I'm still retired

I've been retired one month today.  I'm not sure yet how I like it.

Things were a little discombobulated all month and I seem to have less time than I had before - I mean than when I was working, but then when I was working I seemed to have less time than when I was working And going to school.

I know there are 24 hours in a day and possibly always will be, but time seems to expand and shrink at will.  It's will, not mine.  I need to get a handle on time if I'm going to be a successful retiree.  It's funny (not ha-ha funny), but I can keep track of the days better than I could.  It's the minutes that elude my grasp.

Exercise is good for you ...

If it doesn't kill you first.

Running
Jumping
Biking

Everybody Sing!

I have never watched the TV show the X Factor, but for some reason this morning I started watching Hulu videos of the auditions.  Maybe it was because I got to pick and choose the auditions I watched, but I was impressed.  The atmosphere and contestants seemed a lot more professional than some other talent shows on Fox and the contestants appeared confident in their talent without being obnoxious.

But I couldn't let well enough alone.  I must have looked at the best ones first, then found the duds and the what-were-they-thinkings.

Still ..... I may even buy a TV so I can watch it weekly.

Check out these YouTube vids ranging from county to blues.  They all had the audience on their feet.

Tate Stevens - 37 year old family man with a good sense of humor.

Panda Ross - 42 year old with big personality to match her big voice.  Learning the origin of her name is worth watching the video

Willie Jones - cute as a bug, well-mannered, and a good singer.  Not the song I'd have chosen for a 17 year old, but I'm an old lady not a teenage boy.

Carly Rose Sonenclar - 13 years old, but more self-confident and composed than many adults. 

Jessica Espinoza - 22 years old, funny and talented.  Great attitude.

Diamond White - giggles like the 13 year old she is, but sings like a pop-star

Update 10/5/12:  I didn't buy a new TV so I didn't watch the show this week, but I caught the highlights online.  5 of these 6 contestants made it through the first round of "Bootcamp".  It seemed like Jessica Espinoza was a little nervous and she didn't go to the second round.  Which is a shame.

In round 2, Diamond White seemed to mature about 5 years since last week - I hope she doesn't get too cocky; Carly Rose's self-confidence came off as "attitude"; Willie Jones and Tate Stevens were paired together and there was some talk that Stevens blindsided Willie by picking a song that he knew and Willie didn't - Willie forgot the lyrics but tried to keep on singing.  When asked by the judges why they picked the song, Willie told the truth without blaming Stevens.  He just seems like such a nice kid.  I didn't see Panda Ross sing in either round and I'm not sure if that's good or bad.   

The Party

I don't think I told you about my surprise retirement party at work. Cheryl and her significant other decorated the office with a cowboy theme.   My cubical was decorated with rope and a picture of a corral and a jail and horses.   The conference room was turned into a saloon (a non-alcoholic saloon but we did have root beer for lunch).  We got mini-metal buckets and bandannas for take aways.  This is a picture of the cake Cheryl made.  Isn't it great?!

Someday I may show you the video of me lassoing a chair. 

Things to Do

While browsing the web today I came across Indiana Insider Blog and Emily Metallic's posts which led me to 50 Things Every Hoosier Must Do.

When I read the headline, I thought to myself "Hmmm.  I'm retired.  I could see how many I can complete before I get to old."  The next thing I thought was "Don't tell me what to do."

Well, I've done 11 of the 50 things that the Hoosier Channel says every Hoosier "must" do.  (15 things, if "kind of" counts). 

Many of the things involved eating and drinking. Indiana isn't known for fancy foods, but we've got good food.  Two of the 11 things I've done (more than once) was enjoy sugar cream pie and eat persimmon pudding. 

 # 50 was "Pick a favorite tenderloin sandwich". I'm still working on that one, have been for years. I think I'll probably have to start over from the beginning once I've tried them all before I can make up my mind.  (wink - wink)

Many of the places I'd never heard of.  Most of the things I don't want to do. 

And I didn't retire to do stuff I don't want to do.

What next?

This is my first "real" day of retirement since I would have been off for a 3-day weekend any way. 

So today:
I didn't get up till 10 AM.
I took out the garbage so that's enough housework for today. 
The trip to garbage bin counts as exercise for the day.
It's almost lunch time so I can do that this hour.
Then all that's left on my schedule is to take a nap, watch old TV shows, and jog my memory.
I usually nap while watching old TV shows so that shouldn't be a strain.
I think I'll just skip the jogging part.  I don't remember anything I'd want to remember today.

It's Official

I'm retired.  No more Dumass Corp. for me!  No more daily commutes to a downtown office, fighting interstate traffic before I'm fully awake.  No more getting out of bed before I'm fully awake.  No more swearing at a Dumass computer system that never caught on to high speed Internet.

I was so excited I was out of bed before 6 this morning to do nothing.  And that's what I've done all day. Nothing.  I'm still in my nightgown. 

I did lay down for a nap about 10, but couldn't sleep.  Apparently it's not that tiring doing nothing.

I'm pretty sure I can get used to this.