Going NUTTY waiting for retirement

[mothercoder]

Some know that I was supposed to retire in August and travel full time and that a shoulder injury and surgery side-lined me in March.  Now I'm going absolutely batty waiting for the time I can smash my alarm clock and head out.  That date is now sometime in June 2018.  Probably mid-June. 

My job is incredibly boring. My boss is rarely here and I don't have much to do.  Others are around (different departments) so I try not to surf the web too much and you can only do so much of that anyway.  Then I go home and there's no a whole hell of a lot to do there, either.  I have a couple of close friends but they are quite busy with work and family and can only get together occasionally.  I do try to keep busy on the weekends.  Last Saturday I spent at Shenandoah National Park and then went to a movie.  Sunday was cleaning and chores and whatnot.  I have some interests but I'm trying to not spend money on too much of anything since it needs to go for my cargo trailer and emergency fund.  So I'm pretty limited to free stuff to do.  And also limited because of my shoulder injury which still causes me some pain.  Thought about doing meetups but I'm very introverted and don't like meeting a bunch of new people.

I read, I watch movies, I plan my future nomad life but also only so much one can do of all that.  I'm not a big TV watcher and I don't get cable anyway (although I'm using my son's login for the Xfinity app). 

I have just really run out of ways to keep myself busy and distracted to make this time go faster.  If I were physically capable, I'd get a basic cargo trailer and spend time building it out but I am not able to do that. 

So yeah...looking for suggestions to help me get through these next 6 months.  Once I have the cargo trailer, I will be busy getting it set up and outfitted so the last 2 months should go by quickly. 

Hate this.  I want to be gone already.

 

[waldenbound]

I totally get it mothercoder.
I'm going crazy also. My place is more like transitional housing now. Tools I keep in case I need to do anything more to the van. Everything I look at is "throw out, donate, or take with me." I got a job at my dream company, but the pull of van life is so strong, I'll just contribute as much as I can before announcing I'm going to hit the road.

Everything is so "in transition." Waiting for one life to end an another to begin.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

It WILL happen. I know how you feel. We bought our van a year ago in August and between customizing it and the agony of working on the house to sell, I finally got out YESTERDAY! I left Hubby and son to deal with details. I couldn't wait any longer.

It's not real yet. When I woke up this morning and took the dog out, I had to tell myself that this was going to be my routine for however long. I'm sitting in the late afternoon sun here at 8000' ( its still in the upper 90s in Tucson) with puppy at my feet. The thing I'm most afraid of is that she's a runner and I'm petrified to lose her. She will have to get used to bring on a lead 24/7 if outside.

You will get there. It seemed like forever for me, too. I kept having tentative departure dates that came and went. It finally stuck.
Ted

 

[tripper]

Get the cargo trailer sooner if possible, it takes a while to get your setup the way you like it. I have 2 years left before retirement, been slowly fixing my rig up for fulltiming. I find the little details can consume a lot of time. BTW I'm in Tucson, the upper 90's don't bother me at all, I am totally acclimatized to those temps, now when it hits 70 degrees I am cold. I sit at work bored too, but at least I can plan and research the next mod for my rig

 

[Dgorila1]

So when I get in to work this morning the first emails I get are from my Supervisor giving me grief about vacation days I requested. He sits directly across from me but sends novella sized emails rather than turn around to talk directly because he is passive aggressive and also doesn't like direct conflict. So now I'm pissed off again (not the first time he has done this). If I didn't have kids in school it would make decisions to go SO much easier! Sigh!

 

[badjingle]

Do you like games or cards? Those meet ups are usually free. I love the soapmaking meetup it is 10.00. Maybe you can join the eagles or the moose - they are always serving the communities and looking for help - even with your limitations there are small things that always need to be handled. seniors may enjoy a good conversation or being read to if there is that type of facility near you. I understand you said you are more of an introvert but perhaps one on one will not be too much? maybe you can help a kid with math or english at an after school club - maybe you could even make money being a tutor - if you can handle the one on one.

I too would get the rig ASAP. It may take longer than two months to get it exactly as you like/need.

 

[mothercoder]

TBH, there's a fly in the ointment and I'm not really sure how that's going to shake out. My SO of 6 years who I have been on/off with because of his fear of commitment and failure is now saying he is going to fight for us and that we can figure things out. Mind you, this man has ZERO interest in being a nomad. It's not his thing. I also have little trust that he will actually do the things I need in order to make me want to remain in the relationship (i.e. meet my family, have me meet his, make some future plans). I am not sure I want to get married again and I'm definitely not ready at this point to even live with someone. He would be totally on board with me leaving for periods of time if I wanted to travel. The bad thing is that if I'm going to stay in this area, I can only do so if I work full time. My SS isn't enough for me to live on unless I wait until I'm 65 (turn 63 in January). Even then, to live in this area I could only afford a studio on my SS. I'd be okay with that. Also my youngest son lives in this area and his first child, my first grandchild, is due in December.

Financially I can't buy the cargo trailer yet. April would be the earlier possible date for me. So I am thinking I should just take it a day at a time, save as much as I can and see where things land in the coming months. He could go ghost on me again and should that happen, there's no chance for us. Time will tell. And in the meantime, trying to keep busy. I'm pursuing a new hobby (gourd art) and if I'm any good at it, that should take up some of my time.

But oh how I HATE working the corporate grind!!!