Rant #2,644: Smoke On the Water

I am now 64 years of age.
 
Bully for me.
 
And as the cake and the gifts came my way, what did I do to celebrate my 64th birthday?
 
Work. That is what I did. Work. And nothing else.
 
That’s right, I sat in front of my computer the entire day and worked.
 
Unbeknownst to me, the company I do my remote job for had scheduled several industry meetings this week, and I had to cover them.
 
I was told at the last minute to do this, and right at this moment, I am part way through the third meeting, with still another one to go.
 
The meetings are virtual, broadcast through WebEx, and I have to tell you, they are long—yesterday’s was nearly three hours in length—and they are tedious.
 
I record them all through an app on my tablet computer, and then I have to transcribe them, which if you have ever done this, you know is a long and tedious process.
 
I hated doing these things when I was working full time but it made the day move quickly and once the end=of-the-day work bell struck, I was done for the day and could go home and relax.
 
Working from home, there really is no work bell, but I do set a limit for this—I stop at 8 p.m. each day, so I am working something like 12 hours a day on this stuff.
 
So yes, on my birthday, this is what I did, this is how I celebrated my special day.
 
Not the optimum way to use my time on that special day, but I have been covering these things off and on since I got this job, but except for the company’s  major convention in October, these have been one-shot things here and there, and not one after the other in one week.
 
In fact, there is another one of these things today, but I simply cannot cover it for them.
 
I have too many things to do outside the house today, and I still have these two conferences to get to them, so I am really bogged down.
 
And yes, I have to admit, I have thought about chucking the whole thing, just retiring and doing nothing and enjoying the retired life I was forced into, but right now, that is a no go.

And honestly, I was thinking about that way before this week from hell came to be.
 
My wife is set to retire in November of this year, so I might decide then whether I have stretched myself enough, and to just live the retired life fully.
 
I just don’t know now what I should do, but let me see what my mindset is a few months down the road.
 
The truth is that I don’t dislike this job when I am not burdened by it, but this week, I am, and it came at precisely the wrong time for me.
 
Honestly, I knew about the conference I had to cover yesterday a few days before, so I kind of knew my birthday was going to be a wash this year.
 
But I had no idea about the other ones. If it was just the one, I would just grin and bear it, but pile on the others, and well, I can only handle so much at a time.
 
And today, I really can’t handle too much, so let’s see where the day takes me.
 
Right now, I have to tell you, I am very burnt out, barely getting this Rant out to you today.
 
These things I am covering are pretty intense, people speak very quickly, and it is sometimes hard to follow what they are saying.
 
But I am doing the best I can, but yes, I do question myself.
 
I like the money I am getting from this job, not that it is a lot, but it is like getting a double Social Security payment each month, 

I really respect the fact that they sought me out for this job when nobody wanted me, and I have a great allegiance to them for giving me a chance to show my worth at my lowest hour.

Believe me, I am greatly appreciative of that, I really am.
 
But now, I am thinking that perhaps I should just RETIRE, just collect my Social Security and live the retired life, where the living is supposedly easy.

It is something I have been thinking about anyway.
 
But when I am at the grindstone doing this, real retirement is the furthest thing from my mind.
 
As I said yesterday, I do, in fact, feel good, and this is not a ”sour grapes” thing—I know it sure sounds like one—it is just a personal thing.
 
So in a few months, I might just hang it all up for good, and join my wife in full retirement.

I will never stop writing, but doing it for pay like this ... I might be at the end of the line.
 
But for now, let me get back to what I am doing, because if I don’t get back to it, I will be fully retired—FIRED!—from this job.
 
And that won’t sit well with anyone, not me, that’s for sure.