m741's ERE Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by m741 »

@Chris - essentially all my friends and my gf's friends knew (not about retirement, but about travel plans, which aren't that far outside the norm in NYC - people seem a tiny bit jealous but have heard of others doing things like this as well).

The reaction from my boss was very supportive, as I expected. We'd had 4 people leave the team in the past 2 years. Two were internal transfers and two basically did what I've said I'm doing: long-term travel. One of those may even read the forums or MMM for all I know, the other was just traveling for some time. So it wasn't unexpected.

I think this particular team, doing nonprofit work, attracted people who weren't interested in normal corporate things, and as such there's been a tendency to leave for reasons besides a better job.

m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by m741 »

3 months out

Retirement prep/mindset

I haven't been too busy since the last update - lots of travel and holiday stuff, and my focus has been on starting my 2018 resolutions off strong. But, I really feel like my mindset has changed. I'm very much in the final stretch. I think it's been a combination of giving notice, which I mentioned before, the turn of the year which puts it at less than 3 calendar months, and making it through the holidays. It's now under 60 working days, and just 12 weekends, before I quit. And a week after that, travel starts. I had been accumulating red bull cans on my desk at work (drinking a red bull each morning rather than a coffee), and had accumulated 70 of the things. Christmas week was deserted in the office, so it was a chance to count and organize them. They're physical markers of the time until I quit... I'm recycling one each day until I leave.

It's still a little bit of a dead zone here, I'm not panicking just yet, and can't make some of the big moves I'll have to, such as selling furniture, so there's a strange mix of urgency and feeling like there's not a lot to do. But... there is. My to do list is long, it just isn't *urgent.* The gf and I are spending more time with friends, all of whom know we're leaving for travel, and we're finishing up rounds of travel planning and so forth. It's exciting to actually talk about the travel stuff, it comes up in conversation when we meet up with friends, or with friends-of-friends.

The gf hasn't given notice at her job yet - she has some travel to do towards the end of January. I think that week is when I'm gonna do an aggressive purge of things I hadn't been able to get rid of earlier. Stuff like small appliances that I'm simply unlikely to use in the next three months can go.

Financially, things are going well. I feel like I'm buying a lot in preparation for the trip (laptop and camera are the two big things). I don't like that at the same time as downsizing, but I'm finishing up electronic purchases and then all that will be left are a few clothing items. At the same time, I'm saving a ton of money, and will see numbers jump once more when bonus payments and other stuff come in this month or early next month.

There's not a lot else to say. I expect that beginning in February I'll have moved into a new phase that's more action-oriented, but until then I'm just quietly knocking off to-do list items and starting my 2018 resolutions.

DutchGirl
Posts: 1646
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by DutchGirl »

Good luck with your to-do-list. You're now down to 50 work days or so? Pretty cool prospect!

m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by m741 »

2.5 months out

I'm leaving really soon! Less than 50 working days at this point. I'm actually in a pretty good mood, in spite of impending work.

In the past 2-3 months I've really started to take advantage of some of the perks at work (there's an onsite gym with fitness classes during the day) and developed a good rhythm. I wish I'd done this years ago - the classes help take care of the midday slump and I'm very unlikely to skip them; I also meditate during the day with a notepad in front of me, and anytime something that I have to do surfaces I write it down. I'm at that point in my cycle of moods where I'm pretty optimistic and productive. I do want to leave this job on a high note, not slacking off for a few months (so I can look back proudly, and so that if I do want to return the doors are wide open). So I have some relatively clear goals and I'm still working hard to accomplish them. ~3 weeks back I was in a sort of holiday funk.

I also have a lot of stuff to do in order to prep for the trip, leaving the company, and then my plan to move after returning from the trip. That's still very much surmountable right now, and I'm trying to be diligent to avoid a time crunch in a few months. One interesting stat is that I have 300 tracked items that I've sold or donated (books, movies, electronics, etc). Some of those "items" are entire bags of clothes. And there's probably 200 books that I didn't even track when donating. And yet, the apartment still feels pretty full of stuff!

I guess the other good thing is that I'm seeing more of friends. I've generally been more on the "let other people schedule things" side of the fence when it comes to friends, but the gf and I have been scheduling more get-togethers and it's nice to see people a bit more frequently than before.

