h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Now that I am semi-retired (which seems like when I was freelancing, with a small bit of income in addition to occasional work) I find myself having days when there is nothing to do. Now don't get me wrong, there is ALWAYS something to do, whether here at this site or on my never-ending repairs or improvements to my home. But there are days where I get up, go out for a bite of breakfast, check the news, go for a walk, make lunch, make coffee, surf the web, make dinner and watch a film. Nothing really accomplished but I feel a bit guilty. I only commit one of the deadly sins, I admit but why do I feel like the day was entirely wasted?

Sympathies

My dad was a highly successful businessman, but he once told me in my formative years that the most important thing you might do in a day was read something.

I have some of those too, now. I'm using them to catch up on films I haven't watched for a while, watch some cookery programmes on YouTube and try a new recipe, do a little housework. If I had a garden I'd get into growing some food, and if I had a bigger apartment I'd definitely get into brewing some beer.

But I don't really mind Nothing Days because at the end of one I feel so relaxed and unstressed

Thank you both for two insightful comments. One thing I have noticed is that I no longer read in the loo. But thanks for the brush, anyway.


I have never felt so unstressed, true but then I'm going to the chiropractor regularly now so who knows? The film watching business is a slippery slope, I bought the first two seasons of Heroes and whoops! There goes and entire day (so far) already.

I wonder what it says about us that if we've done nothing we feel the day has been wasted? Is it the Christian work ethic nagging away and making us feel guilty?

I'm happily unencumbered by such feelings of guilt, by the way

Drummed into me, I'm afraid. Dad a Lieutenant Commander in the navy and Mum a nurse.

Nothing to do with my upbringing - I'm just plain lazy

Welcome to the life I've been leading for almost a decade now!

I talked about your post with a friend while out on my almost daily round of visits to shops, businesses and neighbours and he said something along the lines of "Well, as long as he's getting out of the house and being a part of the larger society, there's nothing to worry about. It's when you just sit around the house, never getting out, never communicating with anyone, that there's a problem."


Of course, he may have been just trying to reassure me.

Well reassure HIM that I get out and about nearly every day. Of course, the Vancouver Rain Festival (January 1st to December 31st) sometimes convinces me to stay in.

You on the other hand seem out and about all the time, with great interactions with your neighbourhood. The last neighbour I made friends with was two days ago, waiting in the rain outside our building while the firemen put out a kitchen fire in one of the units. He had a great sense of humour considering he was living in the condo next to the fire.

The Master Plan is to buy a house in a small village on Vancouver Island. It's near my sister and is just about the size of another town was when I grew up in it. New places, new friends, I'm looking forward to it.

It seems like everywhere I go, people start talking to me. All sorts of people. At the bus stop, on the LRT, in shops. Sometimes it seems kind of strange.

I once overheard a cowboy at Fort Edmonton ask a friend:

"What do you think of retirement?"

"I like it," the friend answered.

And the cowboy said "I've never heard anybody say they liked it before. [pause] Every guy I've talked to always went straight to 'I love it!'"



BTW, my town came in number three on the Numbeo quality of life index http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12/03/edmonton-quality-of-life-top-canadian-city_n_2234811.html

"....purchasing power, house price to income ratio, safety, health and traffic time into consideration among other things."

I can well believe it!




"It seems like everywhere I go, people start talking to me."

Is it the turtle you wear on top of your head?

How did you know about the turtle??!!!


Today on the crowded train I had a very brief exchange (enjoyable and good spirited on all sides) with a gaggle of young Japanese university students who were busily trying to teach one of their number how to say "literally" properly. I praised the young man highly when he managed to get it out and resisted the temptation to start them on "rural".

I was very impressed with their unselfconsciousness as they struggled happily with the unfamiliar mouth movements.

When we got to my stop I wished him "good luck!" (quite easily resisting the urge to wish him "good ruck!") and they continued on, laughing all the way.

There are a million happy stories in this naked city.

I'm still recovering from the two biggest Anti-Nothing Days in my lifetime. Two days setting up, rehearsing, shooting and striking the Mandarin Chinese Miss Vancouver pageant. Wow. Ten hours the first day and seventeen the second. I am only just starting to feel normal again and that is after sleeping twelve hours the first night.

Most notably I had my own director, who guided me through with somewhat broken English as the entire rest of the crew crew spoke only Mandarin during the entire time. I was only there because they couldn't find a Chinese speaking camera jib operator with experience.

Serves me well for complaining about being idle.


http://www.fairchildtv.com/chinesepaegent.php

I've had a number of conversations with retired people who say they don't know how they found time to do everything when they were "working".

Welcome to the club!