Reflections on My First Year of Retirement

It is exactly one year since I left my job in the Garden State, so I think it is time to write some reflections on my first year of retirement.  I did pick the right time to retire since I am entitled to some good benefits after completing 25 years of service.  I was also burned out after being in the same position for so long.  It was extraordinarily frustrating to do good work and never being rewarded with a promotion.

I have spent my time pursuing interests that I have enjoyed for years and developing new interests.  Before retirement, I had time for one museum every month, but now I can visit places at least once a week.  Likewise, I was limited to seeing movies at the local multiplex whose offerings were limited to the mass appeal films aimed at a younger audience.  Now, I often make trips to Manhattan to see independent films that are more suited for senior citizens.  I spend more time with SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) as I am the coordinator of fact-checking for the Games Project and have worked for The Baseball Index.  I certainly saw plenty of games at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium.

I have become a more voracious reader as I have read numerous books and magazines over the past year  I visited the New York Public Library and Queens Library to do “recreational research” on baseball and music.  Now, I am using the skills I have a research librarian for my own investigations.

I certainly don’t miss commuting to Newark.  I have seen umpteen delays on New Jersey Transit over the past year and am relieved that I no longer have to cope with them. There is no longer a need to be such a clock watcher as I used to be.  I do ride the New York City Subway, not nearly as often as I did while I was working.  I have confronted just a few delays over the past year as I rarely ride in the rush hour.

It is safe to say that I enjoyed my first year of retirement.