As a kid in middle school, I remember my dad taking me to a diner downtown before dropping me off at school. It was a diner where everyone seemed to know him. A breakfast plate of food that included eggs, bacon, and biscuits was $1.99. My dad would go there for breakfast often but the…
Category: Personal Management
Unemployment Benefits
Now that I’m unemployed, I signed up for unemployment benefits and it’s an interesting experience. First, there are many hoops to jump through to get started but after going through the gauntlet I finally got my benefit statement. It seems the state makes it as hard as possible to collect benefits. Evidently I am entitled…
I Got Laid Off
Well today was my last day at work but don’t feel sorry for me as I got a generous severance package. And it came at the perfect time, right before summer so I can take a very long vacation traveling South America where it’s nice and cool. It’s strange but the three times I’ve been…
Zepbound: My Health Journey – May Year 2
Great news, the new 10 ml dose pushed me to lose 2 pounds. The somewhat bad news is that 10 ml dose makes my stomach nauseous most of the time. It’s not bad enough that I can’t cope but it really takes the hunger out of my system. I feel the way I did back…
Retirement & Sacrificial Lambs
As I get closer to retirement, I’m getting really excited but there will be some “lambs” that will need to be sacrificed to make retirement work and last. So I’ve been taking inventory of things that I/we are willing to go without. Here’s a partial list: Sacrifices Gains There are other things we’ll miss but…
It’s Too Tough For Young People
Over the past few months I’ve had numerous conversations with a variety of people. Many are friends that we’ve known for decades and all have adult children now. In talking to many of them there is a consistent theme: Young adults are having a very tough time. The Crisis Matrix The year 2000 generation has…
Why Leave America?
When I tell people I plan on leaving the United States I get two types of responses: incredulity or affirmation. The people that are incredulous don’t want to accept that anyone would want to move outside of the United States. After all why would anyone want to leave the greatest country on earth? I often…
Which Countries Are The Safest In The World?
I just got back from a month long trip in Asia and I had a great time visiting a few countries there. I was impressed with so many things and my expectations were exceeded in many ways but the most impressive was how safe many places were during my visit. One of the reasons I…
De-Cluttering & What To Do With Stuff?
I’ve watched quite a few YouTube videos and even asked AI what the best way is to de-clutter my house and while the info has helped, it still seems to be taking a lot longer than I had hoped. With our kids now adults and our daughter announcing that she did not want to manage…
What Does Quality of Life Mean To You?
I asked AI what quality of life means to most people and here is what I got. I agree with the list although I think it left quite a few things out. But the point is to have an understanding of what your quality of life ecosystem is so that you can perform a comparative…