I'm also spending a bit more time on hobbies, particularly those that I want to have a running start on when I start traveling. Right now, that's drawing and painting (simple watercolor stuff), which I'd like to do as a way of commemorating the trip.

In terms of finances, it's pretty smooth sailing right now. I'm maxing out 401k, etc, so that I can get the full company match in the 3 months of the year that I'm there. When I have a little more time I'll detail how I went about calculating that out, and what the implications are.

I'm not gonna list my TODOs over the next two weeks here, they're pretty mundane. But I've found that the Todoist app is a great tool (I'm sure there are plenty like it). I can easily schedule TODOs and see a summary of what I have scheduled for a given day. That's keeping me sane as I work through all the paperwork right now.

taemoo
Posts: 43
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 3:59 am
Location: Madison, WI

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by taemoo »

Less than 50 days! That's exciting, congratulations! I'm about 10 months out but feels really long.

m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by m741 »

2 months out

Now it's 38 working days until I leave, and 50-odd days total.

That feels really close, and now I'm starting to panic (just a little). It's time to address things that I've put off which will take indeterminate time (taxes, getting International Driver's Permit, etc).

To top it off, I've been enjoying work. To some extent, the fact that everyone knows I'm leaving has taken some of the pressure off: I have an excuse not to work needlessly late. My coworkers are almost all reasonable people and I don't think anyone would really fault me for slacking off. But I'm actually in a pretty productive spike.

I've figured out a very good long- and short-term goal tracking system for my personal life, over the past year: one that's made me notably more productive. And I started to apply that at work. There's two things I want to make sure of at work: that I don't go out feeling like I didn't actually try, and that I make the most of this opportunity. And over the past week especially I've felt that way. One of my managers has a very difficult family situation, and I was chatting with her the other day and she said "How lucky that work feels like a vacation to me." I really took that to heart. This is a very good corporate gig, all things told. I also put in my time, was diligent, but at the same time I never really pushed myself or tried to extract what I could from it. It was, after all, an opportunity to learn and practice things for 8 hours a day.

I've come to realize that setting such extensive, long-term plans before leaving was a very bad idea. And maybe I'd caution other people who have 5+ years left before hitting FI, to avoid planning in too much depth. For at least a year, maybe more, I really didn't seize opportunities that I could have.

I'm also thinking more seriously of returning to the same company, on the west coast, after my trip. Two levels of management are very supportive, and although I've only been in the corporate world for 10 years I know that the company, team, and people that I've begun to connect with present a rare opportunity. We'll see if I have the same mindset after my trip. Maybe I'll have a revelation in southern Spain or on top of a mountain in New Zealand. :)

Anyway, I also developed a very comfortable, productive work routine. Leaving aside the todo and goal stuff: I stopped snacking, and eat just one meal, a salad, on most days. Almost every day I go to the gym at work, where I take a boxing or plyometrics class. I also meditate for 20 minutes every day, keeping a notepad in front of me in case any tasks or ideas (personal or professional) surface. I drink more water and in addition to the meditation I've set aside 10 minutes before heading home to reflect on work at the end of every day: what excites me, what could I do better, what did I learn, or what do I want to learn?

I guess I've been thinking a bit more longer term. And I still feel untethered, not incredibly passionate about something. But in retirement, I'd like to either (A) be a truly effective participant at some nonprofit, or (B) run my own company. And I've not really squeezed all the juice out of the fruit at my current job.

And that's pretty much it. I'll focus more on the travel plans at some point soon... maybe after the trip starts :)

wolf
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:09 pm
Location: Germany

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by wolf »

m741 wrote:
Thu Feb 01, 2018 10:07 pm
I've come to realize that setting such extensive, long-term plans before leaving was a very bad idea. And maybe I'd caution other people who have 5+ years left before hitting FI, to avoid planning in too much depth. For at least a year, maybe more, I really didn't seize opportunities that I could have.
What do you mean by that exactly? I am such a guy who has 5+ years left. With long-term plans, do you mean your long-term TRAVEL plans? I am interested in understanding your thoughts because I guess there are maybe some valuable lessons to share. Do you recommend not to do any (fixed) long-term plans? Maybe keeping the flexibility longer would be better. Unexpected opportunities arise, that cannot be seized if there is a fixed plan. Was that the case for you? If yes, can you give an example?
Right now I have already thought about some possible plans after hitting FI but haven't decided yet. Maybe it is better to make the decision shortly (a few months) before FI. If you can share your thoughts and describe it a bit more, I'd really appreciate it.

