600 Hours

 This week I hit a major milestone. In order to be eligible to apply for my pension I had to work 600 hours in 2020 and 600 hours in 2021. April 15th, at 4:15 I hit that requirement. A week ago I requested my retirement application and it arrived yesterday. I spent an hour filling it out, I was so excited! This was a huge step on my lifelong goal of freedom. (Future Grandkids Note: Your lifelong goal should be to be free and independent as well. Self sufficiency and preparation are keys to almost anything.) I've chosen October 12, 2021 as my retirement date. I've told Things 1 & 2 that we are going on a road trip, either together or separately depending on their schedules. During the pandemic I haven't seen Thing 1 nearly as much and of course Thing 2 is in Korea still. 

I'm in week 8 of my current course. Once this course is completed I'll have only five more courses left! Yes, I'm well over half way to being finished! Of course my break in October will push my graduation date back to the Fall graduation in 2022 but I'll be finished with my last class in August I believe. I was going to be finished in May so it's not that much different and this break after I'm done will be critical to adjusting to this new life. 

I watched a movie Friday night, Nomadland. It's really good, it's poetry of America, the downtrodden, love, loss, the blue collar worker, and freedom. There is no shame in labor and there is no shame in wanting a better life for yourself and your children. That's not the exact message of the movie but it's true nonetheless. I had a few beers and was feeling very philosophical, it was almost like a preview of what I plan on doing. Well with one exception, I'll have more means than most in the movie. 

With a master's degree I should be able to earn as much or as little as I feel like to supplement my pension. Being able to be free though, that's priceless and I should be able to do what I like when I like and still have a safety net of security supporting me. I'll have so many new options available to me to make a living it's hard to number them! 

Life is good!

Requested My Application

Yesterday was the start of the journey.  I called and requested my application to start the pension paperwork. It is a small step but very important. It takes quite a while to get everything set up so they want you to file about 180 days out. Work was pretty boring yesterday other than that, it's been a pretty slow week. 

Today after work I have a haircut and straight razor shave scheduled. It's about the best man pampering that's acceptable. Grandkids....don't get a mani-pedi unless you're granddaughters. Then knock yourselves out. 

Big Day And Big Month

 Today I turn 51. It occurred to me several weeks ago that my grandparents were younger than I am now. My grandparents in their prime, when I was older than a child but not an adult if that makes sense. They've all been gone for many years now and I've got so many questions for them, sadly those questions will never be answered now. I'll circle back to this in a bit.

April is a big month because it's the month I become officially eligible for my 30 year pension. I've explained this before so I won't elaborate on why I've got to take it this year. I will apply in the first week of May. I'm targeting September 13th because as my paydays fall, I can get a complete cash out of all my leave that next payday and I'll get my first pension check on October 1st. 

April is also big because my oldest and dearest friend, one of my Northern Brothers's birthday is 23 days from now. We plan on celebrating our turn to 51 by going to see The World of Outlaw races in Ames Iowa the last weekend of April. When I return I'll apply for my pension. 

Since that date is getting closer my anxiety has gone straight through the roof about retirement. I understand it's natural, especially at such a young age. Ha! Young! At one time I thought 25 was old! How little did I know! 

Anyway, February 19th I bought a brand new 2021 Subaru Outback Onyx Edition. I needed a car that would last me for years and handle the adventures I plan on taking. Adventures you say? Yes adventures! In October I'm leaving. I called SNHU and asked to have the October through December term off, they said it was great and so we scheduled it. It won't set back graduation very far, either way it'd be a fall graduation next year for my master's degree. 

So yes I'm leaving. I'll have plenty of money. I'll have a new car. I'll have my mom watch my elderly dog, Oscar. I'll have The Most Innocent Girl in the World watch the kitties. I'll have all the utilities paid up two months in advance. and I'll travel where ever I feel like. I've always wanted to see a lot of the country. Now I'm going to take that opportunity and do it. 

What if there's another pandemic?

What if some unforeseen event happens and I can't travel?

There's so many what ifs that I can't count them all but this is for certain, I'm leaving for a few weeks and learning how to take care of myself. Not in the self reliant way, I'm a master at many things and have survival skills to survive almost anything. I can shoot, fish, camp, and get lost and be just fine. I'm talking about taking care of my being, my soul. I've sacrificed so much over the past 30 years and now finally, even though this is sort of forced upon me prematurely, I'm going to take this time for me. 

Here is where I circle back to grandparents. I'm not a grandparent yet, not putting pressure on my daughters or anything it's just not the time yet for them. I am confident in the next few years I will become a grandparent and I want my grandkids to know about me, but what if I'm not around to tell them all of the things they need to know? What if they want to know about Granddad and there's no one to tell them?

Then it dawned on me how long I've written this blog and the record of thoughts it contains. They can know me as if I'm sitting right there telling them all of the stories I've told my readers over the years. I'm going to endeavor to keep a better record than I have over the past few years. I can't guarantee I'll be as prolific as I once was when I posted every single day for over a decade but I'll try to post much more as I get closer to my freedom and my new found journey of self discovery. 

I don't know if you know this or not but earning a master's degree is a lot of reading and writing. So I usually come home, grab a beer, and starting doing homework. Tonight was a bit different, I thought about writing this blog post on the day I officially broke 50. 

Here's to the future!