A Week of Retirement

Posted on October 24, 2023 by mfna

October 17, 2023 was my last day at work. Following the end of the normal workday, I was honored with a dinner by my local colleagues (and was presented with gift cards for $500 at Guitar Center!). And then my retired life began.

It’s now been a week. There are many books and tales of how people adjust to retirement. Perhaps the most apparent to me is the ease of not having to adhere to a daily schedule. Oh, for sure there are places and times that I must still conform to, such as helping pack food for students, church services and activities, and the recovery meetings I attend. But each morning as I open my eyes, the first thing my eyes alight on is the clock, and my first thought is, “I don’t have to get up just yet.” I do anyway, because I’m now awake, but there is no pressure to do so.

I must learn to concern myself less with financial issues. One of the first tasks I undertook without needing to care about the time was to take my Mercedes in for what I thought was going to be a simple five minute fastener replacement. Nope. It turns out the loose fastener is due to my front bumper coming loose. I need a new front bumper. Sigh. So now almost immediately I’m faced with an unexpected expense (Mercedeses aren’t cheap to maintain). The two sides of my mind say, “Oh, boy, this is gonna hurt.” and “You’ve got the money. Be glad it happened now and not ten years into your retirement.” These are new thoughts, brought on by the knowledge I do not have a regular paycheck to refill my bank account.

Health coverage is another new facet to my retired life. My employer paid 100% of my health coverage and now I have to navigate the confusing waters of Medicare and its multiple “parts.” I have already confirmed my enrollment in Medicare Part A, but I’ve had to request a “replacement” card since I don’t recall ever receiving the original. And I need that in order to apply for Part B. The government says I should receive it within the month. A month!

Still, I have a long-anticipated trip to Peru looming. I paid for it while I still was earning a paycheck, so I’m not fretting the payment, and simply looking forward to my first adventure without having to set an out-of-office auto-reply on my email.

Finally, I’m making sure I still get my exercise. The weather recently made it easy to just sit on the couch reading, but my upcoming trip will be physically taxing, and I’m so used to moving my body that I am resuming walking and running. I went for a nice three mile walk yesterday, once again cognizant that I didn’t have to be anywhere (home) at any specific time. The weather was early Autumn wonderful, so I explored some new paths in my continuing knowledge of the community in which I live. I love that we have trails and paths. One day perhaps, I’ll have walked, run or biked them all!

The Die Is Cast

Posted on April 17, 2023 by mfna

According to the Free Dictionary, the term The die is cast “comes from the Latin Iacta alea est, “the dice have been thrown,” which according to Suetonius was said by Julius Caesar when he crossed the Rubicon and invaded Italy in 49 b.c.”

Today I informed my manager of my intention to retire. I’d already spoken with H.R. about how to go about doing so, and after speaking with the both of them, sent them my official letter of resignation. We haven’t yet determined the final date, but I made it clear I would not remain longer than six months. I’m ready to go at any time, but I believe the appropriate and professional thing to do is to allow for my replacement to be found and brought up to speed.

Dice

Once the dice are face up, there’s no going back. I’ve been talking about this with my family and friends for a while — and my planning goes back a good four years — and now it’s time.

I find it funny that everyone I’ve spoken to says how wonderful, and great news! I think I may be the only one who has some trepidation about the whole thing. I’ll stop receiving a salary. I won’t have company-paid health care. I’ll have to learn to live on my savings, investments and social security. It’s a transition that for me isn’t 100% happy. I may feel differently a few months from now, but right now I’m trying to get mentally prepared.

But there’s no taking it back now. And I don’t think I’d want to even if I could!

My COVID Journey

Posted on September 29, 2022 by mfna

Two and a half years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have now contracted the disease. I’ve believed for nearly the entire time as more became known about the disease, that it would become endemic rather than pandemic, and that sooner or later, everyone would catch it. I guess my time is now.

Far be it for me to pretend I’m a scientist knowledgeable about these things, but evidence I’ve read indicates that the “common cold” is a form of coronavirus, and that the SARS-CoV 2 strain was known to scientists some eight years before the recent pandemic (see link, above).

Perhaps I’m just lucky, of maybe the two vaccines and one booster have reduced the impact, but the fact remains that I, and everyone else, am not immune. In a change of process then, I am going to use this post as a daily journal to track the progress of my journey with COVID-19.

