013 was on track to be the lowest in a decade (except for 2008 when we radically cut back due to the financial crisis). It's down 50%+ from the past few years. So it looks like we can splurge a little.

Each to his own, and good for you to be buying yourself a well deserved luxury wardrobe!

I definitely agree that you should increase your discretionary spending, given what you said, but I wonder if I would even dare to wear clothing that was that expensive. I might rip a hole in my clothing, or spill something on it. I'd probably prefer spending the money on video game consoles and games, or (even better!) new doors and windows, or upgraded furniture. But that will have to be another year, since I have had some unexpected expenses this year (oh well).

 

[NW-Bound]

Seriously, I need to remind myself to throw away some old t-shirts that I have.

Nowadays, I wear a lot of these, and when they are worn out, I would still keep them for when I need to crawl under my car, or go spread some manure on the planting bed. But then, being as absentminded as I am, I would wear them for normal days, and it would be all OK until I have a visitor like my niece recently.

We invited her to stay for dinner, and at the dinner table, she looked at me and smiled. I looked down and knew the reason. No, we are close and I did not feel bashful at all. In fact, she said "It is nice to be so confident when you are a millionaire". And I said back that "No, I really did not intend to host anybody, not even family in a t-shirt like this".

 

[RitaR551]

Caught up on laundry. Vacuumed. Put an old computer together so I could download the latest OS and clear off any personal info. Called the office at our winter place in Florida to see if they would like a computer for the community room. They were delighted and already have the perfect spot for it.
Did some sewing alterations on a work apron for DH.
It was a good day to be inside since it was raining.

 

[Walt34]

This reminds me that I should buy some new short sleeve shirts. The three I have are well, not scruffy, but clearly past their prime. They should be on sale this time of year if I can find any.

I'm one of those guys Dave Barry wrote about. I wear clothes so I won't get arrested for indecent exposure. Color coordination? Isn't that something to do with interior decorating?

 

[traineeinvestor]

Finished the MFA reading assignments for the Fall Mini-Residency. Some interesting stuff there. I may not understand it, but my mind is certainly being pushed into new directions.

I also found out that some miserable %$$%$# has nominated me as my class rep on the staff-student committee (two year term). Fortunately there were two nominees so I am hopeful that my anti-election platform and vote for the other nominee will ensure that I do not get the nod.

 

[citrine]

Not much scheduled today and I love it! I will start up the crockpot soon with split pea/ham soup, try out a pumpkin spice cake muffin recipe, and take a nap this afternoon. I love days like this!