C'est La Vie!

Finally, edited this right- I too am now this chill!     Photo: © Stan B.

I-am-retired. Say it again- at seventy fuckin' years! It's real. It's official. And I couldn't be more... relieved! It's not like I'm walking around with a million dollar, shit eating grin on my face (like most other events of note in life, I always expected it to be anticlimactic), but yeah, things do kinda feel different: lighter, better- how could they not? I can sleep and get up any time I want, any day I want. I have no deadlines- and no superiors! Dear Lord, we're talking a near responsibility free life- is that even possible?!? Either way it's a substantial escalation of freedom so long equated with wishful thinking- one I often thought would remain just that. I had seen too many friends pass between sixty and sixty five- their own retirement dreams (so sadly) pulled from beneath them, like the proverbial rug from their feet. A five year kill zone of the best of life long dreams... But for the grace of god, I survived that and the following five for every precious penny via that most Social of Securities...

So what of this new found freedom? Yeah, I can see how some could go kinda loopy, especially without an ample social life- of which I most definitely do not have. But enough to do, there is! Arrange all photographic files and images from a semi feral existence into an actual organized state of being; edit as many damaged and undamaged B&W images as possible- that will be an all too time consuming feat in and of itself (esp. anxious to see the finished results of a small essay I did with ye ole Widelux of years past). Will also burn both B&W and color images unto 'permanent' gold discs for preservation- love to see the looks on the faces of those that discover them in 2130 under some radioactive pile of debris. And I'll even have the needed time to try and disseminate some work right now, while the heart still beats.

Of course, if money wasn't an issue, I'd be writing this all from the road right now- with no set date of return, no set destination to return to! Alas, when all the dust from the above settles, I'll have to decide exactly where I'll spend those remaining years. Will San Francisco return to some modicum of its pre-Covid years so that its ridiculously high cost of living is once again tolerable? Or what other city or town, foreign or domestic will draw me to its flame? That is the largest of questions- plans must be made!

In addition to my aforementioned list of priorities, I plan to 'retourist' the city anew camera in tow. I've made note of small bars, cafes and restaurants I've longed to visit in various neighborhoods throughout town and somehow never have. Places like Sam's Pizza and Burgers, a proud hole in the wall where one can get the Anthony Bourdain Special (double patty burger w/fries and a beer for $20) and La Taqueria in The Mission, where they serve burritos... without rice! Along with a host of other similar small joints and dives in quieter parts of town when I'll need a welcomed break from sitting mesmerized at my monitor.

Which brings me to my final goal in retirement- achieving the... "Asian Squat." Think of a catcher in baseball behind the plate, but feet flat to the ground instead of arched. The first time I attempted it, when transitioning from arched to flattened feet, I violently rolled over backward like some errant turtle crashing into the little furniture I have. Anyway, it's a goal I've set for myself, and the funny thing is, I have no idea if I'll be able to achieve it (I've never been able to touch my toes either). But I'm gonna try, it's actually supposed to be super healthy. May even take a yoga class eventually; even though I still walk a lot, that has a limited range of motion, and I really don't want to slowly calcify in front of my monitor- so I really need to organize some kinda exercise/stretching routine... or gain 200lbs, don some spandex, and turn into a real Amerikan!!!