Monday, September 26, 2022 was the morning I woke up to a slight cough and a bit of a scratchy throat. As the beginning of a week I was to conduct training, I felt good enough to continue (I do this remotely from home) and vowed to keep my finger close to the mute button should I feel a cough coming on.

Tuesday, the sniffles began to be felt. I opened a box of tissues to keep on my desk. They, and the mute button kept me from being too disruptive to my students. After the day was done, I ordered a jar of Vicks VapoRub. I’ve used this product in the past, but since its main efficacy is gained through the camphor vapors it emits, have eschewed its use when in public. I’m now working (and isolating) at home, so I have no care about wafting airs. While waiting for the order to be filled, I decided to give myself an in-home Rapid Antigen Test, which then gave me a positive result. I went to the drive-through at the pharmacy to pick up my potion so as to eliminate the possibility of person-to-person contact. Body aches began to develop and became more frequent.

Now it’s Wednesday morning. I woke up early, likely due to the body aches, but with still a cough and sniffles, but not feeling any worse than I did the day before. So, since I don’t want to make multiple posts on this topic, this will be my journal, and I’ll update it every day to track the progress of what for currently feels just like another “common cold.”

Thursday has come and gone, and several times I thought my condition had actually improved! All of my symptoms seem to have abated a bit. I spent the day conducting training, but found I did not have to hit the ‘mute’ button as often, and the Vicks helped keep my cough under control.

I slept well and woke up Friday thinking that I felt quite a bit better. Still congested, with a cough and some aches, but perhaps the overnight rest brought with it some clearing of the affects. Nothing so far has convinced me that I have anything other than a seasonal transition cold. Still, I’m being cautious and staying out of public.

There were several times during the day when I thought to myself that I was actually feeling much better! It’s now evening, the training week is over, and the rain from Hurricane Ian is moving in. Two days ago I would have welcomed the opportunity to stay in all weekend, but now I’ve gotten more energy and less sniffling and coughing, and I’m afraid I’ll grow restless. Since I’m wanting to do the right thing, self-quarantine is putting me away from contact. I did find a potential temporary solution: I went through the drive-in window at Popeye’s this evening. That’s about as non-contact as it gets!

Down Time

Posted on September 19, 2022 by mfna

Several times during the past few weeks I’ve thought of adding a new post, but then I get a case of “writer’s block” and come up blank with ideas. Life recently has been much in the wash-rinse-repeat cycle, with work, guitar playing, exercising and similar routine activities. So, what to write about?

Politics has become a horror show. Watching the news and listening to opinion givers makes me feel like the world has become madder than ever. If that’s even possible!

Fortunately, and it couldn’t come at a better time, I have a long weekend coming, where I will spend time in the Adirondacks with a group of some 200 men in a retreat, where we will sing, pray, talk, share, exercise and commune together, getting back in touch with our humanity and our relationship with God.

The Lake Champion Men’s Retreat Weekend is an activity created by an organization called Priority One, which is a ministry that ranges along the entire U. S. east coast. The weekend takes place on a Young Life camp located near Glen Spey, New York. The camp is now vacant, with school back in session, so the bunkhouses can provide accommodations for some 300 men.

(The video above may not be available after the weekend is over).

I attended my first Lake Champion weekend over ten years ago. I didn’t know what to expect the first time, but it was such a refreshing and affirming time that I now look forward to it! COVID affected it, like it did everything else, and I’m led to believe attendance won’t be like it used to be, but I’m going with six or seven guys from church, so we’ll have some fellowship together (we’ll be in the same bunkhouse) as well as meeting new guys (and re-acquainting ourselves with others). Good food, good fellowship, great entertainment, and time away from technology and the worries of this ever-maddening world. Relief!

A Return To (Almost) Normal

Posted on August 27, 2021 by mfna

A week from now I hope to be traveling through some of America’s national parks again. There was a PBS series a few years ago by Ken Burns, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.”

Ken Burns’ “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” available for purchase in various formats.

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve written before (I think) that on my 60th birthday I drove to Great Falls Park and purchased a lifetime senior pass.

National Parks Lifetime Senior Pass for 60+

I still maintain that was the best birthday present I could have given myself!

The COVID pandemic caused innumerable lockdowns and travel restrictions. Cruise lines halted operations, and getting into and out of countries became a game of chance. The nastiness isn’t over yet, but there seems to be some semblance of normalcy returning.

