Catching Up on Life.

Gidget was supposed to have her dental cleaning and extractions on Friday, but the vet had to postpone due to an emergency surgery. It’s a small family practice, just him, his son, and a third vet, so they let you know up front that emergencies take precedence. She’s rescheduled for the 27th.

I’d taken the day off for Dental Day, because I’d be dropping and fetching, etc., and I was advised I had personal days to burn that would not carry over to next year, so you don’t have to twist my arm. I disposed of Stuff. It was satisfying.

Eddie had his New Dog Checkup this week as well; he was declared Officially Healthy as well as Officially Too Stinkin’ Cute. The vet (not Dr. B, but the 3rd vet I’d not met yet) agreed with my assessment that no way is this crazy little dude 4 years old. She looked at his immaculate teeth and energy and sparkle and said he’s probably 2, maybe 3, which fits with my impression of him. This is not a sedate 4 year old; he’s a happy little maniac.

Oddly enough, despite his throwing a wrench into her sedately napping middle-aged life, Gidget not only tolerates him but actually likes him. She greeted him like a returning warrior when he got back from the vet, dancing around and wagging and sniffing him.

So, it’s Sunday evening again, fuuuuuuck. While sitting in yet another interminable “team meeting” last week, which seriously feels like every office drone comedy ever (I cannot begin to describe the systems we use, how they don’t work, and yet how our working lives hang on the reporting these flawed systems generate) I set my “retirement” date.

“Retirement” is the date I hope to get to before my job is outsourced to a contractor (which is quite possible and of course super-ironic as I was a contractor in this company for SIX years before becoming an employee) or running away screaming, because damn, it’s soul-killing.

Anyway, I’ve picked April 30, 2024, as my retirement goal. It’s about a year short of “full” Social Security, which is itself a moving target, so whatever. I looked at the numbers and was like, “Do I want to endure this bullshit for another year for another $1600-ish in SS? No.”

I am not planning to totally retire, my retirement plan involves a part-time gig at Disney. I’m sticking it out at the current job, assuming they don’t make it a contract position and get rid of me, because we get a profit-sharing check at the end of the first quarter. I’ll take that money I’d earned for this year, and peace out.

This is all contingent on life working out on its current trajectory. My daughter and her guy are planning to find a house this fall, which will allow me to sell the house she has been renting for the last decade, which will put money in my retirement bucket, and give me breathing room to think about what I’d really like to do next.