I have always liked the sentiment of… “Don’t be afraid to spend while you are young. A hamburger tastes much better when you are 40 years old than when you are 80.” Today I saw an article with a Warren Buffett quote on the silliness of sacrificing your life to build the perfect resume. Many…
Category: Freedom; the escape
Freedom: How we sold our house, gave away our possessions, quit job and moved to the beach in Michigan
December 7th: The Shawshank Redemption
Finally, I saw the movie. Seems like I am the only person on the planet not to have experienced it. Lots to think about, but the question at hand, posed to me by an old friend (who will now always be “Red” in my mind)… am I Andy Dufresne? I was fond of the analogy…
November 27th: What year was it, when you died?
Hopping out of my car to get gas, a little old man was at the pumps next to me. He struck up an inane conversation about how gas prices are so damn high. I just nodded, not wanting to take the bait and mention how much lower they had gotten recently. He then asked me…
November 11th: The day the music died
The other evening I was at the brewhouse, reciting my three-minute life’s story to the inquisitive guy next to me. In my one minute life’s story, GE never comes up. But expanded to three minutes, it does. “Oh, did you like working at GE?” Yes, yes I did… until I didn’t. When did it all…
November 10th: A movie I need to experience
Going on seven full months of freedom, I had another friend tell me I need to watch The Shawshank Redemption. Another person telling me I inspired them, reminded them of the main character. I have never seen the movie… probably because there were no women in it. Prison movies just seemed so… one-dimensional. But, I hear…
I love my lake, I love my lake, I love my lake
Not so long ago, one of the people I worked with was fond of the mantra, “I love my job, I love my job, I love my job.” Uh yeah, sort of worth a small chuckle at the time. But we knew the truth. I wonder if things have improved. If not, such a waste…
October 25th: Time traveling
One year ago today we were visiting Grand Haven, Michigan. Busy planning our audacious escape. I have never met a financial planner who doesn’t keep saying “work, work, work”. No matter what your plan, you just don’t have enough money. The (in)famous Suze Orman preaches to never think about retirement until you are 70. And…
October 23rd: First world pain
“Fight on, my men,” says Sir Andrew Barton, “I am hurt, but I am not slain; I’ll lay me down and bleed a while, And then I’ll rise and fight again.” Bell’s Palsy didn’t seem so bad. Right side of my face paralyzed, but with drugs I made it thru a busy and fun weekend…
October 15th: Defending a “10”
I follow Sina Fak on LinkedIn for his insightful posts. I responded to the one below. While I agree with most of his comments, and even this one in general, there is another side of this coin. Sometimes imagining, and acting upon it, rewards you with experiencing it… happiness! Here is Sina Oak’s post: Imagining…
October 11th: A gale… and inspiration
Early this morning we headed to the state park to watch the waves churned up from the gale force winds. The boardwalk towards the lighthouse was dangerous as waves crashed onto it. Having learned previously just how treacherous the boardwalk can be, we moved over to the beach. Here we encountered blowing sand stinging our…