Hoo-hah, It's Sunday, September 17, 2023

[OldStrummer]

I tried posting a Sunday thread about an hour ago, but when I hit the submit button, either the site went into cardiac arrest or my browser just gave up the ghost. I figured that maybe it wasn't in the cards for me to start a new Sunday thread. But I just successfully replied to another, so maybe this one will fly.

Today marks the one month countdown until I retire. I wasn't counting days before, but now I am. I'm both excited and anxious about the new life I'll be embarking on. However, I'm still working, so I concluded a training last week and this week will be my "calm" week preparing for the next. It's almost like being retired, except I'm getting paid for it!

Rain predicted today, so I likely won't be washing cars or working in the back yard. That's OK. I've got a book to read and a guitar to play, and maybe even some baseball on TV. If I start getting cabin fever, I may even watch some football.

Be well, everyone.

[Laker]

I was also experiencing a little trouble getting to this site this morning so hopefully this will show up.

We’re going into week three of our current remodel project and it’s a little disappointing. The contractor supplied the wrong doors so now it’s an eight week wait for the correct to come in and be stained, the new toilet for a bathroom arrived broken so it’s a six tomeight week wait for a new one (thank God there are other bathrooms in the house), and the painter seems to have forgotten the schedule because that isn’t finished eit.

Oh well, life goes on.

[gibsonjunkie]

Oldstrummer - it must feel pretty cool (and scary) to be so close... I decided to hang in a few more years before I go. I enjoy the work too much and to get paid for it, on top of that, is just icing on the cake. Spent Friday recording in the studio again this week. I had this tune in my head for 30 years and we finally are turning it into music. It's too rough to post here yet, but it is coming out better than I thought it would. In two weeks we'll polish up the vocals and add an organ (I think).

Busy work week, but fun included. Thursday is our staff retreat. We have a CPR class in the morning and miniature golf in the afternoon! Today will be spreading mulch and filling out life insurance applications. One thing I had forgotten was that my term policy premium shot up when I hit 70 last month. time to downsize that!

[DanTheBluesMan]

Recuperation from the 'rona is just about complete, had a doc appointment who didn't seem overly concerned about the right knee pain chalking it up to weakened quads. Restarted PT and could tell that I've lost steps from the sickness. Still on motion restrictions. Don't see a doc (about the hip) again until Dec. Better get going on procuring a snowblower, I can't shovel hobbling around on a cane.

Tried to play guitar last night, first time in about 3 weeks. Need to trim my nails.

Hurricane Lee did not rock us apart from being slightly cool and breezy. Beautiful so far today, allegedly going to be breezy but it was still as anything when I had my coffee this morning. I stayed home from the wedding up in Maine, I was hurting from resuming PT and had a sore rib from no idea what I did to cause that. Bought a new cane this week because the loaned cane from the rehab center kept losing its rubber tip. Turns out the tip was from a crutch and too large for a cane which explains the wad of duct tape on the shaft.

I try to park places where I have enough room to open my car door wide so I can get in and out. Twice this week some driver felt compelled to shoe horn their car beside mine. That may be how I pulled that rib muscle, trying to Houdini my way into my car. That normally doesn't happen when I park my usual distance but I'm trying to get closer these days because I kind of have to.

[OldStrummer]

Oldstrummer - it must feel pretty cool (and scary) to be so close... I decided to hang in a few more years before I go. I enjoy the work too much and to get paid for it, on top of that, is just icing on the cake.

GJ, I'm a wee bit older than you. My goal for the past five years was to retire on/by my 72nd birthday. My retirement date is October 17 and my birthday the 19th.

Like you, I've thoroughly enjoyed my work. I never felt the need to retire, but now it just "feels right." The company is changing, and it's just a good time to walk away rather than try to learn new technologies, new people and new processes. I've made good money working, and now I hope the planning and saving I've done will see me through. I've worked with two financial planners and feel assured that my change will not reduce the quality of life. At least significantly.

I also have an open door to working part time at the local running store. That's another endeavor I enjoyed doing for eight years before COVID, and not only could it provide me with a little mad money, the discounts are terrific!

[phantomman]

I try to park places where I have enough room to open my car door wide so I can get in and out. Twice this week some driver felt compelled to shoe horn their car beside mine. That may be how I pulled that rib muscle, trying to Houdini my way into my car. That normally doesn't happen when I park my usual distance but I'm trying to get closer these days because I kind of have to.

You're probably entitled to a handicapped plate or placard from your state's DMV. Check with them to learn the particulars. Those reserved parking spots are closer to the businesses that provide them and are generally wider to accommodate wheelchairs, moto-carts, walkers, etc.

[gibsonjunkie]

GJ, I'm a wee bit older than you. My goal for the past five years was to retire on/by my 72nd birthday. My retirement date is October 17 and my birthday the 19th.

