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.

Oh, and, yeah, soft and squishy is my jam, fear not.

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.)

Though we be soft and squishy, we be strong.

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!

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.

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!

Yes to all of this, Epic.

Oh, Epic, I so hope you can figure out how to spend that money on doing what you want!

I am appalled that people over 95 are expected to pay for their medical expenses. I know that's how our whole system works but I'm particularly mad about it, apparently.

I was actually coming in here to say that I'm using this report from one of our vendors that refers to expected inventory at the beginning of a period so my chart is full of columns labeled "TOTAL BOP" and that sounds like a much better time than it actually is

I am pretty committed to being soft and squishy but I do have to worry if a rambling Victorian full of aging, eccentric Buffistas is more of a "hilarity ensues" scenario or a "and then the murders began" scenario. Or both? Depends on the availability of axes?

I do have to worry if a rambling Victorian full of aging, eccentric Buffistas is more of a "hilarity ensues" scenario or a "and then the murders began" scenario.

Porque no los dos? We don't have to be murdering each other, you know.

Oh, good point! Not necessarily a closed system