Tuesday, September 29, 2015



Chinese Hammer Torture?


Someone has been hammering in this building all day today.

It started early.

Every few minutes one, two or three hammer bangs.   Then silence for one minute, five minutes, 10 minutes, 30 seconds....

Hours of this.

I'd love to say I'm moving but I've moved so many times and I always end up somehow being tortured by human created noise.   Even when I owned  property in the country.

I can understand why people decide to live in a van.




Tuesday, September 22, 2015



People with long loose hair who lean back in the elevator to look at the numbers and push their hair into your face.


People with long loose hair who flick it sideways into your face.


People with long loose hair who let it fall over the back of their seat so that it touches you.


People with long loose hair who bend over so that it trails across you desk (or worse, across your food).



Ick!




Tuesday, September 15, 2015





One of the best pieces of advice my parents ever gave me was to live below my means.

I didn't always do that but for the most part I did.

I consider that policy the main reason I was able to retire early.

I would add now, as far below your means as possible.

Not to make your life miserable but to really consider on what you spend your money.  I do wish that minimalism had come into my life long before it did and I had become less focused on things long before I did.

Someone once told me their definition of "rich" was being able to lose your job and not have to change one single thing about your lifestyle even if you never found work again.








Monday, September 14, 2015



I'm an introvert.

All my working life I was uncomfortable because while I didn't want to be in charge of anyone else I really did not want anyone directly in charge of me.

That's a tough compromise to work out.

I've been retired for six years now and I'm almost always aware of and grateful for the sense, finally, of not having to answer to anyone, of being my own boss.

It's wonderful.