{"id":4118,"date":"2013-12-01T22:21:08","date_gmt":"2013-12-01T22:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/highplainsblogger.wordpress.com\/?p=4118"},"modified":"2013-12-01T22:21:08","modified_gmt":"2013-12-01T22:21:08","slug":"im-now-calling-myself-retired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/?p=4118","title":{"rendered":"I’m now calling myself ‘retired’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n

This is the latest in an occasional series of blogs commenting on retirement.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I made a decision this weekend that involves my immediate future.<\/p>\n

I’ve decided to say that I’m retired — even though I’m still working, sort of.<\/p>\n

The decision came from a Facebook notice that popped up. It asked me to update my employment status. I clicked on the “retired” box and then saved it. So now my Facebook profile has me listed as “retired,” although I later — at my wife’s suggestion — entered “blogger” along with it. So it says I’m a “retired blogger.”<\/p>\n

This is a big deal in my evolution from working guy to fully retired guy.<\/p>\n

I’m working part-time for an auto dealership here in Amarillo. It’s a customer service job; I work about 24 hours a week. My job is to welcome folks who bring their vehicles in for service or who are waiting while they purchase a vehicle. I make them feel comfortable, offer them something to drink or eat, ask if they need a ride somewhere, talk them up a little bit.<\/p>\n

The job is so much fun I have a hard time calling it actual “work.” I spend my afternoon with individuals I like in an environment that produces little pressure. My employer asks me simply to treat people with courtesy and respect, which I am able to do.<\/p>\n

I have another job. I write a blog for Panhandle PBS’s website. Panhandle PBS is the new name for the site for KACV-TV, the public television station based at Amarillo College. It’s a free-lance gig and, too, is a serious blast. I write about public affairs programming at Panhandle PBS\/KACV. I also write about other public policy issues as I see fit. I submit the blogs — titled “A Public View” — as drafts and they’re posted by the staff at KACV. <\/p>\n

Check it out here: <\/p>\n

http:\/\/panhandlepbs.org\/news\/<\/p>\n

So, those are my jobs. They are more fun than I can possibly have imagined having.<\/p>\n

My wife says it well. I am getting paid for doing something I love to do: talk to people and write.<\/p>\n

Social Security is still down the road a bit. When that income kicks in, then I’ll be able to declare myself officially and fully “retired.”<\/p>\n

For now, I’ll settle on pretending<\/em> to be retired. I’ll get lots of practice. Who knows? When the day arrives, I’ll be proficient in all that retirement entails.<\/p>\n\n

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This is the latest in an occasional series of blogs commenting on retirement. I made a decision this weekend that involves my immediate future. I’ve decided to say that I’m retired — even though I’m still working, sort of. The decision came from a Facebook notice that popped up. It asked me to update my … Continue reading I’m now calling myself ‘retired’<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[295,2620,3487,3920,4301,4435],"class_list":["post-4118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-amarillo-college","tag-kacv-tv","tag-panhandle-pbs","tag-retirement","tag-social-security","tag-street-toyota"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4118\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highplainsblogger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}