Plans: January 2008 Archives
Still hoping for snow but I am not holding my breath. I received what I hope is my last performance appraisal at work yesterday. I got high marks in all areas and my senior rater said that I should be promoted as soon as possible. So maybe I will be a GS-13 before I retire. I would like that. But the chance for a promotion will not change my goal of being retired this year. I am still hoping that I will be off the work roles and into my golden years by August of this year. In other news I had my first cottage meeting at our house on Thursday. Only a couple of people showed up but it did give me an opportunity to practice my roll as a facilitator. I am in need on a mini-vacation soon or some sort of adventure as it seems that I am becoming bored and restless lately. Nothing seems to hold my attention for long. Taking rides to a park somewhere to walk Max are about the only things I look forward to lately. I think all that will change once I am retired.
I found out this week that my boss was retiring this March. Since I knew he was not old enough to retire I suspected that he was getting what the federal government calls a VERA. (Voluntary Early Retirement Authorization) This allows you to retire without meeting the mandatory age and time requirements. There is a penalty for retiring early but it is only about 2% per year that you retire early. So I asked him about the VERA and he told me that he did get one. I asked if they were still available and he told me yes. So to make a long story short I will be retiring this year. I will retire by August at the latest and May at the earliest. It all depends on how I want to cash in my accrued sick leave. Anyway, before the year is out I will be retired at the ripe old age of 59 with 28 years of federal service. Needless to say I am REALLY excited about this. I am finally starting to sense what being retired will really be like, and I can't wait. So next week I will be busy getting all the calculations and paperwork done so that I can get a final retirement date. In the meantime I am giving serious thought to what I want to do with the rest of my life as a retired person. To use an Internet phrase W00T!!!
The New Year has come and gone and I have great hopes for this year. I hope that this year will be the last one where I am fully employed. I plan on retiring in January of 2009. I have many plans for my retirement, including moving to a new home and traveling. I want to have a vacation this year, hopefully at one of the national parks. I am planning, with some trepidation, on returning to Gulfport, Mississippi with my church again. I am also going to start exercising and hopefully lose some weight as I cannot stand being the weight I am now. I have been very active with my church and I anticipate being active all year. But mostly I am looking forward to being retired. Work has become very tedious for me lately and I am way past ready to start a new era in my life.
