retirement is wasted on the elderly

i plan on retiring this coming may...


i prefer to use that phrasing instead of the much more succinct word of "quit," because "retired" has positive connotations. you retire when you've achieved financial independence and are successful; you quit when you're a job-hopper. after all, who says only old people can retire? besides, technically i fit the definition of the word:

re-tire, v, intr. "To withdraw from one's occupation, business, or office; stop working."


that's me.


so far, i've managed to retire twice in my brief working career; this may will mark the third time. the dates and events are as follows:

1. september '05. i quit... excuse me, i "retire" from a job i'd grown to despise, swear i'd never go back there again even if it was the last job on earth, and immediately set out on the great american road trip. one of the single best decisions i've ever made
2. may '07. retire from two jobs, and finally finish up the last few credits i need to graduate... the ultimate trifecta. spend a month and a half overseas in norway and latvia, and have an amazing time
3. may '08 (anticipated). planning on retiring from my current job and spending my summer in norway and latvia again, but with an extra slice of oregon (for jesse's wedding and hopefully some surfing) thrown on for a finishing kick. should be yet another epic summer

there you have it. now, if i could only manage to start drawing a social security check, life would be perfect...

winter = wicked awesome

i've been extremely effective lately at controlling my desire to write brilliant posts every single day. perhaps a bit too effective...

i absolutely love snowshoeing. i like it better than regular hiking by an entire order of magnitude (which is saying something), and it even ranks slightly higher than sledding in my "top five winter activities." which, in case you were wondering, are as follows:

1. snowshoeing
2. sledding
3. surfing
4. ice skating
5. drinking hot chocolate

i've done a good amount of 1, some of 2, and quite a bit of 5. unfortunately, it hasn't been a great winter for 4 because of all the snow we've been getting, and i haven't been able to do any of 3 in quite a while, which makes me very sad. i'm considering buying a surfboard trailer for my bike so i'll have a way to get down to the beach once the roads are a little clearer (and the weather a tad warmer), but for now i have to content myself with waiting and wishing

my taxes are done, the numbers are in, and it's official: i've maintained my streak (26 years and counting) of never making more than 20K in a calender year. and, if everything goes according to plan, i'll probably be able to keep that streak alive at least through this year