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Life changes & returning to TUG

UWSurfer

UWSurfer

Tug Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2007
Messages
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Location
Los Angeles
Some of you know me from many years back where I was a regular here. I live in LA (born & raised) & drifted away from TUG after work took far too much of my attention as we built and moved into a new facility, followed by the pandemic pausing most of our travel, then the death of my Mom 2-1/2 years ago and some major juggling of our household, moving wth my wife to my Mom's old house to help stablize my brother who can't take care of himself. In the process we fixed up Mom's house, & then our former house (both in LA) which we put up for rent.
One of the two sisters my wife grew up with and was close to passed away suddenly in September & we've been sorting through her things, helping her husband pack to relocate out of state to take care of his parents. Her other sister decided there was nothing keeping her here in SoCal, sold her house and is moving to Dallas. Also in September my boss called me in and asked me to consider retiring after 43 years working for the same place (I'm too expensive on the payroll according to her), and have arranged to retire at the end of June '24, at which time my wife wants to pull up stakes and move us somewhere in Texas...likely in or near Austin. Sis-inlaw in Dallas, grown sons in Austin and San Antonio and she wants to be close(r) to family.

I see a VERY busy year ahead as we make plans and begin winding things down, moving & setting up a new home & effectively a new life. We have timeshare with HGVC, HIVC, Gardens @ West Maui, and San Clemente Inn and am trying to figure out if we can use any of that this coming year and see how we might use it going forward, essentially catching up on the current systems and how to leverage them effectively.

Anyways I'm re-entering the TUG Forums universe and look forward to learning from you all once again!

-Steve
 
Welcome back, Steve. It sounds like your family is ready for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. All the best in diving in and catching up on all the timeshares you own.
 
Welcome back! You certainly have been occupied, so hope you are now at a calmer place in your life. Even though retirement and a move are pending. Have fun with them! Did you get a nice incentive package to retire? You deserve one.
 
marmite said:
Welcome back, Steve. It sounds like your family is ready for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. All the best in diving in and catching up on all the timeshares you own.
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Not so much an incentive package as a public employee pension that should make for a soft landing.
 
Hi Steve, I have missed you! We had the opportunity to visit you during a trip you had for work in the south Denver area. We met you at our favorite restaurant. It was fun.

Good luck with all of your changes. So sorry about your mom. Rick's stepmom died in July of 2020, and we had to close up her house and sell it. It was a lot. We can empathize with that part for sure.
 
Yea, dealing with a house after someone dies is a real bear. I've been involved somewhat with 3 over the last year, and it's a lot.
 
jp10558 said:
Yea, dealing with a house after someone dies is a real bear. I've been involved somewhat with 3 over the last year, and it's a lot.
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Not to go off topic from the original post/ thread but I’ve recently heard the term “death purge” used for people who are cleaning out their own homes (as we are) of years of accumulated STUFF.

It’s somewhat depressing thinking about it like that, but also necessary and fulfilling to feel the accomplishment of getting rid of so many things that are no longer used or needed.

Best of luck in your move, Steve.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Welcome back to TUG. Sounds liked you have many challenges ahead, wishing you the very best in your new life challenges.
 
rickandcindy23 said:
Hi Steve, I have missed you! We had the opportunity to visit you during a trip you had for work in the south Denver area. We met you at our favorite restaurant. It was fun.

Good luck with all of your changes. So sorry about your mom. Rick's stepmom died in July of 2020, and we had to close up her house and sell it. It was a lot. We can empathize with that part for sure.
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I remember & it was on your advise we ended up buying at Gardens @ West Maui. We've loved going there although we lost out on our 2022 usage with all that went on. May our paths cross again one day!
 
UWSurfer said:
I remember & it was on your advise we ended up buying at Gardens @ West Maui. We've loved going there although we lost out on our 2022 usage with all that went on. May our paths cross again one day!
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We are on Maui from 2/12-3/22.
 
Hi Steve. Nice seeing you again. Sounds like you have some major life-changes going on. Hope you can keep yourself in balance. Good luck with all of it. Don't forget to breathe. :thumbup:

Dave
 
Ha!

I said I'm back and after another pause I figured I'd provide an update. I retired in late July 2024. I thought I might find work in my field but no one is pounding down my door to hire me and it took nearly 9 months before I realized I'm not on an extended vacation. I also have come to terms I really don't want the demands of my former role, having been on-call for more than 35 years.

We purchased a split level home just west of Austin and spent a good portion of the remaining year building out the unfinished downstairs portion. Two of my kids are in the region, and one has provided us with grandkids who are here in town. My SIL is a little over 3-1/2 hour drive from us outside of Dallas. Mostly I'm scuba diving in the lakes here and at a couple of scuba parks outside of Dallas. I've logged more than 150 dives since November when I bought a dive watch/computer which keeps count & one of the grandkids who is about to turn 15 recently got his open water certification so I have someone to mentor. I also swim and do ham radio activities.

We did a Caribbean cruise last November on Carnival Horizon and have another scheduled in a couple months. In April we revisited SoCal and stayed at our timeshare in San Clemente and then drove to Las Vegas for a trade show, staying at the HGVC on Paradise. In May we did a three week road trip visiting relatives and friends along the east coast to NYC and back through Tennessee and Pennsylvania. We just got back from Portland where we scattered ashes of some family members and visited an Aunt of mine in Paradise, CA. It was the first time I have been there since the 2018 Camp fire and we took the time to see her and process the changes to the town. I also have a dive trip planned on Bonaire in December, my first time there. A friend of mine has been after me for years to join him and now I can.

Plenty of things going on here and except for getting used to changing weather and hot summers, things are generally better. I now understand the saying: "Everyday is a Saturday".

-Steve
 
Next year for me. Been putting it off since I don't really have a plan on what to do when I pull the chord. Working on that. I plan to work until the end of next year since I will start my SS checks in June (full retirement aga) and can get 6 months of full salary and SS checks.
 
Talent312 said:
As seen at a restaurant in Florida...
View attachment 115353
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I'm retired and I don't want every day to be Saturday! Weekdays are much better -- stores and restaurants are less crowded, less traffic outside of rush hour (being retired, you can easily avoid rush hour traffic), and businesses are always open on weekdays.

Kurt
 
Sounds like your doing great Steve.

I retired the first time in May 2022 . . . and went back to the same organization TWICE . . . once as a part-timers to help and then 6 months later as an independent contractor on a short-term contract. Finally and fully retired earlier this year. NEVER say NEVER . . . but I'm NEVER GOING BACK!
 
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