Outside!

Well it has been awhile since I last posted. That's because I've been spending more time outside working. It's not that I've been cooped up inside and couldn't go out but there was not much I was able to do outside in the yard. But things are improving. I've got the yardwork here done and can turn my attention to the beach next. Jan's mom's house closed on Thursday and that's a big issue that's now history. We've been planning a trip to California for June. San Francisco, Monterey, Big Sur etc. It has been 16 years since we were in that neck of the woods last. I read, Wind in the Willows, again and it was as great this time as last. Decided to read some more Shakespeare too. Still plugging away at the pslams in the Bible. Must say that they are not very interesting, maybe they'll improve. Well that's it for now, see ya

Frustrations

Messed up my helicopter yesterday and I now have to start from scratch AGAIN! At the moment I'm ready to drop this hobby and move on. The fine motor skills that it requires are not my best suit. I could spend more money (already have about $1500 into it) and upgrade to frames that are basically indestructible but right now I feel I'm wasting money so I'm putting everything on hold. I find that if I walk away from stuff I can come back later and start afresh. I know that's not some new technique and many people do it but it's a relatively new approach for me. One nice things about guns is that they are big and solid and not easily broken. Might put some copter things on eBay and try to recoup some of my expenses. All the stuff I currently have on eBay (books) is going nowhere and I expect I'll pitch it all by this time next week. Did some work in the yard today, which was nice. The place is looking pretty good for this time of year. Bought some new shoes for running. My old ones were pretty worn and might have been contributing to my current knee woes. Possible trip to the ortho guy looms. My 9mm was in the shop for a week for some adjustments but it's now back. I'll probably bang off a 100, 115 grain, projectiles this afternoon. I'm going to have to look at the Feb-March time period for next year and see what other activities I can do when weather is a factor, Florida?

eBay

One of the activities I thought I'd do when I retired was to become more active on eBay. I had bought and sold a few things in the past but never really put much time into it. Recently I've bid on a few items and have a few up there for auction. I lost a bid last night in the final 5 seconds! The truth is I don't find that exciting. I was watching the screen that tells how much time is left and if you are the highest bidder. I kept hitting the "refresh" button but a "sniper" beat me to it. I guess there is excitement in this but all I want is to buy something for as cheaply as I can, pay no sales tax, and get out of there. So what I'm really saying is that my eBay plan for retirement will probably not be what I thought it might be. I'm not really into all the picture taking and description writing. I have a small antique ceramic fawn I got from my mom. Looks to be worth $20-$30 but I'll need to take several photos which means setting up a camera on my computer. I guess if I do set things up I'll give it another go. Weather improving so I'll do some things in the yard that can be done standing (ground still wet). Still resting my knee so not running (I do miss it). Happy Spring!

All reved up!

And no place to go! The Friday/Saturday storm here put a real damper on things. I'm all ready for outside activities and, in fact, had started working in the yard. Not much point to that now. Can't work outside at either place. It's not that I don't have stuff I can be doing, I've plenty but I don't want to do them now. Bit of cabin fever I guess. It does get it me to thinking, again, about the years of retirement and what shape they will take. BTW notice how I began with the word, "And"? Seems it is ok to do that now but not when I was being taught the grammer by the good sisters. Been reading the Bible lately. No great religious awakening, just curiosity. I'm working through the psalms in the Catholic version of the bible. Finished a book that was set in the town where our other house is located. Always interesting to read books that have familiar places in them, makes then sort of come alive. I'd give the actual story a C+. Cancelled my shooting competition for today because I was not able to get the extra magazines I'd have needed. I did not want to pay $80 for them. I don't want to own four magazines. I was expecting to get some from a friend but that didn't happen, at least not yet. Next competitions are outside, maybe I'll sign up for the April one. Got the most recent valuation on our other house. The town does it every two years. House value remained about the same but the value of the land went up $40K! Guess taxes will follow soon. Started doing a little eBay too. I'm selling some books and ceramic animals I got from my mother. Well guess I'll go do some stuff.