BTW congratulations to your FI-phase and thank you for writing your journal about it. I follow it with great interest! Take care m741.

m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by m741 »

@wolf - To address your specific concerns: I am not talking about travel or post-FI plans, exactly, but rather the impact of setting an end date, the unreliability of that end date, and using its existence to justify nor pushing yourself or changing living situations.

Here's some more detail and a recap of my situation:

I found out about ERE about 8 or 9 years ago. It immediately clicked with me. I started keeping records, cutting expenses, and so on. I saved up maybe 1/4 or 1/3 of my (cautious) ERE number. Then my mother passed away and I roughly doubled my savings from the inheritance; it made me re-examine my life and I also decided that I wanted a more meaningful job. About 4 and a half years ago I switched companies, knowing that FI would be coming soon.

Now I was at a new company: a very good, highly respected company. I'd always been diligent in work, continued to work hard. Within a year after starting I *could* have retired at my current expenses. But I wanted a more comfortable, less risky, retirement.

Here's where things went a little off the rails for me. Although the company was great, I wasn't that happy on my team. About 3 years ago, I switched teams, to one that had awesome goals but which was very poorly run. I didn't know that beforehand, because I didn't do as much research as I should have. I wasn't too concerned, because I knew I'd retire "soon". I got stuck in a trap: I didn't want to leave the team (because I believed in the mission, and it would be shitty to leave within a year). I didn't have much opportunity for advancement (constant hierarchy-shuffling, small team). Despite that, I would likely get a promotion due to seniority (but no additional responsibility). Most of all, I figured I'd be leaving soon. The last thing I wanted was to switch teams, waste people's time, and then leave. This was in late 2015. I set plans with the gf to quit and at least travel, in mid-2017.

So I sort of coasted. Still worked hard where necessary, but stopped learning or innovating. Got the seniority promotion but didn't take advantage of many opportunities. Networking wouldn't matter (I wouldn't be working to take advantage of it...). Picking up new software development skills would be a waste. After all, I'd be leaving the company and many technologies in a large company do not transfer out. Or maybe after traveling I'd leave the field entirely, or actually retire! Most of all I think I didn't want to waste people's time - guilt has always been a big driver of my behavior. For someone else it might be laziness.

Then in late 2016 the gf found out she had more student debt than expected (due to a complicated family situation I won't get into). We were planning on traveling within 8-9 months. I wanted to help out, and had the resources to if I went back to work for a bit, but I thought it would be super weird to just buy out the debt or something. And I think she would have felt weird as well. We postponed the travel plans until sometime in 2018 so she could get the situation under control. Now I had been 'coasting' for a year and had another ~18+ months to go.

18 months is a while. But I also didn't have the energy or desire to switch teams for just 18 months (or even less). It was basically a reset. I promised it wouldn't happen again. But still the situation felt the same as the end of 2015: why learn, why network, etc? I basically rode it out since then.

----

That's the summary.

1. If you are a high-income earner, or become one (as I was), you are going to approach FI rapidly. It will be difficult to adjust when you hit that crossover point. You can add substantial buffer as a high-income earner by working another year or two, or three or four. Read bloggers or listen to podcasters, this is "one more year syndrome." This applies even if you don't grow, get promoted again, etc, because your income is already high.
2. Think carefully about your mindset currently, and in the future. At what point do you think it makes less sense to invest in your career and career skills, to move for a new job or to transfer teams/companies? It's probably different for everyone. 1-2 years made sense for me. That's reasonable... but now what happens if you're delayed (family event, illness, accident, layoff, lawsuit, etc)? Those 1-2 years may turn into 3-4. Maybe your number was 3-4 to begin with, or you're delayed for longer... and now you've been in a holding pattern for a painful amount of time. So for you, wolf, at 5 years: What if I told you now that something will happen and you'll work for 8? Would you change things?
3. You may hate your current job, think you'll get sick of it, etc. It's probably one reason why you want to retire/hit FI. But you're going to be doing it for ~5 years or more, right? If you have strictish plans in that time range, yes: you're not gonna switch careers, even though it might make sense to do so and push your schedule back a couple years! You may also find yourself in the opposite situation: growing to like the job more, or aspects of it, and seeing opportunities open up in your "retirement" to work more on your own terms (part time, remotely, for a nonprofit, etc). But if you only see those opportunities 3 months or 6 months or even a year out, you may have wasted 2-4 years that you could have pushed yourself.

