Still Being Fulfilled.

 

Fence Repair at the Church

Back at it.  Another installment of fulfillment and retirement.  As I said in the previous blog this would be a multi post subject.  My last offering discussed the reading I had been doing and working out.  I am still doing both.  I have even ramped up the cycling efforts.  In this post I will continue to list my day to day tasks.  I hope that by then I will have enough insight into my retirement and I will be able to explain how these give me fulfillment.  I may even generate a few new ideas and plans for the future.  I am pretty sure I do not have it all figured out at this time.  Truthfully I have very little of it figured out!  I will also talk about something that I thought I would do but I have not done.

I get up each morning log on to Facebook and I begin to spew misinformation to the masses.  Of course I do not, although it does seem like one persons misinformation is another's manifesto.  Beginning with this blog I have settled into a pattern of writing the first paragraph Tuesday afternoon and the remainder on Wednesday.  As for writing I would never consider myself a creative writer but in my professional career I have always been able to write effectively.  I have kept things clear and concise especially when technical information is to be presented to non technical audiences.  Compositions that are not meant to change the world but may get a few people to stop and think a bit.

I am also writing a book.  At this point it is really a bunch of thoughts typed into a word document.  I have a general idea of where I am going with it but I do not have a solid framework for it as yet.  I will probably not mention it again until the framework is in place.

One thing that has kept me busy is YouTube.  It is no surprise to anyone that youtube is a large repository of useful information.  I rarely tackle a home repair without consulting YouTube.  For example; I could easily tell that our AC unit needed cleaning.  The condenser coils were full of dirt and garden waste.  Within seconds I was watching a video that showed a simple and effective way to clean the unit.  Not every task is as simple as cleaning an AC condenser.  In fact a good way to pre-judge the difficult of a task is to count the number of YouTube videos associated with the task.  The more videos associated with a task the more difficult the task will be.

One topic of videos I found interesting were ones on urban planning.  We selected this neighborhood in McKinney Tx.  because of the "walkability".  I can walk to the downtown square and eat at a restaurant.  Shopping is also within walking distance.  The grocery and hardware stores are a little out of walking range but are an easy bike ride.  The route is along quiet streets and is relatively safe.  So I wanted to learn more about towns and how they are designed.  You can search YouTube for these channels, "Not Just Bikes", "CityNerd", "Strong Towns".  The news outlets and PBS also have some excellent videos on this topic as well.  This subject is discussed in many ways but one very common theme is the economic unviability of  car centered suburbs.  The tax revenue generated by the suburbs is not sufficient to support the roads and infrastructure needed to support all the cars.  The only way existing infrastructure can be maintained is by expanding the suburb and using new tax revenue to support the older infrastructure.  The creator of "Not just Bikes" calls it a Ponzi scheme.  Another term I found amusing is "Stroad".  Again, you can search YouTube for these channels and terms.

I do not just sit in my home office and watch YouTube videos and blog.  To get out of the house I joined a group of retired gentlemen from our church.  We do odd jobs around the church.  We all have different skill sets and pitch in were and when we are needed.  I did drywall and painting to finish the room our "Stream Team" uses to broadcast the services on YouTube and Facebook ( Hmmm.. YouTube again).  I spread mulch on the flower beds.  It was fun to use my truck to haul mulch.  The picture at the top of the post is the fence I repaired.  Fun using power tools.  My next assignment is to remove 5 Bradford Pear trees from the parking lot.  Fun using my chainsaw.  What I really enjoy is the companionship of working with a group of very nice people.  I am also one of the newest members of the group and I am one of the youngest.  It is really fun being the youngest in ANY group!!!

Maybe by next week I will have more things figured out.