New Beginning

[TOXIC]

As I sit in my office patiently waiting for the celebration to begin, I am thinking back over my 34 year Federal Career and looking forward to what is on the horizon.  I'm getting out of Federal Service with a good pension, relatively young, fat 401k and a nice chunk of change in the Thrift Savings Plan.  I am blessed to be able to retire out of the SES Service and should be financially comfortable for the remainder of my life.  Now it's time to get deeper into writing for Yamamoto and maybe do some special pieces that I have been planning.  I will have a lot more time to travel for the Rep Group I work for (hunting and fishing) and take my show on the road more often.  Most of all, I am looking forward to the days I can spend on the water.  Starting with our annual trip to Wisconsin.  Instead of spending just 1 week, I am going to spend 2 weeks (my brother and sister in law go up for 3 weeks to get out of the Florida heat) and since my wife is planning to go back to Kansas City for her class reunion and will fly in and out of Wisconsin, I will be pulling the boat solo, so I plan to fish my way back and hit some new water since it is a 2 day pull both ways.  I'll also begin the search for our retirement home, somewhere on a lake where winter will never find me again (coming from a Nebraska native son).  I am of the generation where my major life's goal has been to get to the point.  I made it.  

 

 

[Choporoz]

Congratulations,  Scott! 

[Sam]

Congrats.

 

One of the happiest days of my wife's and my lives was when she retired from the IRS.

 

Please keep your federal health insurance if possible. Add it to your Medicare Parts A & B and other than for prescription drugs, all doctor, hospital, lab and X-Ray services are free, other than for the monthly premium you have to pay.

 

Have a wonderful retirement and keep us posted on your articles.

[TOXIC]

44 minutes ago, Sam said:

Congrats.

 

One of the happiest days of my wife's and my lives was when she retired from the IRS.

 

Please keep your federal health insurance if possible. Add it to your Medicare Parts A & B and other than for prescription drugs, all doctor, hospital, lab and X-Ray services are free, other than for the monthly premium you have to pay.

 

Have a wonderful retirement and keep us posted on your articles.

One of the nicest things about my agency is we get to take all of our coverages into retirement.  Medical, Dental, Health and Vision.  That's a weight off my shoulders!!  

[Jigfishn10]

Very nice, congrats and enjoy. You earned it.

[Bassin' Brad]

Yee-haw! I hope yall live it up! I hope one day to have a similar story to tell. 

 

I guess yesterday was your birthday so happy belated Birthday. 

[TOXIC]

1 minute ago, Bassin' Brad said:

Yee-haw! I hope yall live it up! I hope one day to have a similar story to tell. 

 

I guess yesterday was your birthday so happy belated Birthday. 

Thanks!!  Yep, Birthday yesterday retire today....coincidence......I think not.  

[12poundbass]

Congratulations on the retirement! You should check out some northern Michigan lakes on your way home from Wisconsin. I hear there are some big fish up that way. I’ve yet to find them here in central Michigan so blow right by here. 

[Tennessee Boy]

Congratulations ?. It’s great that you’re able to retire while you’re young enough to make the most of it.  

[lo n slo]

congrats man ?

 

welcome to the club

[Team9nine]

Enjoy! Hope to be there one day myself ?

[J Francho]

Congratuslations!  Looking forward to your contributions.  Enjoy!

[Harold Scoggins]

3 hours ago, TOXIC said:

I am blessed to be able to retire

The best part of retirement, waving at everyone going to work on your way to the lake. The bad part, the "honey do" list gets longer. Congrats and welcome to the club!

[J._Bricker]

Congratulations @TOXIC on your retirement and welcome to the club, you’ve earned it ! It’s everything “they” said it would be by the way. As @Harold Scoggins pointed out, the “honey do” list gets longer but the good news is you’ll have more time to do it ?.

[Mike L]

Atta Boy!!

You earned it, now go spend it!! ?

 

When Mrs Mike and I retired we bought a motor home and hit the road. 

The intent was to fish my way across the country. 

 

5 yrs and 3 motor home upgrades later we're still gone, but now we tend to stay in one place longer than when we started. 

 

Wouldn't change a thing!!

 

Find a place you both want to be...

Watch the sunrise, take afternoon naps, snuggle a bit, watch the sunset.....

Then do it again!!

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Log Catcher]

Congratulations on your retirement. Be glad you could retire while your still in good enough shape to get out and do what you want to. Hope you enjoy it.

[newriverfisherman1953]

Congratulations. I hope you enjoy many years in retirement. 

