Retired – year one

This year has been wild y’all.

I thought at first that I would be quitting in July 2023 because I was going to be going on a safari and traveling with DH2 for his work and our pleasure but I was convinced by a retiring co-worker that it was in my best interest to retire rather than just to quit my job. One benefit to retiring was that I could convert my sick time into service time whereas if I just quit, I would lose that sick time entirely. I scrambled to complete my retirement paperwork in time for my July 1 retirement date which was not easy nor fun. I cried in frustration more than once.

After a whirlwind of paperwork, phone calls, emails, and file management, I cleaned out my office and said farewell to my UCSB colleagues. Life felt surreal for the first three weeks because I felt like I was on vacation but just at home (I still had my business clients) plus I was packing and preparing for the three-week Africa trip. And then the travel commenced.

Places I’ve traveled:

• Qatar
• Namibia
• South Africa
• Tanzania (includes Zanzibar)
• Switzerland
• France
• Norway
• Arizona
• Wisconsin
• Ecuador (Galapagos + Quito)
• Peru (Machu Picchu, Cusco, Lake Titicaca)
• Australia (3rd trip to Tasmania)
• Canada (Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa)
• St. Louis
• India (Delhi, Dharamshala, Himalayas, Jim Corbett National Park, Taj Mahal)
• UAE
• Berlin
• Prague
• Vienna
• Romania

Highlights

• Galapagos
• Taylor Swift x 2 (Los Angeles + Melbourne)
• Machu Picchu
• Taj Mahal
• Matterhorn
• Serengeti
• Penguins on 3 continents

Notes

In Norway, there was a day where we had no electricity and no internet which meant that I couldn’t work my private business client accounts. I realized that I needed to relinquish my health club clients before I went on my South America trip. Regardless of being in a first-world country, I could not rely on having internet which meant I could not respond to client needs in a timely manner. This was hard but good decision. I now only have clients who do not have immediate needs and I can inform clients that I will be unavailable for 10-21 days with little guilt of being off-line.

I got COVID 2x: once after the LA Taylor Swift concert and once after South America.

Observations

Because we’ve been away from home more than we’ve been home, I’m not sure if I have had a full retirement experience. Maybe this is just the new normal? I thought that in retirement, I might volunteer or get involved in a community but when I’m rarely home, it’s impossible to connect with others in a meaningful way. I feel a bit isolated from friends and family and feel like I’m scrambling when I am in town to see anyone I can.

So far I do not feel lost or adrift. I’ve still not cleaned anything out of my basement but it taunts me daily.

One of my goals was to create travel videos for TikTok but so far I’ve only managed Swiftie content. I could beat myself up for not sticking to a schedule and producing videos on my theoretical timeline but you know what? I’m ok with it. I’m fucking retired and can do what ever I want on what ever timeline I want.

Today we arrived in Romania via train. The adventure continues. What will year 2 bring?