November 4, 2019

Retirement Plans -01

I never imagined I will be making retirement plans. Ever. Let alone at 42 (almost!). But then life has a way of surprising you. So here I am thinking, rather writing, about my retirement plans. Of course, it all depends upon the amount of money I would have in my kitty but let's, for my dream-sake, assume that I will have plenty of money. And of course, good health is also necessary.

So what would I do? Here are some preliminary plans:
  • Travel 01 - World tour. I like to visit new countries, learn about their culture, economy, politics, flora and fauna. So it will not be enough for me to spend 2 days in a country for the sake of a world tour. I would need to spend a considerable amount of time in the country, say 2-3 months. I will need to choose the best weather to visit the country too. 
  • Travel 02 - Road trips. I have quite a few cross-country/cross-continent drives that I want to do. I still need to work out the specifics for each road trip but I think I know the ones I want to do: US cross country, Canada cross country, Europe cross-continent,  Australia-New Zealand cross-continent.
  • Learning 01 - Learn at least one language. Let me start by stating that I am really bad at learning new languages, unless, of course, we are talking about computer languages. Retirement would mean that I would have unlimited time at hand so why not try again. I will start with Spanish, then French, then Mandarin. 
  • Learning 02 - Learn music. As in be able to read music. Learn Hindustani classical music, if someone is brave enough to teach me. I am pretty bad at it. All the Raagas are a jumbled mystery to me. Can't tell one apart from the other. Learn an instrument, either piano or guitar. I have always thought that my hands are too small to learn either but then I see small kids with their freakishly small hands playing. It gives me hope. Maybe, someday, I can play too.
That's all so far. Will improve upon it later.

P.S.: 1. So I have installed Grammarly plug-in for chrome. It's showing me a disapproving emoticon which enlarges to this: 
Guess, it needs to learn my writing style. I think it's genuine, down-to-Earth, and sarcastic with a hint of cynicism (at least, I find it funny!!). Not sure if Grammarly even understands sarcasm. I sincerely hope it learns or we are going to have a "war of words" on our hands.

2. And of course, on the chance that Grammarly indeed doesn't get my sense of humour, it is a great application. It is highly recommended. 

3. One of the downsides of being me these days is that everything needs to be qualified. And yet it will be taken the wrong way and someone or the other will be upset. I so need one of those enhanced diplomatic immunity for any spoken words by yours truly or in the presence of yours truly. It's not that I want a universal approval. I just want to live my life smoothly instead of people around me becoming defensive. May even affect the quality of service I receive. Few restaurants, gas pump stations, delivery services, train service, few other services come to mind. It happened (and is still happening) for every little thing that was spoken by me or in my presence. It does become stressful after a while. Retirement should fix this. I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed. 

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