I'll also point out that although this sounds sad or gloomy, I generally made the right decisions in hindsight! The new company was definitely the right move. The new team, though initially crappy, finally righted itself (with some help from me, and a lot of luck). I ended up working longer due to the gf situation, but that meant I got to see the team go on the right track, as well as meet some new co-workers who are both good connections and who believe in me (oh yeah, and add even more buffer to savings).

What I wonder now was where I'd be if I applied myself and basically set my sights and built my career as though I was gonna be working for 20 years rather than 2... and then just bailed after 2 years.

wolf
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:09 pm
Location: Germany

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by wolf »

First of all, thank you m741 for this detailed answer and really insightful explanation of your thoughts. I had to read it twice in order to understand the full depth and meaning of it. And I will definitely re-read it in a couple of months and years in order to remind me of it.

I think, that your experience is indeed a valuable lesson for workers / salary men / business men, who are aspiring specifically FI and RE and have that kind of mindset. So it is a good valuable lesson for me as well, because I try to transition my mindset from FIRE in the future to ERE-principles, -strategy and -lifestyle in the presence. Somehow I feel like your experiences should be shared with other FIRE-seeking people on this forum. Maybe there is another thread, where it is possible to link a reference to it. Only if you like to, of course.

I don't want to comment everything what you wrote, because it shouldn't be about my opinion or judgement. But I will answer toward the one question you addressed at me directly.
m741 wrote:
Fri Feb 02, 2018 10:46 pm
So for you, wolf, at 5 years: What if I told you now that something will happen and you'll work for 8? Would you change things?
That is indeed a good question! It challenges me to think about my current situation with work and my future plans with it. Regarding my ex-username (MDFIRE2024) I started this journey with the specific goal to be FI and RE in 2024. And that lead me to think only about that specific time frame till 2024, for the next 7 seven years (starting 20117). That focused my thoughts only on those years. To be honest, I lost the context of my life a bit. But now I am trying to change. These days I try to change my lifestyle more into a sustainable kind of way, which can lasts (hopefully) decades. (as I pointed out in my journal posts). Luckily I have done many things in order to improve my satisfaction with my current work ("Job Crafting"). Therefore I'm satisfied with my work situation. So, I question myself: "If I would have to work for more than 10 years within my current work place/situation/area..., will I be ok with that? Or would I change something? Is my work situation sustainable, or not?" Currently I have clear answers to those questions. Yes, I will be ok if I had to work for more than 10 years in that specific job role at that company. Yes, my work situation is sustainable. Maybe I would change slightly some things, but overall I am ok with it. Those are also the answers onto your questions. But your questions definitely made me think about it again. And that is something, others should do also, if they have +5 years left until FI/RE. About similiar things I have also written about in my last journal post. Link Funny, that this happend coincidentally almost at the same time. Again, thank you for writing about it in that level of detail! I really apreciate it.

And I am also glad for you, that everything at work developed great and that you feel and believe that you made the right decisions in hindsight.

Fish
Posts: 570
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2016 9:09 am

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by Fish »

@m741 - I find it really interesting to follow along your live countdown to retirement. Thanks for documenting your mental state so well. The bit about not pursuing work opportunities due to being too focused and rigid on the ER goal resonates with me. For about 5 years now, I've used a planning horizon of about 2-3 years wrt my current career. This led to being somewhat lazy and unambitious at work relative to my peers. It has been a good lifestyle decision but not a good career decision. And now the original 5 year plan is going to stretch out another 5-10 years at least... and perhaps even all the way out to the age when I can take retirement benefits like iDave. It's a good warning that precisely matching the planning horizon to the expected duration is not a good idea. It's like designing a race car to fall apart when it reaches the finish line. But one never really knows where that finish line is going to be, so better to err on the side of caution. And who knows what rewards await those who make the most of the opportunities that are presented to them?

jacob
Site Admin
Posts: 15907
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:38 pm
Location: USA, Zone 5b, Koppen Dfa, Elev. 620ft, Walkscore 77
Contact:

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by jacob »

What's the saying: Live each day as if it was your last but behave as if you were going to live a thousand years.