[TnRiver46]

Congrats!!!!

[slonezp]

Good for you.

 

I had a guy approach me at a gas station this past Saturday asking me about fishing boats. Wanted to know about my Lund. Said he was retiring and was going to buy a fishing boat. Guy looked younger than me so I had to ask. He was turning 55 and had spent 37 years in the pipefitters union. I was a union pipefitter prior to crippling myself. Small world. I talked to him for maybe a half hour about boats. He was pumped about being able to retire, buy a boat and a horse. I was excited for him, as I am for you. Unfortunately, because of choices I've made and circumstances out of my control, I will be working until, at least the age of 65. Guess I should look at the bright side. My boat is paid for and I've been fishing almost every weekend of soft water for the last 20 years, rather than waiting to retire, before enjoying the sport.

[A-Jay]

Happy Birthday & Enjoy your retirement. 

Scott's finally on Scott time.

A-Jay

 

 

[Bluebasser86]

Congrats! 

 

 

[Way2slow]

Getting used to being retired is probably one of the hardest things I've ever done.  I've always tried to preplan my weeks and days so I could get the most from each.  When I first retired, I had a hard time getting used to not having that mental schedule of what I needed to do, and felt like I was doing something wrong when I was not out working on something.  Even after eight years, I'm still not fully adjusted to being retired.  I was so used to only having the weekends to do things I wanted to do, I still find myself thinking about the things I need to do this weekend, like going to town and getting stuff I need for a project I want to do.  Can't get used to the fact that everyday is a weekend day now.  I still catch myself feeling like there's something I should be doing instead of just taking it easy sometimes, or just doing something I want to do instead of something I need to do. Getting it in my head if I don't get something done today, there's is a tomorrow,  hopefully!  If there's not, it ain't gonna matter noway.

[Oregon Native]

Congrats....all the best.

 

[Mike L]

1 hour ago, Way2slow said:

Getting used to being retired is probably one of the hardest things I've ever done.  I've always tried to preplan my weeks and days so I could get the most from each.  When I first retired, I had a hard time getting used to not having that mental schedule of what I needed to do, and felt like I was doing something wrong when I was not out working on something.  Even after eight years, I'm still not fully adjusted to being retired.  I was so used to only having the weekends to do things I wanted to do, I still find myself thinking about the things I need to do this weekend, like going to town and getting stuff I need for a project I want to do.  Can't get used to the fact that everyday is a weekend day now.  I still catch myself feeling like there's something I should be doing instead of just taking it easy sometimes, or just doing something I want to do instead of something I need to do. Getting it in my head if I don't get something done today, there's is a tomorrow,  hopefully!  If there's not, it ain't gonna matter noway.

 

The first week after retiring I woke up at my normal time, got a cup of coffee, leaned against the kitchen sink and said "ok, now what are you gonna do"?

 

Luckily we had a plan to travel anyway so I had something to look forward too.

Still 5 yrs later, I got stuff to do, but I'll put it off to give me something to do!

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Way2slow]

Oh! stuff to do is not a problem.  I tell everyone I had to retire because that 40+ hours a week on the job kept me from having the time to do all the other stuff I need to do.  I'm a man of many talents and interest so I've always got several projects going.  Then my wife always has here honey do list, and hers are not little simple task.  Just this month for her, I've built a 16'x 14' Pergola, poured a slab of concrete and built a nice enclosure at the patio to install a refrigerator, which naturally had to have the ice maker connected, so I had to run water a power to it.  Dig up probably 300 lily bulbs for the front bed just to move them to the fence in the back, which meant making a new bed 30' x 6'  (and that's clay back there).  I keep trying to convince her us old farts at 72 should not be doing this stuff.  This was while I wasn't making the three native American style flutes I've made this month, cleaning and rebuilding a cuckoo clock and a large Seth Thomas #2 Wall clock.  Plus building from scratch an oak case and a complete pendulum wall clock for my granddaughters birthday. 

This was also during the time a was rebuilding the neighbors Stihl chain saw he melted a piston in and replacing the carburetor on his tiller that he hadn't started in five years. 

In between these projects, I pulled the head off a Kubota ZD28 mover and pressure check it, to find it was cracked and cleaned and rebuilt four injectors for my 93 Toyota pickup so I can replace the ones in it.  Which now I've got to install in it, adjust the valves and do a complete turnup on it

So, this is just a sample of what my being retired with nothing to do is like, and this was actually a fairly easy month.