Gambling

Went to Foxwoods yesterday as planned. We bankrolled Brett, for his birthday, so he could play holdem and not worry about losing his own money. Got there around 11:30 and he played for the next 4 hours! He ended up losing $100 but, at one point early on, was up $500. What to do? stay or keep on playing. Are you there to make money or for the experience of playing? With gambling, just like investing, you need to have "rules". When to do what. I "donated" $40 to the tribe myself but I was clear that I was not going beyond that. I spent a lot of time reading and observing. Interestingly the place was packed. I could say that it was all retired people but not so. Seems to me that many people have work schedules that now allow for such adventures during the workday. I think this is a good thing but sure different for someone like me who was essentially 7-3 for 35 years. On a cultural note there were lots of asian folks there. It was noticeable because they all seemed to be in one room. There were a lot of asian dealers too. Gambling is not for me, I'm afraid to lose money so I'll never slide that next bill into the machine that could result in the big win. I'm pretty much done once I've lost $100. Like most people I write that off to the cost of the entertainment. I also believe that I've already been extremely lucky in the things in life that count. Snow is falling now and a mess is on the way, yuck.

False Spring

Yesterday and today were real nice but coming to an end so sort of a "false spring" (The Shootist, John Wayne). Went for a run yesterday and did yardwork, today some housework and errands. A couple of weeks ago I had a blood test for anemia. Heard nothing about the results so decided yesterday to go check things out. All was fine but it did get me to thinking that if I hadn't gone in it might have been quite some time until I got the results. I like to think that if anything had been wrong they would have called me but I think that's not the best approach to use anymore. From now on I'm going to be more proactive with medical tests, procedures etc. Have a closing date on Jan's mom's house so maybe some big bucks in the next two weeks. Heading for Foxwoods tomorrow, hoping that Brett can score big at the holdem tournament. Dropped out of the shooting match this Sunday, just not ready for the big league yet. Sent my gun in today for some adjustments, so no shooting for the next few days. We were at a bar the other night talking with some friends. One of them said he thought public servants were paid to much. He knew we were teachers and he said it nicely but how does he know what to much is? His opinion, I know, but is it not a pretty ignorant thing to say? He owns a small store and I guess I could have said something about high prices but I didn't. Usually it's because I'm caught off guard and really don't know what to say, I hate that! Temps are going to drop so it's on to the trolley car with the Duke and off to celebrate his birthday. See ya

The Beach

Went down to our other home in RI this weekend. We say we are going "to the beach" but it would take a record-breaking tsunami to get us on the beach. It is in a beach community though and it's easier than saying the town's two part name. Basically went out to eat and spent money. The weather was nice for the season. Walks on the beach were the order of the day. Saw our neighbor in back and he informed me that his wife had died! A bit of a shock to us. You know, you talk to them one day and they are dead the next. The individual was just four years older than we are, disturbing. Looks like yard work is on tap for the upcoming days. Waiting on an electric chainsaw. Always had a gas one but not much left in the way of giant redwoods on either property so a smaller lighter saw should do well. Leaning towards not going to the shooting competition this Sunday. Don't feel I'm ready yet and I still don't know if I need to have four clips for the gun. I don't want to buy additional ones ($80). I'm in the, "let's not spend a fortune just yet" on this gun hobby. Eventuall will put Fort Knox to shame but not just yet. Will seek more information tomorrow. The problem is that the people you ask don't run the event so you can't get the same answer twice. Truck should be ready tomorrow, just in time for the yard work stuff. Don't have anything good to read these days so a visit to Amazon is in order. See ya

Running and Burning

Went for my usual run today, 5 miles. I love to run. Running is a time for me to think about stuff. I've rehearsed many a meeting, conversation, or presentation while running. I plan things out and give myself pep talks or browbeatings. I also run for my waistline. I figure a 5 mile run is worth about 600 calories and this helps to lessen the many gastronomical sins I commit during the week. Years ago I set a goal of running the circumference of the earth and I figure I'm pretty much there. Took me 30+ years to make it. Burned the pine cones today, big, hot, quick blaze! Steinbeck would have been proud. Saw where they want to bill parents for the school days their children miss when they go on vacation outside of the regular school vacation dates. The article said that nothing will come of it even though a few parents have actually paid. Public schools will not improve until the funding for them comes from something other than property taxes. Reimbursing schools based on student attendance seems like a good idea but it is not. It changes the focus of what education should be. Oops, I've slipped again, I'll stop. Heading for the beach house tomorrow, weather is warming so maybe some yardwork. See ya

