2023, books, Business, Fantasy, gardening

Re-Retirement

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Yesterday was my last “real” day of work.  I probably have a handful of hours to put in on final accounting but from my perspective, I am no RE-retired.

I had only agreed to come out of retirement because the programs were our local warehouse programs – a little like the old supermarket sweep programs.  You get a big cart on wheels and a minute to run through our warehouse, all the while flinging stuff into the cart.   These are great programs as they usually target folks who might not otherwise have the opportunity to qualify for an incentive program.  The winners are all (well, just about all) extremely grateful to win these trips, even though it usually only involves one night at a Minneapolis hotel and you can’t bring your spouse/SO.  We even take them straight from the warehouse to the airport!  But they still seem to love it. 

The photo above is the decorations for the festivities.  Lots of beverages and snacks including a dilly bar car and a catered box lunch.  In addition to the fun of the run, we also had a 360° photo experience in which you stand on a platform (hopefully with a tiara and bubble machine or some such accoutrements) and the camera circles around you.  Then you can get the video emailed to you (or airdropped).  A hoot.

I have a few things on my to-do list for the few days, but mostly I think I’m going to laze around and read and work in my garden.

If you won a prize like this, what would you prefer — a warehouse, a supermarket, a bookstore?

24 thoughts on “Re-Retirement”

  3. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    A bookstore—preferably a used bookstore. I would emerge with 1 book because you must browse, so I would need an hour. A minute in a bookstore is useless. The supermarket and warehouse would only encourage me to slack off at work so I did not have to do this. I do not need more stuff, and stuff I do want I think carefully before obtaining.

    OT: I am back home until tomorrow or Friday. I sat with my mom in her room Monday and Tuesday, then brought Phoebe the popular puppy back home due to other scheduled family events where she would not fit—a bridal shower and bachelorette party. Mom has not eaten anything for several weeks and has not had water for 4 days, but her heart and vital signs remain unbelievably strong, despite being unconscious most of the time. I will return tomorrow (puppyless) to be part of the family rotation. We are keeping a family member with her around the clock to ease her fear and to hold the nursing home accountable. Some staff members were not honoring her hospice plan and staying ahead of her pain. So every in law and available grandchild has been sitting there. I think the nursing home staff is pretty embarrassed about this, and awfully impressed with the level of accountability we are enforcing. But when the pain is not treated mom gets agitated and falls out of bed, and we cannot have that. She is so fragile.

    More OT: Phoebe did steal the family show, though. I stayed with my brother who has 3 dogs (2 Vischlas and 1 dachshund) and a set up that allows for a partially house trained puppy. They keep a feeder out for their dogs, which Phoebe saw as a dream come true. She gorged herself until I put the food where she could not get it. Then, of course, the next day she pooped amounts, in the words of #45 “the world had never seen before. Unbelievable.” I need to find a puppy sitter for the coming days until mom passes. Lou will have to come with me at some point and he cannot keep up with her anyway. I am resting, grocery shopping and cooking today before I return tomorrow.

    Happy Re-Retirement VS. Call us for coaching on how to say next time someone from the employer calls you.

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  4. I agree with Jacque about the bookstore option. Books require browsing. They are not commodities. I have been in places like Barnes & Noble, spent an hour browsing, and left not having found anything that interested me. So much depends on the inventory. I have to be selective.

    I’d probably go for the warehouse option, pile in as many high ticket items as I could, and sell them all after I got home.

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    1. The key would be to scope out the store or at least know which books you want and which would be available. I think I would be able to grab 5-10 useful books in a minute if I knew what I was going in for.

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      1. Warehouse winners get about 15 minutes with a map template in case they want to mark the locations of things. One of the things that I’ve noticed over the years is that the people who run toward the end of the session do better than the people who run first.

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  5. I confess, I don’t understand why companies enlist elaborate incentive schemes like this instead of just giving their employees a bonus.

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    1. There are a lot of studies that supposedly show that programs like this (and travel, of course) are actually better than cash for most folks. Before you say it, Bill.. you have to admit you are not most folks! But I guess neither am I. I walked through the warehouse yesterday after everybody had finished their run and honestly, there really wasn’t anything that I really would have wanted.

      These programs are enormously popular with the winners. They are so pumped up and excited. We always have an EMT on hand in case of injury (there has been a twisted knee and a sprained ankle in the past) but in the last year, she’s only given out a few bandaids and handled two panic attacks! One was before the person’s run and one was after – their adrenaline didn’t subside quickly I guess.

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  6. I’m wondering, VS, whether the runners are given a map ahead of time that show what items are up for grabs, and where in the warehouse they are located? I’m thinking something akin to St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour’s mailer, which you can peruse at your leisure at home and plot the route you want to take.

    Possibly because of my bum knee, I can’t envision me myself in this scenario at all. Unless there’s a section with gift cards to various spas, restaurants, theaters and concert venues, I think I’ll pass.

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    1. Yes to the map. But the map is blank. When they get there 15 minutes of prep time, they get to walk through the isles, there are six double-sided isles, and they can mark the location of things that they see that they like. If you have a reason that you can’t run, then it is allowed to have someone else run for you. We had a guy with a bad knee yesterday who had one of the VIPs run for him.

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      1. We have been so good about eating out of the freezers that we actually have some room! Not a lot since I got a case of turkey wings last week for brodo, but more space than usual.

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  8. I would rather just get a cash bonus. When I get a non-cash incentive, I usually go for a Target gift card and buy coffee beans and assorted other necessities with it.

    Congratulations on re-retiring!

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  9. OT: because of my biopsy coming up Monday, I had to stop taking aspirin last Monday and cannot start it again until next Wednesday. Aspirin is the only drug that works on my pain. Tylenol does nothing for me. And no I do not want to hear about what works for you. Then yesterday I started PT for my badly strained lower back and neck damaged when I prevented Sandra from falling over the arm of a chair when an aide would not follow protocols. The therapist gave me only five light exercises to start but they were very painful. But put it all together and I went into fibro-fog, when pain and stress overwhelms fibromyalgia and makes you confused. First time in 5-6 years I think. Yesterday I planned today as if yesterday were today. Then today I went over early to be with Sandra when her NP came as she always does on the fourth Wednesday of the month. I leave it to you to figure out that one.
    Now I have drugs or drops or creams to take at 9 different times during the day. I just wrote a big chart to hang over my desk.

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