I said, “Some.” I have been alerted that I will need to wear a face diaper (mask) during my air travels, and when required in public areas. My trip will take me to California, so I can expect to have to wear the darn thing a lot, despite being fully vaccinated. I don’t like it, but I’m not going to let it be a deal-killer, because my travel bug has bitten me, and I must go.

This will be my seventh Road Scholar trip. A few months ago, I saw that the company had once again started their in-person study tours (like everyone else, they had gone to Zoom during the lockdowns). The trip is titled, “Four Jewels” and encompasses Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite and Death Valley. Believe it or not, it was the Death Valley mention that sold me!

Road Scholar image: Death Valley

I have already begun my preparations. I’m making sure my camera is fully charged, I have plenty of storage (a 32GB SD card has done me well on other photo trips), I bought a new pair of 5.11 Decoy Convertible pants (lightweight, SPF 50+, packable) and am deciding what apparel I need (weather in the parks can go from hot to cold in the span of hours). But that’s part of the fun!

I expect to have photos and observations to post here upon my return. Stay tuned.

The Age-Old Problem of Old Age

Posted on July 24, 2021 by mfna

Having just celebrated my 30th year without drugs or alcohol,

Fancy 30 Year Medallion

and with my 70th birthday fast approaching, I’ve decided I am not prepared to go gentle into that good night. With my blood sugar now an issue, the best treatment I’ve found, according to experts, is diet and exercise. Well, I refuse to completely omit some foods from my diet (after all, I don’t want to live forever, and I don’t want it to feel like I am, either), but exercise is something I can do something about.

When I was a teenager I was a passenger in a car that hydroplaned into a tree at about 45 mph and as a result, suffered a compression fracture in my spine. Six weeks in a body cast during the August-September time frame was no picnic, let me assure you! Doctors told me I would likely have arthritis and rheumatism by the time I was in my mid-twenties.

There were a few setbacks, but overall, my back didn’t hinder me at all. In my forties, after having shaken the alcohol demon, I started running. I thought it was easy and cheap (all you need are some shoes and shorts, right?). Traveling a lot on business meant I could go for a run outside my hotel, and it became a way of sightseeing, too!

I ran my first marathon when I was 54. The next year (2006) I ran my best marathon, in 4:32:56. Not an earth-shaking time, but that’s a 10:25 minute-per-mile pace, and I’m quite happy with it.

Over time, my hip (and knee) began to slow me down. Before COVID-19 shut down the world, I was having issues completing even a 5K distance without pain. I stopped trying during the lockdown.

But I’m back at it. I went out today for the second time this week. OK, I know a layoff takes a while to come back from, so I’m perfectly fine with being slow and having to take walk breaks. I finished a 5K distance today in 47:26, for an average of 14:42/mile. Which I actually find a bit surprising. I thought i’d be slower!

During the run, I started a checklist of things I have attempted to remedy my hip/back/knee problem. Here’s a partial list (there may be others I haven’t yet remembered):

Physical therapy. Several times, with different therapists
Chiropractic
Yoga
Trans-dermal Electronic Stimulation (TENS)
Theragun massage gun
Shoe inserts
Adjusting pace/shoes

I do not have the time or money to dedicate to treatment such as professional athletes receive. I have gone to a physical therapist who trains many (shout out to Dr. Keri Webb and Resurgent Sports!), though.

Ten years ago, I took a distance training course through the Potomac River Running store chain. During one of our training runs, I remember my coach Caitlyn telling me to hold up and end my run. She had seen a “hitch in my giddy-up,” as she put it. Yes, it’s been an issue for quite a while. When I was younger, I could tough it out and run through it.

But the plain truth of the matter is that as I’ve gotten older, the injury of my youth has finally caught up to me.

I’m still going to try. I need the exercise and I just like being out on the trails and paths. I just won’t be setting any records. Still.

On This Day in 2021

Posted on May 3, 2021 by mfna

Nothing happened.

The Occupant of the White House kept America’s credit card in his pocket and didn’t spend money (that we know of). The Washington Nationals, as a result of a four game winning streak, moved into a first place tie with the NY Mets. But they’re only 24 games into a 162 game season. And their record is 12-12. (It is fun to watch future hall-of-famer Max Scherzer pitch, though).