Would perhaps suggest that this problem comes about more so if FI is seen as a goal on a one-dimensional trajectory instead of a side-effect of a web of goals. In the latter case, there wouldn't be a definite date for when the web collapses. Instead you'd just cut one job node out of the web and thus one's mental state and plans (as per the web) would remain more or less robust.

m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by m741 »

One month out

I see I've skipped an update. I've been pretty busy. As expected, with the month changing to March everything clicked into place: time to panic! And today I stared into the mirror, realizing I'd be in Portugal in a month.

Ironically, the big problem over the past week was that I got deeply into a video game. I think I played 60 hours in a week, which is clearly unhealthy and I knew in the back of my head that I was both (A) putting my yearly goals on hold and (B) procrastinating on moving tasks. I think I've mostly burnt out on it now, and just in time to start all the transition tasks in earnest.

I have a big list of things to do (change phone plan, more donations/selling of stuff, especially furniture soon, book some stuff in other countries, etc), as well as a lot of stuff to take care of before I leave work. I've also gotten a number of vaccinations, pills, etc.

Now I have 15 days of work left, just three workweeks. Eep!

Pretty much every day I'm going to be bringing in stuff that I plan to sell or donate. I've had a friend pick up a few pieces of furniture (free) and will have some more this week. I'll be putting other stuff on the street and soon listing some appliances on Ebay. My cat will be leaving to live with my father starting this weekend. So... that's a lot that I've done and a lot that I still have to do.

That's about it. I'll have a lot more to say soon, probably after I move out of the apartment on the 30th.

m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by m741 »

It's time

I'm no longer working. It will likely be at least 10 months, maybe more, before I return to any kind of regular employment. I don't want to think that far out. I've been planning this for 4 years, at least.

The past two weeks have been crazy - trying to finish out a bunch of stuff at work, prepping for our trip, and also trying to move.

Work was a combination of boredom (seeing the end in sight and counting down the days), and panic (lots of stuff I had to do to help my team take over my work, or to prep for leaving the company). And in the end it really crept up. I'd say the last week just flew by. I could also feel the pressure lifting, bit by bit. I still feel it some - oh there's X and Y I have to do for project Z; it feels more like a sick day or a weekend today. But I won't have to go back. It's not my job any more. In the end, leaving the job was not what I expected, although it echoes my experience leaving finance. You build up leaving in your head, but it ends up being so quick. You have a going-away lunch or dinner, go out for drinks one last time, and then you walk out the door one last time.

To be honest, it's been far more stressful trying to organize the move. We moved about a half-minivan load of stuff upstate to where my father lives; we'll have one van worth of space on Friday morning. That means we're selling or putting all the furniture, appliances, etc on the street. Cancelling internet, power, etc. Forwarding mail to a new address. It's really tough moving without a car - lots of errands to run on foot. We're mostly done now, though. A dresser, 2 desks, 2 chairs, a microwave and a washing machine are the only large items that remain in the apartment.

Honestly, I'm shocked how flaky people are - I listed most of the furniture for free and people on Craigslist basically respond to messages once and then disappear. It's free stuff! Just commit to it! This is my first move in about 10 years; when my girlfriend moved in she was moving from one situation with roommates to another (ie, with little furniture, dishes, etc). So this has felt like a fresh experience for both of us. I hope this dissuades us from acquiring a lot of stuff in the future).

We also had to say goodbye to friends - we had a big going-away dinner last night and have been saying goodbye to people throughout. Of course, we'll be back in NYC soon enough, and it's easier than ever to keep in touch these days. But it is the end of one era in our lives.

Finally, the trip. We've got flights booked, some AirBnBs booked, some sights booked. I'm least worried about this; we've done a lot of logistical planning, gotten vaccinations, double-checked visas, and I think we'll manage to figure anything unsettled out on the road. I'll post some more updates about the details soon, but our first destination is a few days in Portugal, then a month in central/southern Spain.

