Congrats Boatnik!!!!!!!!

Hopefully you're as luck as my father who was asked to retire from GM after 33yrs at the age of 55.

25 yrs later he is still enjoying retirement!!!

steve

 

Congratulations!

I'm kinda with the lizard on this one - make sure you stay busy doing something.

 

Congrats man. I'm looking forward to that day myself but it's still a few years off. I'm just a baby at 42 years old though..
I fully agree that you should get back to work in time but only doing something you like to do. When I retire I'm moving to Virginia Beach and starting a part time restaurant or I'm going to push a food cart on the boardwalk selling wings and BBQ. Maybe some Brats too... Ahhh, I can't wait....

Note to self, start saving money so you can retire at a young age. And quit spending so much $$$ on this dang truck!!!

 

Blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda, heard it all before. You ain't going nowhere. What would you do if you didn't get up every morning and come in here and put up with this crap? You will be bored to death.

 

Boatnik,
Congrads on your retirement. May you live long and enjoy it.
Personally, I did the same thing a year ago, turned 58 and after 42 years of Civil Service.
I had enough of the BS, and lies from upper management and the general public.

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence John. it means alot.

 

Now let's take a good look at this.
1. I can stay home and make the same money before Social Security kicks in.
2. I am absolutley positive the XYL can keep me very busy for the next six months. or years
3. I can modify the truck without worry of not being able to get to work on time.
4. There isn't a radiological control person staring down my neck when I scratch my nose.
5. At home I make sense, not electricity. (when I haven't consumed too many barley pops)
6. There is no need for an alarm clock.
7. Every day is on a weekend.
8. I cannot call in sick and be penalized for it.
9. And I won't be forced to travel to another job site just because some high and mighty corporate seagull deems it necessary.
10. I can stay up and watch David Letterman come up with ten stupid reasons too retire.

 

42 years!!! WoW! You deserve a lot more than just a pension. I only did 33 years and nine months working in a nuclear power plant. No John Doe public allowed.

 

Well I just went down to the SS office 2 days ago. Filled all the papers out and it's a done deal.

I left the SS office and was walking down the street to the truck thinking things over. My life has been a good run. I have 2 familys. One all grown up (haha) the other just learing the ropes of life. I don't have any regrets over the good or bad things I've been thru. I don't have a dime or a pot to spit in. Know what??? Don't matter. As long as I can fill up the truck and cruise around occasionally, put a little E-85 in the ****** streetrod, and fly a few model airplanes I'll be happy.

I've had a life time of good jobs, met a lot of people, done a lot of things most people haven't , seen 1/2 of the country on someone else's dime, seen how the Eupopeans live, played sports all my life, still have excellent health.....what more can a person ask.??? Money isn't everything. I like to think there is more to life than the dollar bill.

Anyway maybe I'll go back to work in some other line just for the fun of it.

morning
noon
dinner
out driving.

 

I'm also in the middle of a career change! I can understand your excitement.

My circumstances are a little different. After 13 years in the military, the Air Force decided they needed to cut lots of people (while we're at war) to raise money for neat new overpriced gadgets. So they way they got people to "volunteer" to get out was hold a retention board, and make you "compete" to stay in. If you got cut, you got a small stipend. if you volunteered, it was double the money it would be if you were cut.

So I thought it over. I asked myself if I really want to "compete" for the privilege of being yanked away from my family on a regular basis to go work for people who usually don't know I'm coming and don't have work for me to do.

After all these years, I finally realized that I am a square peg in a round hole in the military. First, I tend to ask a lot of "why not" questions, and you can imagine how well that goes over. I tend to think big picture, and they want me to only focus on my tiny little corner.

So here I am, 32 years old facing the biggest, most important transition in my life. I have a wife and a 2yr-old daughter (avatar is old pic). The military is all I've known my adult life.

Yet, in 30 days I will have no job, no place to live, no health insurance, and no idea what the rest of my life is going to look like.

I have a little savings, but I'm not going to be living that lotto-winner life anytime soon.

Maybe I'll go back to school. Maybe this job that I've been trying to line up for 6 months (and will take another 6) will pan out.

It really sucks that all of the jobs I think I'd truly enjoy are things I have neither the education nor experience to do.

I'd love to be an automotive engineer, but my undergrad degree is in political science.


Anyone wanna hire me to be a profession DTR surfer? I guarantee at least 15 posts and 10 searches per day!!

 

32 is a good time to make a change. Hope you find something good.

 

Me too! i'm actually quite excited by the whole change. Much more excited than scared. There certainly is a little fear of the unknown, though!

 

Boatnik,

Good job.

You are in a very similar position as me. About the same age, worked the same job for about the same amount of time, want to retire, planning to move to a piece of property I own in Nevada and build a house. And we both see how much better it would be to be on our own schedule than working and commuting. Unfortunately, I have no pension to carry me and am thinking of new ways to work at home in a better location.

My best to you. Stay on this site and keep us up to date.

John



Hohn,

You are on the threshold of a new chapter too. Leaving the military is a big deal. Especially with a family and no clear plans.

I think you should pursue your automotive engineer idea. Remember, it's not about what you do, it's about how you do it that leads to success. Don't defeat yourself by thinking you need more education to do the job. Maybe you do, but just showing up is 90% and I've found that independent thinking and a hungry tummy can lead to great things. I started my business with nothing while supporting my daughter as a single parent. College came later. And from the very beginning I was commited to only using my own designs. I was commited and beleived in what I was doing.

Don't lose your spunk. Show up with some good ideas. And remember, when you go to an interview, you are interviewing them to see if you can come to a good agreement, see if there is a place for you there and to find out what they are all about.

Enjoy the adventure.


John