No riots have been reported, and COVID-19-20-21-22 is not the leading story in the news. Oh, the rule makers are still trying to play it for all it’s worth, but it’s more and more obvious it’s a “plan-demic” as opposed to a pandemic.

Wait. Hold the phone. It just hit the news wire: Bill and Melinda Gates have announced they are ending their marriage. First it was Jeff Bezos, now Bill Gates. I guess the pitfall to being the richest man in the world is that marriage is unsustainable. I doubt this will affect many outside their circle.

All my computers, cars and appliances are functioning normally. All my guitars are strung and playable. I get my daily exercise and have now been twice vaccinated. In two weeks, I’ll be on vacation. Today, nothing happened.

But I felt like writing about it. 🤓

There He Goes Again…

Posted on July 29, 2020 by mfna

Fully aware that I tend to take on a new project or a new pastime by diving head-first into it, only to have it subside — if not die out completely — after a while, I’m now spending some time researching my future.

I recently received a statement from the Social Security Administration (SSA) reminding me I should make my annual review of my statement and projections for what I expect to earn once I reach retirement age.

A few years ago, I would have shrugged off the idea of retiring. Or of even being near retirement age. But that was then, this is now. The fact is, I’m 68 — soon to be 69 — and the way things are going politically, economically, and culturally has gotten me very concerned. There is an election coming up this November that may be the most important in my lifetime; the outcome of that could really push me into going. Or staying.

Going. To this point, I have pretty much set myself to staying put. I bought my home three years ago, and I like it a lot. It’s in a nice neighborhood, has all the amenities I want, and is a 30 minute drive away from my daughter and grandkids. But, calculating realistically, my retirement savings, stocks and Social Security will put me into a new “quality of life” category. My needs aren’t great, but the cost of living when my regular paycheck stops may be too high to keep me here.

So, where to? That’s what I’ve been researching. I love to travel, as I’ve documented here many times. Could I move to another country and live comfortably there? Thanks to the Internet, I can do all the research I want from the comfort of my sofa!

One of the best sites I’ve found, and visit often is International Living. This may be the granddaddy of ex-patriate (expat) living, since it’s been around since 1979. Today, it’s a pretty data-rich web site that offers a subscription service on top of its free articles. I may take advantage after some more investigation. I started out with a couple of places in mind, but only one I’ve been to and the other is likely too expensive to live on a pension: Costa Rica and Austria. Surprisingly, though, some other countries have popped up that I want to look into further. They are

Portugal. This seems to take the top spot every year for expat retirement living.
Panama. With the U. S. Dollar as its currency and ties to the U. S., this ranks high.
Costa Rica. Beach living or mountain living. It’s all there, and it’s al Pura Vida.
Malta. European/Mediterranean. I know little about Malta, but its location is gravy!
Belize. English is the official language (it was formerly British Honduras). I didn’t see any expat communities when I was there, but I know they are in off-the-main-road settlements.

What about staying in the U. S? Well, once again, the November election might have a big influence there. One site, Best Places To Live has a quiz that you can enter your likes and dislikes, and it will suggest locales that have the specifics you’ve entered. Three times, in my limited experience with the site, has Hot Springs, Arkansas been the result. It even shows real estate listings, and some of the homes there going for less than half what my home costs, look quite nice.

I don’t have to make that decision right now. But the SSA says I have to start taking distribution of my allocation when I turn 70. Better to start planning now, right?

Staying Sane @ Home

Posted on April 2, 2020 by mfna

The Coronavirus, COVID-19 as it’s now called, has put the world into a never-before seen situation. All around the globe people are being told to stay indoors, as this new strain of virus makes its way among us. Since it’s new, no immunities or vaccines are known to combat it, so the dire predictions of mass fatalities continue to grab the headlines.

From what I understand, “coronavirus” is a name for a group of respiratory diseases that can affect birds, mammals and humans. The “common cold” is a mild form. SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 are more lethal forms.

That the world has been shut down is remarkable. That it is/was necessary is debatable. At least to me. All the talk is about “flattening the curve,” which suggests a more drawn out infectious time frame, but fewer casualties as a result.

I’m not in the position to debate. Like most people, I think, it’s better to be safe than sorry. So, I’ve resigned myself to staying in my home for the most part. Going outside only for exercise, a quick grocery shopping trip, or a walk to the mailbox. But you know what, that’s pretty much what my life was like before this quarantine. Except for the working at home, that is.

