I managed not to listen to my husband's conversation with his parents about protests at college campuses, which is good, because now I don't have to wonder if his parents have ever given a shit about antisemitism before FOX started yelling.
I get confused. I remember everything. I remember too much, and... some of it's made up, and... some of it can't be quantified, and... there's secrets.
River ,'Safe'
Natter 78: I might need to watch some Buffy for inspiration
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, butt kicking, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
Dana - May 02, 2024 12:49:04 pm PDT #68 of 4159
"I'm useless alone." // "We're all useless alone. It's a good thing you're not alone."
Jessica - May 02, 2024 12:55:41 pm PDT #69 of 4159
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?
Only if everyone committed to being soft and squishy.
I've been training my whole life for this!
Steph L. - May 02, 2024 12:57:55 pm PDT #70 of 4159
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe
I've been training my whole life for this!
#TeamSquishy!
Atropa - May 02, 2024 1:31:32 pm PDT #71 of 4159
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.
Only if everyone committed to being soft and squishy.
That is so not a problem for me.
JenP - May 02, 2024 1:39:34 pm PDT #72 of 4159
genuinely can't imagine not working. The structure of a job is good for me.
I said very similar words to my husband over an early dinner at our pub-like place just now as I was recounting the retirement convo from the board. Like, I'm on a staycation this week, and I decided to play it be ear... not my best decision. I, too, benefit from structure. Thank goodness Shir is coming this weekend to shake me out of my sloth. For a visitor, I can plan and do! Just me? Eh.
My mom was a teacher, and she retired at, maybe 70, but really only because she just got fed up with students being ill-mannered and the administration being, well, an administration. Mentally and physically, she could have done 75 easy. And would have. I am hoping for the same, honestly.
A few of my friends are retiring early-ish. I'm surprisingly not feeling envious. Like, bully for them, and let.me.live vicariously through you and occasionally join you in your travels! Except.my camping friends. I will not join them. But I will happily ooh and ahh over their pictures.
JenP - May 02, 2024 1:40:06 pm PDT #73 of 4159
Oh, and, yeah, soft and squishy is my jam, fear not.
Steph L. - May 02, 2024 1:45:04 pm PDT #74 of 4159
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe
Oh, and, yeah, soft and squishy is my jam, fear not.
Aging Buffistas: committed to the soft and squishy lifestyle. (Although on that note, I'm off to lift weights. Any muscle I build just lurks beneath the softness and squishyness.)
JenP - May 02, 2024 1:46:45 pm PDT #75 of 4159
Though we be soft and squishy, we be strong.
javachik - May 02, 2024 2:47:06 pm PDT #76 of 4159
Our wings are not tired.
Now that it seems I am unlikely to make it to retirement age, I have the opposite issue. Social Security is just, "oh well, guess I'm paying for you guys." But my 401K has like 200K and I'm still contributing with every paycheck. I need to figure out ... how to figure out at what point I stop contributing and try to look into early withdrawals. That money would pay for a lot of travel since living into my 90s has been taken off the table.
Just wanted to say, epic, that I have been thinking about you a lot. I can't digest what you're having to, and it's incredibly sobering. I truly hope you get to travel as much as you possibly can! Go forth and see all the places and people that have been calling to you!
bennett - May 02, 2024 3:17:17 pm PDT #77 of 4159
Delurking to say: I used to think I'd keep working until they threw me out - I used to really like my job (librarian in a large university). But somewhere along the way my patience for the hoops the PTB make you jump through wore out and I decided I didn't need to put up with this any more. I don't know if the bureaucracy got worse or if I just used up a finite supply of patience, but over one summer I decided I just couldn't take it anymore. Maybe if I'd been 10-15 years younger, I might've looked for another job and moved somewhere else but that seemed like too much work as well. So sometimes, retirement sneaks up on you, not so much because of the job but because of all the stuff that goes along with the job.