A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Where are you and where are you going?
IlliniDave
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by IlliniDave »

Dave wrote:
Thu Jul 01, 2021 1:34 pm
Lots of balls in the air for you, but sounds like you're juggling everything well. Hoping everything goes as smoothly as can be hoped for.
Thanks, Dave. I'm mostly a serial person by nature so it's way more balls in the air than I like. I really am getting close to crashing and burning, but I suppose in the end it will all work out.

IlliniDave
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by IlliniDave »

So here I am spamming again.

It occurred to me I am leveraging this thread as a therapist's couch. I have family, close colleagues at work, and just general friends, that I am fairly open about discussing my situation and future with, but depending on the nature of the relationship there are limits. This place, and the group here, is a complement to that palette where I can exercise thought experiments in the in between areas, and even float trial balloons.

I'm about commit an ere fail. We experienced an unfortunate hardware failure in the lab yesterday which heaves a monkey wrench and a double handful of sand into the gears of the training activities with my replacement. What it means is that to simultaneously keep to my exit schedule and execute a hand off I can feel good about, I'll probably have to grind out more OT than I already am (which fortunately is not much by historical standards). Combine that with the difficulty I am already having in finding the ideal solution in freighting my crap north, I think I'm going to plunk down a deposit for a Cadillac moving service. I hadn't found a budget option that didn't come with logistical headaches whose costs I was still in the process of getting estimates for. The extra $ for the extra hrs will cover 1/3-1/2 the addition cost, but that still leaves at minimum an extra $1K out of my pocket. That's something I can "afford", but I was really trying to begin the turning over of a new leaf with this relocation and wean myself even more from using money in place of time, attention, and effort. But once again my salaryman brain calculates that time, attention, and effort at work pays more dividends than it does at home (when I estimate the value of the $, peace of mind, and reduced "stress").

One big takeaway from this is as I settle into retirement I want to increase my relative capacity for hauling stuff myself, knowing I probably have one more significant relocation in my future. I say relative because part of the equation will be doing a better job maintaining a minimal amount of stuff to haul.

Have a plumber coming first thing to likely redo the wax seal on one of my toilets, suddenly started noticing a bit of funk is the master bath water closet, then later in the morning my decorating consultants are bringing over their general contractor to start putting together their game plan. It's both something I dread a little, and the first hint of light at the end of the tunnel. It will be the beginning of several weeks of disruption, leaving me with basically no sanctuary to retreat to, but it will also provide a road map for me to sequence/schedule items I've been carrying on my pending list (e.g., scheduling boarding for my dog, weekend jaunts to Illinois to transport fragile/valuable/important items and start house hunting, etc). This is one of those junctures where I believe being able to write out a schedule on paper will do me a world of good.

Married2aSwabian
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by Married2aSwabian »

You do have a lot going on - just keep that image of the Harvest in mind. :)

At least you’ll have a hot seller’s market going for you when house is listed.

I can relate to your situation. Ten years ago, we decided to move back to Germany (for what turned out to be two years). I signed new job offer with German company at end of June. We then set all the wheels in motion for an international move, including selling the house, selling 2/3 of our stuff, finding new apartment in impossible German market, closed end of Aug, said goodbye to family and friends, flew across the pond and started now job and school for our daughter first week of Sept.! It was truly crazy.

Outsourcing your move sounds like a smart move right now - especially if you’ll be working with OT up to the bitter end.

I would just crank this up:

https://www.rush.com/songs/freewill/

and get it done! :D

Quadalupe
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Location: the Netherlands

Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by Quadalupe »

IlliniDave, I think you are actually thinking very intelligently about the moving situation. Your rationale isn't "I outsource moving so I can earn more $$ at work" (optimization), it's more "there are more yields than just $$$, like mental well-being, time, giving your replacement a good start" (yields&flows).

Anyway, good luck with the move, the training and the transition!

white belt
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by white belt »

I feel like I’m missing something. Your employer already knows your retirement timeline. You planned adequately for proper replacement training time. Unplanned issue reared it’s head. Are you really obligated to work OT to ensure a smooth handoff? Or is this just to help you sleep at night and feel like your project will succeed in the future? I know how attached one can get to projects that they have managed.

IlliniDave
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by IlliniDave »

white belt wrote:
Fri Jul 02, 2021 10:10 am
I feel like I’m missing something. ...
Nope, I am not obligated by my employer to work additional overtime. But I like my employer, my customer (whose facility the equipment is part of, my teammates, and my replacement seems like a good kid. I've always tried to do my best and will continue that until the end of the month. I know what you mean about getting attached to projects. My last assignment prior to this one was very difficult to have to leave. In this case, though, it's really more about the people than the project.

IlliniDave
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by IlliniDave »

Quadalupe wrote:
Fri Jul 02, 2021 7:43 am
... Your rationale isn't "I outsource moving so I can earn more $$ at work" (optimization), it's more "there are more yields than just $$$, like mental well-being, time, giving your replacement a good start" (yields&flows).
Thanks, Quadalupe, and thanks for pointing that out. I feel like less of a failure. :lol:

IlliniDave
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by IlliniDave »

Married2aSwabian wrote:
Fri Jul 02, 2021 6:20 am

I would just crank this up:

https://www.rush.com/songs/freewill/

and get it done! :D
Wow, my move pales in comparison to yours! Most people seem to go through moves pretty unfazed. I've sort of known this, but it is definitely being reinforced. For me having a solid home base is pretty important. Maybe that's tied into the introvert thing. But as this has progressed new cracks are appearing in the foundation with each step. I'm feeling like a forlorn tumbleweed.