So, how do I get by day after day without going completely bonkers? First, I turn on my Apple TV (fourth generation) that is connected to my 55-inch TV and fire up the EarthCamTV app. This is a fabulous app I’ve used frequently in the past, but now it’s on my screen daily! As the name suggests, it’s a site/app that displays live webcam feeds from around the world. The scene changes every few minutes, and is a virtual “window to the world.” What I find most amazing these days are the scenes of locations that are usually teeming with people that are now desolate. The Las Vegas Strip, New York’s Times Square, L.A.’s Hollywood & Vine. Eerie. But fascinating!

Check it out: https://www.earthcamtv.com/

While I’m watching the world go by, I’m usually listening to, or playing music. I enjoy the four-hour radio program Night Tides, which is broadcast live every Sunday night, but is available for streaming immediately after until the next program. I’m also a subscriber to Ambient.Zone, a podcast that is created by a Dutch expat living in Cyprus. I’ve listened to TC’s podcasts for nearly 15 years — good stuff! Available also on Mixcloud and where podcasts are found.

Since I have a lot of time at home due to not having to commute, I’m always able to take a minute, pick up my guitar and spend a few minutes playing. I’m learning a bunch of new old songs (or old songs new to me), and I can’t begin to describe the joy I feel when a new song comes together under my fingers!

I have some guitars to choose from, and each one inspires me in a different way.

Maybe the next project I’ll undertake, since I’m spending so much time at home, is cleaning up the “studio” so it doesn’t look like a disaster area!

Love In The Time of Coronavirus

Posted on March 28, 2020 by mfna

It had to happen. Everyone else is talking about COVID-19, as the novel coronavirus has been designated. So I might as well join the crowd.

First, I’m writing because this slate has been blank for a while, and it needed updating. Second, because I went on vacation, which meant that I was supposed to self-quarantine upon my return. Which is what I’ve been doing. For the most part.

So, to rewind a bit…

Every first Saturday in March is the annual Salvador Dalí Museum dinner. I’ve written about it before, so no point in re-hashing that part. Since I was making the trip, I booked a Caribbean cruise to extend my vacation time, and thus, off I sailed. Two of the ports of call I’d visited before, so I had no desire to go on any excursions there. Two others were new to me: Mahogany Bay (Roatán) and Belize. I booked a visit to the Mayan ruins in Xunantunich in Belize.

Belize is the former British Honduras, and as such the official language is English. Given that all of the neighboring countries are Spanish-speaking, the majority of Belizeans speak Spanish. The signs are all in English, however. The ruins at Xunantunich (the “X” is pronounced “SH”) are spectacular! I was glad I made the trip. Getting there meant driving the full width of the country (about 68 miles!), since the ruins are near the Guatemalan border.

Two days out from Tampa I learned that due to the spread of the Coronavirus (I still don’t know if it’s supposed to be capitalized or not), the major cruise lines had suspended operations for 30-60 days. I had no doubt I was going to be allowed to disembark, and as I did, it was strange to note there were no passengers waiting to come on board for the next sailing!

The flight home — on a full flight! — gave me no reason to think things had changed, but once I arrived home and went to the grocery store to re-provision, that’s when I noticed the empty shelves! Since I’d been overseas, the CDC recommendation was to self-quarantine for 14 days. I had no problem with that, because I had planned to spend the next two weeks at home conducting online training, so it was a nice synchronicity.

Here I sit, on the eve of my fourteenth day. I have taken the opportunity of being home to spend more time playing guitar and adding songs to my repertoire. While on the cruise (I took my KLŌS travel guitar), I started going back to my “roots” and learning or re-learning songs from one of my favorite bands of the 1960s: Love.

Love was kind of a hipster band. They had only one minor Top 40 hit (which I believe made it to #37), they refused to tour, and their leader, Arthur Lee, was quite idiosyncratic. But I loved the music they made, and their third and final album, “Forever Changes” has been ranked as number 40 on Rolling Stone magazine’s The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Thus, there is rhyme to my reason. Or method to my madness, if you will. The title of this post is a play on “Love in the Time of Cholera,” a 1985 book by Nobel Prize-winning author, Gabriel García Márquez

Running FROM Office

everyone is entitled to my opinion

Category Archives: Health