Route246
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2023
- Messages
- 1,336
I'm three weeks into retirement at 68 and things are going pretty well so far. Between planning a renovation and an upcoming move, I’ve managed to keep pretty busy. On top of that, I’ve been diving back into coding some home projects that I’ve tinkered with for years—it actually feels a lot like being at work, except now I’m doing it for myself, and I get to enjoy the results at my own pace.
I did have a little scare with my health insurance. My application to switch from work coverage to Medicare Part B got lost in the mail a couple of months ago. Luckily, it finally went through and I’m enrolled retroactively to October 1. That was a relief, especially with the shutdown happening—I was worried I’d be without coverage for a bit, but it turns out Medicare and Social Security folks are still on the job. I even got my updated card in the mail, so I dodged having to pay almost $1,000 for a month of COBRA coverage.
I've kept up a weekly meet-up with two close former colleagues at a local place we used to frequent. That's pretty much my last regular tie to my old job. They did invite me back to campus for lunch, but I declined—returning as a visitor just feels too strange after closing that chapter. Both are people I mentored, and I told them I’m always happy to be a resource if they’ve got engineering questions—though I warned them my knowledge is already starting to fade (the half-life of technical info is about seven months in my experience!). We’ve got shared interests in cars, sports teams, watches, and F1. We're not close friends, but they’re the only ex-colleagues I expect to stay in touch with, mostly because I still care about their professional journeys.
I’m making a point to tackle all those little jobs around the house that always got put off during my working years. The big challenge now is the decluttering ahead of our planned move about 18 months from now. I’m finding it surprisingly satisfying to let go of things I’d have stubbornly kept in the past. I even built four sheds in the backyard at our new place and started moving boxes over. Once the remodel is done and we finally move in, I’ll have plenty of room—and hopefully a lot less clutter to unpack.
I did have a little scare with my health insurance. My application to switch from work coverage to Medicare Part B got lost in the mail a couple of months ago. Luckily, it finally went through and I’m enrolled retroactively to October 1. That was a relief, especially with the shutdown happening—I was worried I’d be without coverage for a bit, but it turns out Medicare and Social Security folks are still on the job. I even got my updated card in the mail, so I dodged having to pay almost $1,000 for a month of COBRA coverage.
I've kept up a weekly meet-up with two close former colleagues at a local place we used to frequent. That's pretty much my last regular tie to my old job. They did invite me back to campus for lunch, but I declined—returning as a visitor just feels too strange after closing that chapter. Both are people I mentored, and I told them I’m always happy to be a resource if they’ve got engineering questions—though I warned them my knowledge is already starting to fade (the half-life of technical info is about seven months in my experience!). We’ve got shared interests in cars, sports teams, watches, and F1. We're not close friends, but they’re the only ex-colleagues I expect to stay in touch with, mostly because I still care about their professional journeys.
I’m making a point to tackle all those little jobs around the house that always got put off during my working years. The big challenge now is the decluttering ahead of our planned move about 18 months from now. I’m finding it surprisingly satisfying to let go of things I’d have stubbornly kept in the past. I even built four sheds in the backyard at our new place and started moving boxes over. Once the remodel is done and we finally move in, I’ll have plenty of room—and hopefully a lot less clutter to unpack.
