I, too, expect and hope that his retirement hobbies involve delicious cheese.
Wonder if Qadgop will be going back to the joint for reunions. 
Anyway, congratulations. You now have time for the more important things in life like doing a tour of the nation’s minor league baseball parks and raising fig trees in tubs (I can supply a gift pack of cuttings).
Just found the thread. Great, fascinating OP. Many congratulations from another retiree - enjoy your newfound freedom. And, as many have said, keep posting!
j
Thanks all, for all the kind thoughts and wishes. I didn’t mean to abandon this thread, but suddenly I was busy, in my first week of retirement, with medical appointments, social engagements, and a flurry of naps! I can’t guarantee that won’t happen daily but I’ll try to keep up with comments!
Wisconsin’s state prison system is failing its inmates and the public. It’s a public system and frankly it is run better than many systems, and the inmates are not in charge in our institutions, but we suffer from a shortage of skilled workers to staff the prisons at nearly all levels, along with lack of funds to do what needs doing, as voting money for prison programs is not popular. A LOT of dedicated corrections folks work hard to make a difference, but it is an endless job. And with the public still in a punitive mood towards those ‘bad people’ (and yes, some are VERY BAD people), but most are not unredeemable, and the majority of them will be released into the community before they die so the public deserves that they have a good chance at being decent citizens.
I’ve indirect experience with private prisons in that Wisconsin tried it at 4 sites in the state a couple of years before I was hired; it was just the healthcare that was privatized, and the healthcare company pulled out of all 4 prisons with hardly any notice when they discovered they couldn’t make money at it. So we state employees had to take up the slack.
Right now I’m retired from everything, including/especially medicine. I’ve done volunteer work in the past, particularly at Salvation Army homeless shelters, but it’s getting more difficult to find free clinic jobs due to liability concerns.
We’ll see how I feel further down the road. But I don’t see ever going back to full time.
Congratulations Qadgop 
. I’ve been following your recent travails with interest and sympathy these last few years, because as I approach retirement myself (closer and closer now) and my frustrations with systemic work nonsense mount, I’ve become more and more interested in thoughts on burnout and when to finally pull the employment plug. I’m always pleased these days when people successfully retire - I’ve even felt happy for some of my co-workers who I disliked 
.
Hope after a little time to unwind you find yourself with the energy and interest to pursue some of those long-delayed vacations. Enjoy yourself!
She’s not worked for pay in many years now. But she kept busy managing Stately Mercotan Manor, the farm, the two rental properties we owned for decades (and happily sold a few years back), our finances, plus working for various social justice causes in our local Unitarian Universalist organization, speaking at Al-Anon conferences, and protesting the actions of our previous president and governor.
Thanks for that. but I kept dabbling in drugs until June 20th, 1990. So that’s my clean and sober date. congrats on your lengthy sobriety, old timer. (Secret to becoming an old timer in AA? Don’t drink and don’t die).
I’m visiting former cheese factories in our region, and have gone back to collecting dead relatives.
She sounds incredible. I so admire and respect her activism, compassion, and efficiency. The only problem is there’s no real retirement from that career and no congratulatory cards or parties. I’m sure you show her a lot of appreciation, though, which is just as important if not more so.
Have you any thoughts on cheesemaking for fun and profit?
StG
One of us, one of us! Congrats, retirement is magical.
Hobbies are much more fun when you have the time and money to actually focus on them.
And if so, now is the time to get started. Soft cheeses are fairly simple and often in short supply due to supply chain issues. I got talked into getting my kitchen license so I could make and sell soft cheese to the local diner.
Playing with soft cheeses is great practice for the ones that will ripen for a year or so and if you can sell them, you can afford to buy more hobby stuff. So you can buy more milk and cultures and realize you need bigger vats and another modified fridge so you can play with stinky cheeses…
An acquaintance got into medical record review after his retirement - basically confirming with doctors on behalf of insurers and the state workers comp fund that recommended procedures were necessary. He could mostly set his own hours and decide how much he wanted to work, it was low stress, and he made good money doing it.
Speaking of which: before retiring, he owned an occupational health practice. He’d also been a GP and emergency room doc before that. Politically, he was a centrist and not a fan of the “socialized medicine” boogie man. He spoke disparagingly of my Kaiser HMO plan.
But after a year of seeing doctors recommending unnecessary tests and procedures to juice up their profits, coupled with the inefficiencies and extra costs created by multiple levels of insurance, he moved hard left on the issue. He liked the HMO model as a stopgap, with universal healthcare the best option.
I like his new perspective, but I’m sure I’m hearing what I want to hear from him. I’d appreciate another opinion from someone like you who has seen it from a few other perspectives. If you were suddenly in charge of revamping medical care in the US, what would you do?
Frankly, it sounds like your acquaintance and I are a lot alike. I shifted my opinions to the left over time as I saw the failures of the private health care system, and how it enriches more than it heals. I’m of the mind that universal healthcare is the best option, and admire many of the western european health care delivery systems.
I did a lot of utilization review in my career as a medical director. That part got old fast. Though if I need cash, it wouldn’t be a bad way to obtain some.
I’m more consumer than producer. I love the aged products best and don’t have the patience to wait for them. At my office retirement luncheon, I provided some 12 year old cheddar for all there to try.
My current cheese quest is to find a local source for Epoisses de Bourgogne that don’t reek of ammonia. Nearest place I found is in Vancouver, BC. Which is sadly not too near.
Hah! I SO do need a private on call 24/7 doctor.
I’m sure I’d aggravate him to drive off a cliff.
But big CONGRATS!!
Here comes the hobby time.
Enjoy yourself!!
Hard to say something original this late in the thread, so I’ll say something very heartfelt.
Thanks for all you’ve done for so many in such trying circumstances for so many years. And thanks for the wit, wisdom, and entertainment you’ve shared with all of us over the years too. Here’s hoping the next 20+ years are full of good things.
As to me, I’ve got about 1-1/2 years to go. I’ll share a thought that first occurred to me a few years ago:
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Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: Retired!
Well, I’ve been retired for over a week now, though there were only 4 days I had off that I would normally have been working, since July 4 was a holiday. It feels real comfortable. I’m not doing much constructive and not feeling any real guilt about it.
Yesterday I managed to sleep in until 8 AM, took 2 naps, and fell asleep before 11 PM. I’m liking that a lot. A bit of fancy cooking, some general tidying, cleaning up emails and my kindle, talking to neighbors. A nice dinner at my daughter’s place.
The Mrs. is still pretty “go go go”; up relatively early, gardening, doing her projects. She’s not guilting me into being busier, fortunately.
Oh, I did get a letter yesterday from the State DOJ informing me that I’m named in another lawsuit by a former patient, and letting me know the DOJ will be representing me as usual. Only once have I ended up on trial (and found ‘Not Guilty’) from the dozens of times that happened. So I’m chill about it.
Right now it may be time for another nap.
I’m sure there are some interesting stories behind those lawsuits, or at least one. Would love to hear it some time, with appropriate changes to protect patients and yourself, of course.