Yardwork and Lotteries

It is cold but dry today so I went out to pick up the million or so pine cones in our yard. I now have a big pile that I intend to light up tomorrow. It will be "Tortilla Flats" time. Maybe the squirrels will take a few before then. In these early retirement days I still have the notion of "getting a jump on things", like yard work. What's going to happen after several years of this? Things will be so "caught up" I won't need to do any of this "jumping." Guess I'll figure that out later. How come there are only two winners of the $370 million lottery drawing? Why not 370 million dollar winners? Isn't a million dollars still a lot of money? This type of stuff is a bad sign for our society. Wore my gun concealed while driving home from the range yesterday. It was empty but it does give you a particular feeling being "armed." In the words of Dr. Leo Marvin, "I don't think I could shoot anyone" so wearing it is not too smart. Had Brett's birthday dinner last night. Four of us, two glasses of the house wine, one entree, no dessert, $134.00 including tip! No wonder people, who eat out a lot, can have money problems. Powerball tonight, should I buy?

Stocks

I joined CNBC's stock picking contest. They give you a million dollars and you buy and sell stocks and whoever makes the most profit wins! Nothing new here but it does seem to me that most people, me included, don't really have a chance "picking" in the stock market. We rode the rising tide in the 80's and made a few bucks from Mickey Mouse, Bill Gates, and Intel. the truth is though that many people made money in those stocks. I tried to follow Peter Lynch's advice and invest in "what you know" and hold on for the long term. It worked well then but we lost a ton while "holding for the long term" in 2000. The average guy doesn't have the time to get the knowledge needed to invest as an individual so mutual funds are the answer. I no longer have confidence in the integrity of the system since so many have been "gaming it." Will invest in good old boring government bonds and that's it. Saw an article in today's local paper how they want to keep kids in school until they are 18 in an attempt to increase the graduation rate. Yet another social problem that public schools are suppose to fix. People drop out of school for many reasons and what happens in school is only part of the picture. What happened to apprenticeships for kids? Just college kids can have them? Where's the community in the "education" process? Oh well, enough of that. Was real cold here last night, warmer weather on the way. Off to the range to propel some 9mm projectiles towards a piece of paper that looks like a person. See ya

Work

Jan and I went to help at a book signing event in one of the elementary schools. All went well. It got me to thinking though. The authors left with about $2400 for the day.I'm sure there was plenty of work behind the scenes but once it's done you get to reap the gains and they are quite nice. I'm thinking about posting lesson plan videos. YouTube is the prototype, could make some nice "bank" (from Good Will Hunting). Still waiting on the house deal and Jan's truck is in for some repairs from when I was hit the other week. Blew through $50 worth of ammo yesterday with my friends. It was fun but expensive. Worked on the heli a bit but not ready for a flight yet. I've spent a lot of money making rookie mistakes so I'm trying to use all the parts I have purchased on this machine. I'll feel good if I can get it to fly. I'll just "putz" around today. Brett's birthday is Wednesday. We'll celebrate by going out to eat and giving him a check. Next week it's off to Foxwoods to make a fortune!

