rainy days - Im bored already! what will happen once I retire?

[rs0460a]

(Pitts S-1)

Nice!

My father (who had a Timm N2T-1 at the time) had a "flying partner" who had a Pitts Special (Red/White stripes) back in the late 50's.

I remember the time my father's friend drew a fine from the FAA on going inverted on takeoff a few feet above the ground and doing a 180 outside loop resulting in going in the reverse of his takeoff roll. Those were the days ...

- Ron

 

[Martha]

Walt, I found that some of the hobbies I had before retirement just don't get me going the same way either. Oddly, playing the piano and guitar and improving my skills just isn't interesting me the way I thought it would. I am so impressed with T-Al who is doing sight reading drills!

I still garden and we are working on a landscape project. I have drifted more and more into beading projects; to the point where I don't have people to give things away to anymore and have actually thought about trying to sell some of my stuff. So far, just a thought.

One thing I truly am enjoying is working with my cousin on our old family farmhouse which we own together. Unfortunately, it had become a dumping ground for family stuff, mostly from long deceased grandparents and parents. We are doing a serious case of mission organization while another cousin, who is a remodeling contractor, is working on rebuilding floors that are suffering from dry rot. Or wet rot.

I like projects.

When this place is done, I am going to go help some good friends work on organizing their basement full of stuff.

I think this all appeals to my obsessive compulsive nature.

 

[Gotadimple]

R@50,
While you are still laid up from your surgery, find one 'chore' that needs to be done and that you can do. I guarantee, that 50 other more interesting things will pop up and before you know it, the entire day is over.

-- Rita, Procrastinator-in-training

 

[Martha]

BTW, it is raining today and I am thrilled not to be digging in the dirt on our landscaping project. Day off!

 

[Breitling]

Cycling, kayaking, hiking, playing music, reading... so much to so, so little time!

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

1st year i wasn't bored at all. this year i'm not really bored but i am getting itchy. i think i'd be ok if i was perpetually traveling but i'm stuck in real estate & no idea how long this might last. maybe i'll get a job.

i think it was walking lawton (fla gov lawton chiles) who used to take a different someone's job for a day and work it once a month or something like that. maybe that would be fun.

 

[Nords]

Been raining all week. Due to surgery recovery this summer has not been what I anticipated. Been out of work since May 21st - 6wks sick leave, 4wks vacation then "early retirement" kicks in August 1st. Been raining all week so Ive been in the house doing some cleaning, watching Lifetime, etc. Im bored now- how will I ever survive retirement?
Seems I need a push, something to strive for, a goal

Have you been reading Ernie Zelinski and working through his "Get A Life" tree?

What have you read so far? It's a bit of a concern when the board's posters recommend all sorts of books & websites and yet the OP keeps asking what they'll do all day...

 

[audreyh1]

Walt, I found that some of the hobbies I had before retirement just don't get me going the same way either. Oddly, playing the piano and guitar and improving my skills just isn't interesting me the way I thought it would.

Same here! I was an avid sailor before retiring, and I assumed I would do a lot more of that, plus flyfishing, playing tennis, etc.

Once I retired though, those things lost their appeal fairly quickly. I gradually realized that for me those were recreative activities that had helped reduce stress in my career life. Now that I was retired, I didn't need to destress anymore!

We travel most of the time. That's the biggie. On top of that - it's various projects like Martha. Maybe the traveling is just one giant project!

If you had told me that almost 9 years retired and the wanderlust till raging - I would have never believed you.

But still, when I think of the future I think - wow, when we get done with our long (decade?) fulltime RVing stint, then maybe we'll do more international travel (especially by ship), etc., etc. I still dream of all the places I'd like to go. My sister just moved to Jakarta so I'm dreaming of the birdwatching trips we'll have to squeeze in in that part of the world when we go visit. It never ends!

Audrey

 

[Cattusbabe]

Boy I thought it was just me. I am at the year two mark, give or take a few months, and I was tempted to go back to w**k part time because I felt bored. Talked it over with hubby and he said he'd support me in whatever I chose to do.
A rainy day brought me to my senses since I really do not like commuting is foul weather (or at all for that matter.)

Looked around the house and found a myriad of deferred home improvement projects I have meant to get to "if I only had the time". Well now is the time. We are currently in the process of painting the living room. We got the dining room and foyer done also. (Nephews were home from school wanting to earn a few bucks so that jump started that project.) Now that the down stairs looks nice one just cannot have the stairwell looking, well, tired so they will get done also. Which leads us to the second floor.............need I say more.

 

[Walt34]

One thing I truly am enjoying is working with my cousin on our old family farmhouse which we own together. Unfortunately, it had become a dumping ground for family stuff, mostly from long deceased grandparents and parents. We are doing a serious case of mission organization while another cousin, who is a remodeling contractor, is working on rebuilding floors that are suffering from dry rot. Or wet rot.

I like projects.

Perhaps that's part of it. For the last couple of months I've been working on FIL's house to get it ready for sale and was actually enjoying that, seeing the dramatic difference that a coat of paint, replacing all the electrical outlets & switches and door hardware, new closet doors (it has those bi-fold sheet metal ones that always bind) and generally making it look brand new.

Then the security clearance came through and now I have to work! The timing is lousy.

