It’s been exactly one year since I splurged on my third vehicle. I added a Jeep to the BMW SUV and sports car I already had. When I was a kid, I thought that would be the perfect combination of vehicles: something rugged, something luxurious, and something racy. After a year of owning three cars, I’ve come to a different realization: three cars is probably … Continue reading Three Is Two Too Many?
After two years of full & partial pandemic restrictions, it feels like summer is really back in full force this year. The CV19 precautions had locked down a lot of the concerts, festivals, and events that summer typically brings. This year, the Thursday newspaper events listing for the weekend is fully-loaded again with car shows, new bands on stage, small town festivals, and blockbuster summer … Continue reading Summer Is Back … !
Well, I gave Biden some credit back in December for the nice bump that we had seen in the stock market in 2021. I felt obligated to, given how well the market had performed … +27% last year. Still, I noted then that I was worried that Biden wanted to be too helpful and that significant inflation was a real worry. He literally said “help … Continue reading Politicians Too Eager To ‘Help’
I don’t take a nap every day, but I’m not opposed to a good afternoon snooze. It’s one of the benefits of early retirement. After pulling out 7 shrubs, playing a softball doubleheader, losing a close tennis match, getting the Jeep in for an oil change, and going to 3 board committee meetings at our metro zoo – in just 24 hours – I deserved … Continue reading The Perfect Nap
Exactly 50 years ago, this Racine (WI) Journal-Times piece described my Grandpa, Paul Klimek. He was a accomplished softball player and proudly kept this clipping in his wallet his entire life. This year, I’m also “a spry, 56 year-old” on the softball field. While I don’t pitch, I also went “three-for-five with the stick” and scored a couple runs in our season opener. Related: Thrill … Continue reading Spry At The Plate
My friend and neighbor, Jeff, has organized a great activity as he transitioned from the world of work to retirement. He has become a garage brewmaster and hosts backyard monthly ‘tap release events’. Brewing beer and getting people together fit perfectly with his background as a chemical engineer & MegaCorp operations executive. About a dozen guys got together a couple weeks ago for his latest … Continue reading Monthly Tap Release Parties
I often describe my FIRE vocation as “professional goof-off,” but this week I might have outdone myself. I enjoyed a few days on an all-expenses-paid luxury award trip as an unlikely inductee into the White Castle Hall of Fame. Wait, what? There’s a Hall of Fame for that hamburger place that looks like a roadside castle? The one that’s open ‘way past midnight’ and makes … Continue reading A Quirky Award
Summer hit as suddenly as lightning last week in Minnesota. After one of the coldest April’s in the last 50 years (daily highs mostly in the 30s), the temperature hit 88-degrees yesterday when I wrote this. With the nice weather came all of our favorite summer activities: biking, tennis, league softball, and … Pickleball. Surely you’ve heard of the phenomenon of Pickleball, haven’t you? It’s … Continue reading In A Pickle …
We love to travel, but during the pandemic, all you could really do was read about interesting global destinations. We’re starting to plan a trip for later this year and I checked out these two magazines at the bookstore. People seem to love checking off boxes on their ‘bucket list’ and these magazines are organized in checklist fashion. The first one was for US destinations … Continue reading Bucket List Adventures
Earlier this week, my oldest brother announced to his organization that he will be retiring next February. He’s the top dog at his company, so he needed to give his board plenty of notice to plan for a leadership transition. It’s is exciting news for him and it will be a big lifestyle change. I often joke that I didn’t find out how truly Type … Continue reading Preparing For Takeoff
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