Boy, that song hit the spot today. It always pulls me back to an important and happy time in my life. Thanks.

IlliniDave
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by IlliniDave »

I'm now starting to get to the back of all my junk caches in the house. Over the weekend I found a bin with copies of a lot of my old writing. I once toyed with the idea of writing fiction as an income producing activity to supplement a much leaner retirement. But once my mom got sick my interest in writing went to zero. Anyway, a lot of this stuff predates any thoughts of early retirement. I started thumbing through one old draft manuscript. It was so old I didn't even remember I'd written it. The first few pages were actually engaging enough I would have kept going had it been a thunderstormy night in front of the fireplace up in the Northwoods had I reason to believe it was a completed story. It's now in a pile destined for the recycle bin as I still have no interest in going back to pursuing that craft. I mention it just because it was a clear reminder of how much a person can change over the years, something I think is worth keeping in mind when planning for long retirements.

Dave
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by Dave »

Great reminder. It is strange how much we can change - I'm a little younger than you, but have seen that play out with myself, too, when I look back at things from a decade ago.

Does being reminded of that change or have any impact in how you're framing your current transition?

IlliniDave
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by IlliniDave »

Dave wrote:
Tue Jul 06, 2021 8:45 am
Does being reminded of that change or have any impact in how you're framing your current transition?
Hey Dave,

Not too much. The first x years are sort of charted out for me as I keep home base near my dad and do my best to pursue the things I want to pursue with that geographical constraint. The first place it is likely to show up is when I no longer need to be close to back home. Going in to retirement my thinking at that point is that I'll decide when that day comes between moving somewhere closer to my kids, or upgrade accommodations in the Northwoods and make that my year-round home. But a lot could change in the intervening years so those thoughts are written in pencil.

More generally I've oversaved so that lean means don't close the door on too many options

IlliniDave
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by IlliniDave »

Partial Success. I got all my music stuff save one guitar and all my important papers and all my fall and winter clothes safely transported up to Illinois.

I also had a chance to re-familiarize myself with what will almost certainly at this stage be my Midwest Citywoods hideout. Aside from being a tad too large (2400 sqft) it will meet my desires better than what I thought based on memory. And I've always liked the property it sits on.

Some images of the property for the curious. One drawback is that it's not suitable for vegetable gardening unless I take down some of the large trees, which I don't have the heart to do. And, I'm not as big a fan of hostas as its current owner.

Image

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Last edited by IlliniDave on Sun Jul 11, 2021 5:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

7Wannabe5
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Lovely. Is the front yard sunny? Young hosta shoots are edible.

IlliniDave
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by IlliniDave »

7Wannabe5 wrote:
Sun Jul 11, 2021 3:48 pm
Lovely. Is the front yard sunny? Young hosta shoots are edible.
Maybe a little right along the road, but there are large trees across from it and the front faces east and so the sun is at a low angle. The oldest/tallest trees are south of the house (3rd Picture). The fourth was taken in the front yard looking north at about 930AM. Second is from the road bordering the north of the lot looking towards the front yard at about the same time. There was a pretty impressive collection of native plants initially although unfortunately many were displaced by ornamentals. Bloodroot, may apple, wild ginger, jack in the pulpit, all those ferns, foamflower, coral bells, solomon's seal were some I recognized. I'll probably start introducing a few endangered (in Illinois) specimens (orchids, lady's slippers, trillium, etc.) in time.

EdithKeeler
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by EdithKeeler »

Pretty property!!

7Wannabe5
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

You could probably run a semi-permanent yard sale of hostas as you introduce or encourage the other species :lol:

Tyler9000
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by Tyler9000 »

Looks incredible! I love shaded gardens. Even if hostas aren't your favorite, they're plenty durable and could be good foundation plants to build around.

IlliniDave
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by IlliniDave »

Tyler9000 wrote:
Sun Jul 11, 2021 9:10 pm
Looks incredible! I love shaded gardens. Even if hostas aren't your favorite, they're plenty durable and could be good foundation plants to build around.
I don't have anything against them, although I think there are upwards of 40 different varieties which is a little too chaotic for me because some of the hybrids are frankly weird-looking. You're right, they're not a bad backbone plant since deer don't bother them (just in my few brief visits I've seen deer, turkeys, and foxes in the yard, and this year a pair of barred owls nested in one of the trees and their owlet hung out on the back patio for a few days). The only problem with hostas (and the ferns) is that they they thrive there and choke other stuff out.

IlliniDave
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by IlliniDave »

One thing I meant to mention the other day is having an entire diurnal cycle away from the chaos at the house (the one I live in now) instilled some peace of mind in me that has persisted even after being back for two days. In part that is because my dad doesn't appear to be as bad off as I'd begun to fear. In part it was getting a very tactile preview of a primary component of the next phase of life. And some of it was just plain old taking a break. Still a lot to do, but I'm back to approaching it with calm resolve rather than harried fanaticism. Moral of the story: don't go too long without taking a deep breath, even in the midst of "dreams" transforming into reality.

Western Red Cedar
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Re: A Journey of Mindfulness--the Remaking of Life in Midstream.

Post by Western Red Cedar »

That looks like a beautiful property and the perfect environment to transition away from work! I'm currently reading about all of the positive health benefits of spending time in nature, particularly for extended periods of time. Hoping this is the first major step towards a happy, healthy, new phase of life.

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