But I like the people I'm working with - some interesting stories yesterday, some of them grew up without running water, hauled their water from a creek, and really did use pages from a Sears catalog and corncobs. It puts a lot of things in a different perspective. Although I did grow up in a small crowded house it did have central heating and indoor plumbing, an unknown luxury to those guys.

And the "work" can hardly be called that. I also loathe long commutes and this could hardly be better, with a ten minute drive and two traffic lights.

So the pace on FIL's house will slow, but we'll get it done.

And then I'll see if I can talk DW into taking a train trip around the country. That sounds like fun.

 

[NW-Bound]

Those are not "friends" - they are co-workers.

If they truly are friends, do you meet with them on a social basis outside the office (e.g. sports, parties, kids, etc.)?

If so, that relationship should/will continue, since you are meeting in a non-work situation.

...

Now you have the time (and hopefully the money ) to make this the best time of your life (it certainly is, for me )...

If you have a "false start" in your retirement, the advantage is that you have enough time (the rest of your life) to "get it right"!

- Ron

I have many coworkers, but these are my true friends. The true technical types tend to be introverts and type B, else they would have gone into management. So, we are like-minded and enjoy each other's company. It does not mean we don't argue about politics all the time. No name calling though!

But when you retire, and having "the best time of your life" (market permitting of course) while they are still toiling, you cannot keep telling them about your travel and adventure, while they fret about their work.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

Same feeling I had. The first year was like being on vacation, 2nd year I wanted "something to do" but for some reason lost interest in radio control airplanes, a hobby I'd enjoyed for 20 years. I guess I just went as far as I could with that. I also did not want to commit to a job or anything else that would have a set schedule.

A friend was building a full-size airplane (Pitts S-1) an acrobatic biplane so I spent a couple of years helping him with that 2-3 days a week. He says he wouldn't have finished it if I hadn't kept showing up to work on it.

I bought a small boat with a 5hp outboard and went fishing. I hadn't been fishing since high school so thought I'd try that since so many people seem willing to spend all their waking hours doing that if they could. It's all right, but not something I want to do all day every day.

After that I gave up and started looking for a job. In an act of desperation I was even a car salesman for a month. That was kind of neat - it was the first time in my life I've ever been fired from a job. While I have many talents, sales is not one of them.

It took a few years to find a job that (I think) will fit. I've only been there a week and a half, but the people are decent, for what I'm doing the pay is absurdly high, it gets me out of the house and will pay for some toys.

YMMV.

Interesting story. Make sure the ER gods do not blast you with lightening and thunder.

BTW, if you have the talents for building a kit plane from scratch, then I'm sure you can get a job helping others build their kit planes. I, on the other hand, would probably bolt the tail onto the wing.

 

[Pete]

Unfortunately evolution has saddled us with tendencies to focus on the negative, and have positive feelings of accomplishment. In additon to Moemg's suggestions, I make longs list of to do s. Every day I look and see if there is something I want to accomplish. When I do I feel great.

 

[hova22]

My uncle used to say this before he passed away from cancer... "You have to earn each days' happiness." He'd clean the house gutters, run 5k races, all while going through treatment. Very inspiring and I think it's applicable here.

 

[Redbugdave]

RetiringAt50,

Everybody is different, (thank God), and you may need a little time to adjust. You know...you don't have to be doing anything!

Here's a start if you are in the southeast...(I plan on taking a few of the blacksmithing courses myself)... The world is waiting...Life is too short!!!!

John C. Campbell Folk School

 

[megacorp-firee]

Though I have occasionally been bored, I don't ever recall thinking "I wish I was at work"...

... let me see ... bored or w*rking .... bored or w*rking ...
Nope ... being easily entertained, I can honestly say, I have not been bored either.

However, for those ofyou who need the stress fix or whatever it is you think you need, feel free to continue to w*rk ... I do want my shot at collecting SS. ... and thank you.

 

[boont]

Boredom

"Yet boredom is more than a mere flagging of interest or a precursor to mischief. Some experts say that people tune things out for good reasons, and that over time boredom becomes a tool for sorting information — an increasingly sensitive spam filter. In various fields including neuroscience and education, research suggests that falling into a numbed trance allows the brain to recast the outside world in ways that can be productive and creative at least as often as they are disruptive."

NYTimes 8-5-08

 

[SteveR]

Take a class , find a project , go to the gym daily , make new friends , try out new recipes , take a trip , remodel a room , clean out your closet , read ,shop , go to the movies , take a walk , visit a friend , have a nooner , organize your files , go to the beach , find a hobby , plan a trip , help someone , sell on ebay , organize your pictures ,clean out your spices , go for a bike ride , plant a garden , learn to cook Mexican food , make home made pizza , join an investment club , volunteer

With a few modifications this is pretty close to what I did in the first 6 months post-w*rk. Some of the stuff never seems to go away (cleaning out stuff, organizing files, selling stuff on public boards, planning trips, taking trips, motorhome maintenance and upgrades, etc.) while some stuff seems to have gotten lost in the noise...going to the gym, doing volunteer work, reading, etc.

All in all, I will take this life to a full time w*rk life any day.

Remember, it is supposed to be fun. If you ain't having fun....do something else. You only go around once in this life so have fun while you can.

If you don't know what is fun then you have some fundamental issues to deal with or ER will be a very very long road.

Find the little kid inside you and let them out. Kids know how to find fun in everything...adults bury this ability but it is still there. Go find your inner kid and let her show you how to have fun again.