On Thursday, I gave my two-week notice at work. I had originally planned on retiring at the end of June but when Steemfest4 was announced, decided to delay a bit and rack up a few more paychecks to help pay for the trip to far-away Thailand. I’ve booked a room but not yet purchased a Steemfest ticket or booked flights, so things are still a bit nebulous.
Fair warning: this post rambles and wanders off into the weeds even more than usual for me and has minor spoilers for Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie. Proceed at your own risk. Your browser’s “Back” button is your friend.
I’ve never understood people who don’t know how they’ll be able to fill their time once retired.
First off, I’ll be a househusband. My wife, a brave woman indeed, will be eating dinners I’ve prepared when she gets home from work. She’s younger than me and plans to remain in the workforce for at least several more years. I’ve never been much of a cook but I know that there’s hope. My dad was mostly helpless in the kitchen until he retired, but later become very good at it. I already do most of our laundry, but will now be picking up many more of our household chores.
I’m also planning on doing more reading and more writing. The two of course go hand in hand and while it’s possible to be an avid reader without being a writer, I can’t imagine a decent writer who’s not also an avid reader. The only bad thing about having fallen down the Steem rabbit hole is that my reading time has taken a real hit. Granted, I’ve done more writing since becoming a citizen of Steemlandia but much of my time here has been at the expense of reading time. A paycheck job is usually not conducive to sitting and reading novels. But I soon won’t have a paycheck job.
Like many here, much of what I’ve written for the Steem blockchain has been self-referential about the Steem blockchain. But I’ve written a smattering of short fiction here and plan on doing more. I’ve never been a particularly prolific writer but various forays into #freewrite and #flashfiction formats have made me more comfortable with short-format writing. Over the years I’ve taken several stabs at writing a novel, none of them panned out. Oh well, Raymond Carver never wrote a novel but he was a damn fine writer anyway. Maybe I will eventually write that novel set in 1930’s Shanghai that’s been bouncing around in my head for years. But, at a minimum, more short-format fiction.
Also on Thursday, I went to see Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Oh, it was good. And not at all what I expected. Even though I had avoided all reviews of it so how did I form any expectations? Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt are both likely to get Oscar nominations for their performances. Even if you’re not a fan of Tarantino, go see it. The one caveat is for those with weak stomachs. The home invasion sequence has over-the-top violence, even by Tarantino standards.
The two bits about Steve McQueen were cool but the Bruce Lee subplot was a bit weak. And I got to see Michael Madsen in a small role, always good to see him on screen. Well, almost always. He was in BloodRayne with Ben Kingsley, a dreadful movie, evidence that even good actors cannot save a bad script.
Rambling back to retirement plans, so much to do. As it happens, my weight in pounds ends in a “2” and I have a goal of losing 22 pounds (10 kilos) by the end of the year. My son’s a big fan of Low Intensity Steady State cardio and I’m going to give it a try, having mapped out a 4.2 mile (6.8 km) route that I’ll be doing in the mornings of days with decent weather.
And music. Years ago, I sang in the chorus but I’ve never learned an instrument other than dinging around with a recorder way back when. I’d be starting too old to ever be good, but I could probably make it to competent. Piano? Guitar? Maybe a bit of both?
I’m also interested in picking up some skills to help out with Steem blockchain development. Starting with JavaScript? Not really sure what route to take though. Maybe Steemfest will help firm up my vague thoughts about this.
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