Congrats to all the new retirement club members! You’ve earned it, now enjoy it.
Five weeks today, and I’m done!
It’s been a weird week. I had this idea to not have anything actually scheduled for my first month of retirement. Like, just wake up whenever I want, and just live life free-form, just to see what it’s like. However, I have to have blood tests done fairly often due to a drug I’m on, and my doctor wants me to get one literally the first Monday I’ll be retired 
So that plan’s already shot to hell!
But I also keep bumping into things that make me go, “Oh, yeah, things will be easier…” There’s a martial arts seminar out of town in late September, and while booking my hotel, I suddenly realized: I don’t have to also book vacation time! I can just pick up and go!
And just now, I watched two trailers for movies coming out in the Fall, that looked like something I’d like to see, and realized I can just go to an afternoon matinee any day of the week to see them.
This is going to be great!
Naah. Just mentally start your Month of New-Found Freedom(!!) on the Tuesday after the blood draw. Just be damned sure to not let any other appointments into the Sacred Month.
But yeah, now retired almost 3 years and I find the existence of an appointment like that to be way more vexing than it should be. I also work diligently when scheduling anything medical or similar to reserve one week per month for all that crap, leaving the other three free.
If you don’t do that, and let the providers’ schedules dictate yours, the random nature of each appointment X weeks or months after the last one will have your every month peppered with one appointment every ~6 workdays and no ability to travel or enjoy extended freedom at home. Don’t do that.
Today’s vexation is a haircut. But I will be pretty for my date tonight. So there’s that. 
It annoys me to no end. I had to go in to the lab a week ago to get some standard blood work and then go see my doc the following day for a standard wellness check. Quick, easy appointments and all scheduled weeks in advance. You would have thought I had to shovel ten tons of coal the way I was sourly contemplating the imposition on my busy schedule of doing not a goddamn thing 
.
Preach it, Bro!! 
I feel this so much. I hate hate hate having a midday non-fun thing that is at a specific time. I am happy to own my out of control entitlement.
Man, I hear all of you. I have two sudden, unrelated health issues* going on that require multiple visits, phone calls, and referrals.
I want my “week-ends” to be 7 days long, not just 4 or 5.
mmm
*Hip pain and a huge prostate, if you were curious
I have to get blood work done every six weeks or so, and don’t mind it. It gets me out of the house, and I often do chores or go to the library afterwards.
OK, this made me laugh.
I refuse to schedule any appointments (medical, dental, etc.) before 10:00 in the morning so I can sleep in. Which I never do, but I could if I wanted to, dammit.
As I’ve said many times, I go to a ridiculous amount of live music. Over 150 shows a year. Concert tickets tend to go on sale Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10am. Sometimes noon. That’s a blackout time.
I’ve almost never wanted to sleep in.
I try to have all appointments end by 10am so they haven’t destroyed my day.
Same here, I always ask for the first appointment.
And, not having to work, I can select most any day.
mmm
Likewise. My pcp loves lab work and I’d rather not fast till noon, and requesting an early appointment is a habit by now.
On a contrarian note, I kind of look forward to appointments since they give me an impetus to get out of the cave. And away from the hermit in the next cave, who gets on my nerves.
Where I live local traffic is an absolute bear until after 10am and before maybe 3pm, depending on the day (Sundays with no major local events are pretty much the only semi-sane driving days). So my default appointment times are always 10:30-11:30am.
That was the main reason I started volunteering at our local museum.
I do also, because the parking at our clinic is a mess and it is a lot easier to park for an early appointment. It is good for seeing a doctor because they won’t be delayed. Lab work is always fast, so not an issue there except for parking, and when I have to fast.
It’s strange to think that I only have two more Christmases with the job (Probably). I wonder if I should set up a weekly reminder on my phone.
Christmas every week would be a bit much.
There are countdown widgets you can install on your computer(s) or phone(s) that will display the continuous countdown to whenever is your own personal blast-off. You might usefully install some of those.
I don’t have permission to install anything on my work PC, which is where I’d want it. But maybe I’ll do it at home.
I had a post it note on my credenza that I used to countdown. It started with a 5, and then three months later I wrote a 4.75 on it. Then 4.5, etc. Just a number on a post it, no one ever asked me about it.
A couple of suggestions. First, don’t be like me and start the countdown five years out. Second, two years out is fine, but I suggest that you countdown by quarters for the first year, monthly with one year to go, and then daily for the last three months. It actually becomes useful at that point as you decide how to use any vacation or sick leave before you leave. I ended up not working a single Friday in my last four months.