Like you, I've thoroughly enjoyed my work. I never felt the need to retire, but now it just "feels right." The company is changing, and it's just a good time to walk away rather than try to learn new technologies, new people and new processes. I've made good money working, and now I hope the planning and saving I've done will see me through. I've worked with two financial planners and feel assured that my change will not reduce the quality of life. At least significantly.

I also have an open door to working part time at the local running store. That's another endeavor I enjoyed doing for eight years before COVID, and not only could it provide me with a little mad money, the discounts are terrific!

I'm figuring 72-73 myself. If my health stays good that's doable, especially my eyes. If I can't see well enough to drive home at night that might change things a bit. I also started saving for retirement a bit later, so a couple extra years of work will help in the long run. Actually I saved some money when I had the family plumbing business, but a family member's bad decidsions meant I had to cash in most of my savings back then to try and save the business and the family reputation. I managed to do both for a while, but in the end it hurt me retirement-wise. Back on track now.

[ch willie]

I've had a blast the last two weeks, reporting on the county fair. I covered special days for seniors and special needs children. Both days brought me so much joy. Then Thursday and Friday, I covered a story about bikers who ride from Peoria, bringing donations to St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. This year, they raised $1.2 million and took it down. Great bunch of people! I shot these with a DSLR Nikon D3200. Good pics, but I just got a Sony a7r iv, and it's a monster. Still learning how to use it.

In fact, I'm taking just a little break from watching vids about the camera.

Got the Deluxe warming up to play a little bit of guitar before tuning back in.

[OldStrummer]

Nice shots and a nice story! Thanks, Willie. I'm not a motorcycle rider, so I probably don't know what I'm talking about, but the first thing that occurred to me is that many of those bikes don't look like Harleys. Am I mistaken?

[Laker]

Nice shots and a nice story! Thanks, Willie. I'm not a motorcycle rider, so I probably don't know what I'm talking about, but the first thing that occurred to me is that many of those bikes don't look like Harleys. Am I mistaken?

I’m a Harley rider and there are several in the photos.

[ch willie]

Lot of different bikes. These pictures show only a few. There were over 200 riders. Probably 150 bikes. Our town treated them all well—deep fried catfish, hush puppies, taters, cole slaw and iced tea. Can hardly get more Southern than that. And the ones who wanted something strong, went to Full-Throttle Saloon for some varieties of moonshine.

[Tele-Bob]

Were any lives saved due to the use of loud pipes?" LOL!

Looks like a good time...

[Offshore Angler]

Ah yes, RUB biker rallies - where grown men dress like Klingon cosplayers.

[Laker]

Ah yes, RUB biker rallies - where grown men dress like Klingon cosplayers.

OA, you’ll find it’s primarily not just rich cyclists playing biker that really go out and raise money for charity, it’s people who enjoy getting out there “in the wind” on two wheels and they may be anything from a “patched member” of a 1%er club to a group of friends who have enjoyed riding together for 50 years or more.

[ch willie]

These guys collect donor money, and most of them work hard to get their sponsors. Over 17 years, they’ve raised over $17 million. That’s a lot of money for the kids. St Jude’s doesn’t charge the kids’ families a dime. Many of the riders are serious riders and have been riding for decades together. Even our small town’s riders raised $55,000 this year.

Many of the riders do other events for St Jude. They run in sponsored marathons, participate in fundraisers of all kinds. It takes a lot of heart and hard work to do these things. No one I talked to was self-righteous or self-congratulating. Each one talked about the kids and the gift they get from helping.

and by the way, those bikes were relatively quiet. And all of them were clean. I can’t praise the riders enough.

[gibsonjunkie]

A friend of mine is a member of BACA; Bikers Against Child Abuse. It's a really great organization that helps abused children and makes them feel safe. Remarkable organization.

[ch willie]

A friend of mine is a member of BACA; Bikers Against Child Abuse. It's a really great organization that helps abused children and makes them feel safe. Remarkable organization.

Wonderful

[Offshore Angler]

Hey, I'm not anti bikes, I rode for many, many years. Have lots of MC friends. What I don't get is the "uniform". There is far superior PPE that is much more comfortable for riding than the Fonzi wannabee look.

My two cents,

Chuck

[Laker]

Hey, I'm not anti bikes, I rode for many, many years. Have lots of MC friends. What I don't get is the "uniform". There is far superior PPE that is much more comfortable for riding than the Fonzi wannabee look.

My two cents,

Chuck

Just curious if you’re referencing the guy that I think is dressed in some kind of Santa getup, or the rest of the group that appears to be wearing a t-shirt that is given out to riders in the event.

[ch willie]

I don’t think Santa was a rider. Yes, the riders were wearing event t shirts.