A retiree's journey

Been quiet for the rest of 2014, and whole of 2015 and 2016.  Where have I been?  Well, true to my plans, I travelled whenever my schedule permitted it.  I spent Christmas 2014 and New Year 2015 in New York and New Jersey with the whole family.   

It was a double new year celebration for my daughter as Taylor Swift was the guest performer in Times Square.  See the crowd? I wouldn't go back to that place again on a new year!  It was terribly cold and there were no toilets. But as my daughter said, it was something she would not repeat in her lifetime. It was a one time, big time.

April 2015, I went to Macau.  As expected, I saw casinos he he.  It was just a short visit and one thing I would not forget was the plane ride going there.  The plane had to encircle twice or thrice because of bad weather in Macau.  The food was not something I would crave for.  Well, at least I got to see it.  The picture below tried to capture the different face of Macau.

Then I went to LA in September 2015.  It was unplanned so I ended up buying an expensive ticket.  My first impression of LA was that everything was brown.  I loved the outlets and the burger in In and Out.  Universal was just the same as what you see in Singapore. It was a very short trip but in the first place It was not really a sight-seeing trip.  So thankful to our host then who welcomed me warmly.

The next travels were all roadtrips to Northern and Southern Luzon like Tagaytay, Subic, Bataan, Laguna and Baguio.  After constant prodding from my daughter, I finally agreed to visit Bacolod in September 2016 to try their popular dishes.  Bacolod is known as a foodie haven.  True to its reputation, we enjoyed its Chicken Inasal which is best eaten with their famous Sinamak, their super fresh oysters, their "kakaibang" sinigang, and other seafood dishes.  The trip was just for two full days but we were able to fully utilize the limited time that we were there including a trip to the ER! The windmill below is not in the to do list when you are in Bacolod but the tour guide brought us there.  It's a nice shot, though.

And lastly to end the year, we went to Taiwan to spend Christmas there. It was ironic as Taiwan does not celebrate it.  Anyway, we went there specifically for the street food and guess what, the pineapple cake! Ha ha, all of my pasalubongs are pineapple cake. I enjoyed Taiwan as it was also our escape from all that had happened in 2016.  It gave us a fresh start and hopefully all of our wishes on the Sky Lantern will come true!

I'm back (after seven months!).  A lot of things happened during those seven months - travelling to domestic places like La Union, Baguio, Bataan, and Ilocos Norte and Sur; and guess what?  I found a part-time job!  Hmm... things have been going as planned.

Last Feb, I planned of spending more time sleeping, going to the mall, and having fun with my co-retirees. Oh and by the way, I also planned of getting a job to fill in the spaces (hah!).  Lo and behold, I was offered a part-time lecturer job at a college which is a 3-minute walk from my place.  Where else could you get a better deal than that?

Teaching is a new career for me although it is like lecturing your colleagues in a workshop or seminar. I survived the first trimester and I am now on my second term.  I find the environment quite challenging. Imagine every lecture session you have to think of interesting things to say to keep your students awake.  

Retirement is something that most people look forward to. Imagine, living life without going to the office and staying there for eight hours; putting up with your supervisor and ambitious colleagues; and not having the time to travel whenever you want to or staying at home for the slightest cold. However, for some there is this fear of the unknown especially to those who are not ready to plunge into a life without a career or a routine to go through the day. These are the people who were forced to retire early due to personal circumstances or have reached the mandatory retirement age. Regardless, whether retiring was your option or not, this is something that one should embrace in order to enjoy life to its fullest.

Retirement is synonymous to unemployment. To put it bluntly, one becomes a bum with no responsibilities to take care of (I refer this to office responsibilities). For one who is used to living under stress and managing people, this is a totally different world. The self-satisfaction that you get from accomplishing tasks or catering to your boss’ needs does not exist anymore. You lose the routine of waking up early in the morning, driving to the office, having lunch for an hour, and going home at five in the afternoon (or sometimes beyond).

Retirement should not be a reason for you not to use your acquired skills or qualifications. It should not deter you also from being productive. These skills can still be put to good use by redirecting them to other pursuits. These are the usual things that people say and they suggest learning a new skill or joining community or church activities. However, if you do not have the inclination to do this, this may be a source of another stress. Some people say that retirement opens up new opportunities but somehow finding the right one that you will enjoy is not an easy task. Can one not enjoy retirement without doing anything?