Having been through three of these retirement junctions in my life so far, I can say that it pretty much started out with the desire to (1) do work I like (2) have time off for life outside work and (3) not have to deal with people I'd rather not deal with
So in the first of these retirements, I went back to school, learnt pottery, Visual Basic, screenwriting and did some weight training. It lasted all of three months. Got bored and went back to work, taking a regular job at a different sort of company. At the next retirement, I traded derivatives, tried to learn how to cook but was an abject failure, and realized, like Bruce says, that I was living in cyberspace not meatspace. This lasted about 4 months. I then took on an entirely different sort of job in a different industry (going from software to television) - this time defined my work more as consulting etc to give me the space and flexibility I didn't have earlier. It didn't work - I guess, consultant or otherwise, I had the same time and task crowding issues that I had before in my life - with even fewer support systems to help me through. Not having juniors or an assistant (consultants rarely do) sucked. At the third "retirement" I went through a stint of 3 years of not doing too much except having one meeting a day at the most, and being at home while the kid was growing up. After a few years of this I was climbing walls. I'm now running a business that started quietly and calmly and now is again going through the roof, taking over 18 hours of my day, six or more days a week. I know "retirement" of any sort is at least a year or more away. So here's what I know about retirement, at least as far as myself: 1. I can never retire. I can't do nothing for sustained periods of time. 2. When I do end up doing something, it's well-nigh impossible for it to be some kind of pastoral life. Whatever one tends to do sucks me in till it's the same sort of crazed days that it always used to be. 3. Retirement seems to be a holiday between career changes for me. The careers aren't getting any easier on time or effort, though. My $0.02 Mahesh -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Vardhini Shankar Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2006 11:06 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [silk] What is "retirement"? > > Just what does "retirement" mean to you folks? And does the prospect > seem inviting or otherwise? > Basically good financial health, so I can pick a job I would enjoy going to, will have ample time for a "life" outside of work and to pursue other interests. Vardhini
