Major Life Change

snatchpiece · Post by **snatchpiece** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 7:23 pm

I've decided to take a voluntary severence package from work, so on March 26th I shall slip quietly into early retirement, it's a major change but I'm confident I'll get used to it.

crawsue · Post by **crawsue** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 7:34 pm

Mick,you will certainly enjoy the first 6 months,getting out on your 'bike whenever the weather allows,it's the sh*tty winter weather that is the problem,that's when you need to have a project on the go,and a nice warm shed!

Rick.Edwards · Post by **Rick.Edwards** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 7:45 pm

Mick have you got projects to do? no i haven't got any to sell before any one asks.

itma · Post by **itma** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 7:59 pm

Its involuntary severance that gets to you

Stan Palmer · Post by **Stan Palmer** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:37 pm

So you have about 8 months to build the warm retreat if you don't have one. My 30 x12 workshop started off as a little dwelling. Because of that it has an entrance hall and the floor, roof and walls are insulated with 2-4" of Kingspan insulating material backed by draught proofed membrane. I have a small greenhouse heater turned as low as it will go and the shop is as warm as toast. Can't completely snuff out my winter sloth in the worst weather, but when I do get down there it is a pleasure I can recommend. The insulation came from a company in Wales specialising in reclaimed building materials, was about £500 delivered and they actually sent about 30% excess to cover for damaged corners etc
My gripe now is that the 'new' lathe is in the garage due to the concrete floor ...it was bloody cold yesterday.
Stan

jonhal · Post by **jonhal** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:16 am

I did just this four years ago, never looked back. Got a very part time job to top up the pension. Always plenty to do, just don't get too attached to that armchair!

thomthom · Post by **thomthom** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 11:52 am

Mick,

Good luck and well done. Getting the balance between time spent on work and that on play is very difficult. I left a large corporation in 2003 and have never regretted it but I miss some aspects which are associated with work. These are below, not in any particular priority order, just as they came into my head. So in that respect I suppose they are the most relevant to me

A colleague told another who was retiring at 65 that he should "not forget to keep getting up in the morning". I have found that if I don't have a reason to get up, it is all to easy to disappear into the sloth of lolling about and festering under the duvet. This occurs most often during the cold winter months.

The intellectual challenge of my job kept my brain alive. I found that after a few years without any challenges to solve, my brain was ossifying (yeh I know, how can I tell the difference). I didn't want to go back to work to gain some intellectual activity, so in an attempt to reactivate the synaptic juices of my deepest nodes I took up learning another foreign language. I chose a new language as this is the first activity of a young brain.

A couple with 60 years of marriage were asked how they had stayed together for so long. He replied "frequent separations and growing deafness" and she nodded in agreement. My work often took me away from home (and my wife), sometimes for extended periods. When I first retired and stayed at home without any breaks I seriously considered getting a stab vest. Actually I should have bought two. To cure this we have our own hobbies and I have breaks with my chums and I have also taken up the odd contract work which takes me away for a couple of days at a time but I can choose to take the work or not.

Don't buy any beige clothes.

Understand that when the butcher or the baker address you as ""young man"" , they are being ironic. I don't know how this last on helps you in retirement but for years I thought that people honestly thought that I had a youthful appearance.

However, don't be afraid to claim that you are a pensioner. I recently went to watch Plymouth Albion RFC but when I got to the gate I discovered that I only had just enough funds with me for the entrance ticket. I had arrived at the gate early cos I was looking forward to a couple of pints and a curry in the marquee inside the ground. So, I asked for an OAP's ticket. The sales lady glanced up at me and gave me a very old fashioned look, such that I recalled the days of my youth (when I was then, too old) trying to get away with a junior half fare on the bus.

my mind is wandering now, good luck to you

Tolly · Post by **Tolly** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 2:35 pm

Yes, I think the more years you have in retirement the longer you live. I am just going through the process of semi-retirement by doing a job share. The 39 and a half hours will be shared between me and a colleague, she has recently had a baby and will do 25 hours a week which will leave me the other 12 and a half. I didn't want to completely retire as I am still quite fit and I like the challenge of using my brain but it's the long working nights that get me tired now, so here's to retirement. By the way I need the shift a week to top up our miserly pension, until I'm 65 anyway.

poplargreg · Post by **poplargreg** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 5:34 pm

quote:
Understand that when the butcher or the baker address you as ""young man"" , they are being ironic. I don't know how this last on helps you in retirement but for years I thought that people honestly thought that I had a youthful appearance.

When I was about fourteen (long time ago), the annoying school bus driver ironically (as I much later realised)addressed me as "smiler". I thought he meant I was walking around with a stupid grin on my face, so spent the next few years becoming the original goth.Edited by - poplargreg on 10 Mar 2009 5:35:37 PM

Don Madden · Post by **Don Madden** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 1:56 am

A warning to those seeking wisdom from the aged. I will be 75 this month, if I live long enough, & no longer responsible for the accuracy of any of my recolloctions.

Not that there will be any change, but it gives me a good excuse for my errors, (and behavior). Watch out, Ladies!

Cheers, Don.