Friday, June 09, 2006
Ten Reasons Not To Retire
These are also reasons others give to retire:
1. More time to blog. No... Irene, who retired to Kona ten years ago, says she doesn’t have time to write a blog. I can do that now. You’re reading it. You wouldn’t want to hear from me every day, would you?
2. Spend time on my art…well, it just happens that I have a nice collage now hanging in the Library at Evergreen.
"Snakes" 
It depicts the legend in India that people save gold in big brass pots and put them in a pit under their house and the snakes come to guard it so no one can ever get to it.
3. Write. Ha! After that 40 page report to the Professional Recognition Committee (which they accepted, so I’ll get my raise, yeah!!!) oh, AND the Three Year Post-Tenure Review, which happened to be 7 years plus projected goals for 3 years totals TEN years of my professional life, AND a large chunk for the Library Program Review and a revision of my 3-unit Information Competency class with Student Learning Outcomes, and, and, and, okay, maybe not write those sort of things but I’m on the last chapter of my Raj Style book now and its cooking :-) and, I did get a poem published in our literary magazine Leaf By Leaf. Takes you back.
Click to enlarge poem
4. Get more sun. Are you kidding? After spending a day at Twin Lakes Beach in Santa Cruz , eating fish tacos and enjoying the 78F sunshine, it can’t get better than this, can it?
Briz and Bill In California, 75% of our days are sunny. It has to rain some days, even in Hawaii.
5. Travel more. Hardly. After going to Australia and New Zealand in January, I’m ready to stay home for the summer. No, really!
6. Not work. Why? It’s so rewarding and interesting. Spend all my days doing Sudoku? I don’t think that’s my style. Another reason: my office in San Jose.
7. Take care of others: grandchildren, parents, adult children, nieces and nephews, sisters and brothers, friends…I’m beginning to think this is not my role now either. Been there done that sort of thing. My advice: think of alternatives before you call. This is finally, MY TIME! Even if I am not “retired”.
8. Garden. I love gardens but I hate to garden. Nuff sed. These pictures are taken in our garden.
9. Live off my Social Security. It won’t keep me in the manner to which I have become accustomed. Sorry.
10. Burn out. What’s that? When it happens, I’ll retire! Then, I’ll do something else.
There is one other thing. More time to read. As a librarian, working in a candy shop of the mind, I wonder if being retired will really put me in more contact with books. Will I just end up feeling like a visitor in my own house?
ON A PERSONAL NOTE: PAUL has been living with us during the week while he consults architecturally in San Jose, building libraries.
(I should’ve stood on a stool when they took this pic in Baywood Park near Los Osos.)
JASMINE at a Victorian tea at the Lace Place in Brisbane, next stop: Africa. SHEILA in New York City working for Sandbox Studio in TriBeCa and living near 5th Ave. Way to go, Shebop! DAVID and META moving to Portland from Washugal. AMY, BRYANT and TAYLOR in France and Holland. NATALA--a commemoration for her patent filed by Microsoft.
MOI—visiting Seattle. MARGO back from Perth and on to Sydney, selling her home and moving! ERIC married seventeen years is the longest extant marriage in the Chase family now. 
Keep on kissing: MARG and Vous. JENNY to Australia soon, bon voyage! Hi, MUM!
Sixty feet of walls plus ten display cases, the Asian Art show which I organze, was well received as was the Appi Mishra Scholarship Fundraiser, organized by moi, both in May.
Wabi-sabi
• All things are impermanent
• All things are imperfect
• All things are incomplete
1. More time to blog. No... Irene, who retired to Kona ten years ago, says she doesn’t have time to write a blog. I can do that now. You’re reading it. You wouldn’t want to hear from me every day, would you?
2. Spend time on my art…well, it just happens that I have a nice collage now hanging in the Library at Evergreen.
"Snakes" 
It depicts the legend in India that people save gold in big brass pots and put them in a pit under their house and the snakes come to guard it so no one can ever get to it. 3. Write. Ha! After that 40 page report to the Professional Recognition Committee (which they accepted, so I’ll get my raise, yeah!!!) oh, AND the Three Year Post-Tenure Review, which happened to be 7 years plus projected goals for 3 years totals TEN years of my professional life, AND a large chunk for the Library Program Review and a revision of my 3-unit Information Competency class with Student Learning Outcomes, and, and, and, okay, maybe not write those sort of things but I’m on the last chapter of my Raj Style book now and its cooking :-) and, I did get a poem published in our literary magazine Leaf By Leaf. Takes you back.
Click to enlarge poem4. Get more sun. Are you kidding? After spending a day at Twin Lakes Beach in Santa Cruz , eating fish tacos and enjoying the 78F sunshine, it can’t get better than this, can it?
Briz and Bill In California, 75% of our days are sunny. It has to rain some days, even in Hawaii.5. Travel more. Hardly. After going to Australia and New Zealand in January, I’m ready to stay home for the summer. No, really!
6. Not work. Why? It’s so rewarding and interesting. Spend all my days doing Sudoku? I don’t think that’s my style. Another reason: my office in San Jose.
7. Take care of others: grandchildren, parents, adult children, nieces and nephews, sisters and brothers, friends…I’m beginning to think this is not my role now either. Been there done that sort of thing. My advice: think of alternatives before you call. This is finally, MY TIME! Even if I am not “retired”.
8. Garden. I love gardens but I hate to garden. Nuff sed. These pictures are taken in our garden.
9. Live off my Social Security. It won’t keep me in the manner to which I have become accustomed. Sorry.
10. Burn out. What’s that? When it happens, I’ll retire! Then, I’ll do something else.
There is one other thing. More time to read. As a librarian, working in a candy shop of the mind, I wonder if being retired will really put me in more contact with books. Will I just end up feeling like a visitor in my own house?
ON A PERSONAL NOTE: PAUL has been living with us during the week while he consults architecturally in San Jose, building libraries.
(I should’ve stood on a stool when they took this pic in Baywood Park near Los Osos.)
JASMINE at a Victorian tea at the Lace Place in Brisbane, next stop: Africa. SHEILA in New York City working for Sandbox Studio in TriBeCa and living near 5th Ave. Way to go, Shebop! DAVID and META moving to Portland from Washugal. AMY, BRYANT and TAYLOR in France and Holland. NATALA--a commemoration for her patent filed by Microsoft.MOI—visiting Seattle. MARGO back from Perth and on to Sydney, selling her home and moving! ERIC married seventeen years is the longest extant marriage in the Chase family now. 
Keep on kissing: MARG and Vous. JENNY to Australia soon, bon voyage! Hi, MUM!Sixty feet of walls plus ten display cases, the Asian Art show which I organze, was well received as was the Appi Mishra Scholarship Fundraiser, organized by moi, both in May.
Wabi-sabi
• All things are impermanent
• All things are imperfect
• All things are incomplete