Rain

Well it's raining today and that puts some things on hold. I find it interesting that while there are plenty of things to do I sometimes just do not feel like getting up to do them. Earlier in the week I crawled around the attic as part of putting in a new light in the kitchen. I probably saved $300 in doing it myself. This summer we had an electrician put in just one outlet and it cost $175! My back now hurts though and that plus the weather probably accounts for my lack of wanting to do anything. I wonder how much I'm "saving" when I do these projects. I am turning more and more work over to the craftsmen but they do not always do much better than I could have done. My back would not be hurting now if I had hired someone but I'd be several hundred dollars poorer. I've crashed both my helicopters and the repair work is costly. I've wasted money on "rookie" mistakes both with the copters and my new guns. After this post think I'll work more on our will. I've got Quicken Willmaker and we do need to update the document. Who to leave the stuff to is not the problem ("The kid gets it all" from Secondhand Lions). I'm more focused on the medical stuff. I do not want to be kept alive by machines etc. and I do believe that the resources that I/we leave should be for the living to use, and not on a big funeral for us! Cremation seems the thing to do. The Wall Street Journal said today that there are 70 million blogs out there. I was just notified that the counter I put on mine had not been used and they are going to delete it, oh well. The new thing is to blog while an event is going on and, of course, put as much private information about yourself online as possible. Taking my son, Brett to Foxwoods next week. I'm going to bankroll him in a poker tournament. I hope he wins, of course, but I also want to do a father/son thing too. The world he's in is radio sports broadcasting, something I'm not in to so this trip can be a connection on another level. Still waiting on the house sale, wonder if the guy can get his financing. He's buying this house (hopefully) without paying any money down! That can't be good for the country. Where's the committment? I'm wandering here so I'll stop. Peace!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all. Not been doing too much the last few days, just little things. Did start back weight lifting though, just dumbbells. Weightlifting is really good for the calorie burn. Weather is lousy today and I can't go to the gun range so think I'll just read a lot. Waiting on the home inspection for my mother-in-law's house. Could be that Jan will get her inheritance soon! Basketball season ends next week so I hope the weather turns so I can work outside. If not then it's painting time at the other house. I do love this retirement stuff. Having the time is the whole thing. Jan was reminding us of what a hectic time the week before Ferbruay vacation always was, especially in the elementary grades. Missing it all helps you to see just what kinds of pressures you no longer have. Starting a new project next week, kitchen track lighting. I've been rereading stuff lately. Passages from, The Power of Positive Thinking. It's a great book and a potential life-changing experience. Small changes to be sure but helpful. I also read some stuff from the old family bible. It's stuff like this that I thought about when working but never got to do so now, having the time, I'm doing it. Being able to spend more time checking things out is nice. I'm going to read now, see ya

Spent some time yesterday with a friend who is currently taking care of his dying mother-in-law. She left her assets unprotected and is about to loose quite a chunk, if not all of them, to LTC. I have a similar situation with my mom. She is still very healthy but basically refuses to make any moves to protect her assets. This, of course, got me to thinking about our situation and what we would do. I don't need my mother's assets and they play no part in our future plans. If they do come to me it will be an added plus. But what if I or Jan needed LTC NOW? How can one save for that without noticeably impacting finances and plans? I get the WSJ and have read tons on this subject and see few alternatives to this problem at this time. It makes you wonder about the quality of life in our country and how close most of us are to the line of financial ruin. I think we've done all kinds of "right" things in preparing for our retirement but can see where even those won't be enough. Well hopefully the new crop of presidental contenders will help with this looming problem. Meanwhile I'm going to look into creating a trust of some sort. Big storm headed this way, so they say. Will not have to rise early tomorrow to see if there is going to be a snow day, yay!

Well it's been quite sometime since I last posted. This is no way to get noticed by some big advertizer and make the big bucks, oh well. Retirement continues to be a great experience. Getting more sleep and having more time is very nice (understatement). I have not experienced any feelings of loss at no longer teaching. I do have a strong feeling of having "completed" a task in life and feeling good about it. Have not really worked either. Did football and basketball games at my old school for a few bucks. Nice to see the people but I don't go to visit. It's not a quality way to see people because they are in the midst of their working day and always eyeing the clock. The holidays were nice with all the time to get stuff done. Have noticed that
I spend time thinking about me. This is not the "meaning of life" thinking or even "if I could do it over again." I've always been prone to this kind of thinking and I guess with having more time I do it more. No great epiphany to date but I'll keep you (will this ever actually get read?) posted. I've started to buy guns and shoot again. Did some when I was younger but now I have the time and money to pick it up again. Guns are a bit scary but that makes me more careful. The poor weather (low temperature and cloudy skies) makes outside stuff less likely and I can see that in the coming years I too may flee to Florida for the winter months. For now fixing up the two houses, new hobbies and such keep me busy enough. I am keeping an eye on the finances since our pensions are pretty fixed. Spending a lot now fixing things up but need to begin developing the interest income stream relatively soon. I do love the time after waking up (7:00) to sit with Jan and have coffee and read the papers, emails. It is that first year experience of "right now I would be in second period", but instead I'm here, yeah! Hope to write more soon and when I get more comfortable with this format share more of me.