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mrdreamjeansI admit I've felt a bit lost now that I'm (retired) semi-retired. The adrenaline from the three drives for moving between Austin and Minneapolis in two months ... and from the 17-day trip to Italy ... has faded. I've been setting an agenda for myself daily, so I'm being productive in some way. I don't want to lose momentum from these major life changes. I'm not a meticulous budgeter; I'm not as certain as I should be that my retirement income will sustain me without a part-time job. I haven't been through a full cycle yet. But, I am hopeful ... I didn't fully realize how much of my identity was tied to my work. I'm also still adjusting to being alone. I've kept to my new philosophy to say yes to social situations.
Really small victories: I purchased a breakfast table from Ikea a week ago. The boxes are out of the car and in the house as of this morning. I've opened the boxes; but, I'm still circling the materials, as the directions (all pictures) make no sense to me. I had a list of items I needed for the house. I've shopped very carefully and have purchased a vacuum cleaner, a lawn mower (from a friend), a stand alone electric heater (for the basement), an occasional chair for the guest room and the breakfast table, all for under $200.
With the assistance of a Statefarm agent, I've finally installed Statefarm's version of the safe driving app. It isn't as intuitive as the company would like to think it is ... Though only a 5% discount, it all helps. The difference in premiums between Texas and Minnesota is $150/per six months higher here. Part of the difference is my zip code (and the number of claims in it) and a larger, fancier car than the Honda CRV.
I followed through last Saturday and drove to Rochester, MN for the first time for a birthday party. Some of you might remember LJ users perkk and geometrician. My first stay in Minneapolis in 2007 was for John's 40th birthday party. How could I not show up for his 50th? The celebration also coincided with their 3rd wedding anniversary. The two-hour drive was well worth it. I didn't know many people, but John's parents were in attendance (who I really enjoy); I spent quality time with them, met a few friendly bears of the two-legged kind and many of their neighbors. I arrived at 3pm and left at 9pm, arriving home at 10:45pm. Their home in Rochester is lovely and the guys are really happy. Joseph has recently lost 97lbs due to diet changes. Well done Joseph!
I'm still working with a medical social worker to bring down the cost of my health insurance, currently $664/month, down from $859/month earlier this year and way down from $1388/month all of last year.
Now, if I could just figure out how to get the a/c in this house to work. I'll figure it out; but, so far, I'm stymied by the programmable thermostat. I had the fan only blowing for two days before it became fully apparent to me the swamp cooler wasn't engaged. I finally turned off the fan and opened some of the windows. I'm expecting allergies to kick in. Joy! Joy!
Really small victories: I purchased a breakfast table from Ikea a week ago. The boxes are out of the car and in the house as of this morning. I've opened the boxes; but, I'm still circling the materials, as the directions (all pictures) make no sense to me. I had a list of items I needed for the house. I've shopped very carefully and have purchased a vacuum cleaner, a lawn mower (from a friend), a stand alone electric heater (for the basement), an occasional chair for the guest room and the breakfast table, all for under $200.
With the assistance of a Statefarm agent, I've finally installed Statefarm's version of the safe driving app. It isn't as intuitive as the company would like to think it is ... Though only a 5% discount, it all helps. The difference in premiums between Texas and Minnesota is $150/per six months higher here. Part of the difference is my zip code (and the number of claims in it) and a larger, fancier car than the Honda CRV.
I followed through last Saturday and drove to Rochester, MN for the first time for a birthday party. Some of you might remember LJ users perkk and geometrician. My first stay in Minneapolis in 2007 was for John's 40th birthday party. How could I not show up for his 50th? The celebration also coincided with their 3rd wedding anniversary. The two-hour drive was well worth it. I didn't know many people, but John's parents were in attendance (who I really enjoy); I spent quality time with them, met a few friendly bears of the two-legged kind and many of their neighbors. I arrived at 3pm and left at 9pm, arriving home at 10:45pm. Their home in Rochester is lovely and the guys are really happy. Joseph has recently lost 97lbs due to diet changes. Well done Joseph!
I'm still working with a medical social worker to bring down the cost of my health insurance, currently $664/month, down from $859/month earlier this year and way down from $1388/month all of last year.
Now, if I could just figure out how to get the a/c in this house to work. I'll figure it out; but, so far, I'm stymied by the programmable thermostat. I had the fan only blowing for two days before it became fully apparent to me the swamp cooler wasn't engaged. I finally turned off the fan and opened some of the windows. I'm expecting allergies to kick in. Joy! Joy!