The final pressure will be off our back on Friday when we complete the transfer of stuff to my father's house. At that point, I think the biggest challenge for me will be trying to make the psychological adjustment, to take my foot off the accelerator and slow down to enjoy this new period in my life. I want to savor travel and a move to the west coast, not to blink and miss it.

McTrex
Posts: 180
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 9:35 am
Location: NL

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by McTrex »

Congratulations!

Be sure to take your time to decompress and enjoy your new life :)

Oh, and please keep us posted :)
Last edited by McTrex on Wed Mar 28, 2018 1:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

herp
Posts: 171
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2017 1:11 pm

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by herp »

Congratulations on pulling the trigger, m741!

I can absolutely relate to the flakiness when selling stuff online. Patience is probably the most important thing to have in this regard.

I also fully agree with moving being stressful. I last had to move a few years ago while starting a new job at the same time and it was a couple of hellish months. I've promised myself to not move anymore than necessary in the future ;)

Looking forward to your next update when you've cleaned out the apartment and are on your way to an awesome trip.

2Birds1Stone
Posts: 1596
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2015 11:20 am
Location: Earth

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by 2Birds1Stone »

Congratulations! I've been following this journal for years now and it's amazing to see a plan like this come together. This is one of the few corners of the internet where one can study a subject such as yourself over the course of 5+ years before they ERE/LeanFIRE.

DutchGirl
Posts: 1646
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by DutchGirl »

Hurray! Good to read this. Good luck & enjoy.

George the original one
Posts: 5404
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
Location: Wettest corner of Orygun

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by George the original one »

Congratulations on achieving your goal!
m741 wrote:
Wed Mar 28, 2018 10:52 am
Honestly, I'm shocked how flaky people are - I listed most of the furniture for free and people on Craigslist basically respond to messages once and then disappear.
It is amazing! I had the same experience. It's one thing for them to show up and decide it's not for them, but totally absurd that they'll say they'll show up and never arrive.

Fortunately we were bailed out by one lady who wanted to bribe us to move to the head of the callback list. SHE was determined! And bailed out by another guy who came for one free item and decided a couple others were worthwhile, too.

m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by m741 »

Yes, we had a similar experience. One person came for a free bedframe and grabbed a free dresser; another came for a couch and his friend wanted to buy bookshelves.

On the other hand, people even bargain down and then never respond...

However, this has given me more insight into the Craigslist ecosystem and I think I can write a pretty compelling email when I'm buying/picking stuff up after the trip.

m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: m741's ERE Journal

Post by m741 »

+3 weeks

My last day working was 3/27. I moved out of my apartment on 3/30, and flew to Europe on 4/3. In retrospect, this was awfully compressed. It would have been nice to have quit, say, on 3/20. But the vesting schedule and apartment rental didn't work like that. What I didn't realize was that leaving work would impose on my schedule (drinks, events while leaving), that moving would impose on my schedule (lots of goodbyes to friends or just spending more time with them before leaving), and so on. My girlfriend worked a little longer than me so I ended up doing more cleaning, arranging for furniture to be sold/given away, and so on. All that left me pretty exhausted. So - space it out more.

Then I thought I'd be able to recover staying with my father in upstate NY prior to leaving, but I simply don't feel comfortable at home. I mean, it's nice to see everyone but it's not exactly restful. It was convenient though :).

Then we flew to Europe and it's been a very fast two weeks - starting in Porto, then to Madrid, Toledo, Granada, and now we're in Seville. It just ended up being like our regular vacations in the past, heavily booked, lots to see, lots of planes/cars/buses/trains/subways, etc. But now we have just started a week in Seville and a week in Jerez, at just the right time, when I want to slow down. In some sense, it's felt like 3 weeks straight of 'work' as we did all the above, with only one day off (a rainy day in Madrid). It's also been 3 weeks of time, mostly straight, with my girlfriend, which is a little intense for an introvert like me. I suspect we're transitioning into a new phase of the trip now, though, and I feel less guilty about doing/seeing less or spending more time in one city.

I'll have some more updates soon, now that things have slowed down.

Post Reply