Enter “Retirement Mode”
The first two things I did when I entered “retirement lifestyle” a couple of years ago were eating when I’m hungry and sleeping when I’m tired. I realised that I no longer had to comply with the 9 to 5 routine so there was no need for set meal times or sleep times. I stopped wearing a watch. Now there is only nighttime or daytime.
The next thing I did was get rid of my phones, the landline and the mobile. These are the greatest “intrusions of privacy” ever invented. Now my day is uninterrupted and I can get on with my business. All my communication with the outside world is done via email. Email is great, I can send messages when I want and answer messages when I want.
Avoid Crowds
The other thing I did was avoid the crowds. I hate queues and crowds so I do my errands and shopping “off-peak”, usually mid-morning or mid-afternoon on weekdays when the kids are in school and the adults are at work.
I avoid pubs and clubs during weekends, especially Friday and Saturday nights. There are more hospital admissions and police call-outs on Friday and Saturday nights than at any other time during the week.
Once you enter “retirement mode”, the routine of the crowds is very predictable. Most of them are running loose on weekends so this is when I do my work. Weekdays are when I enjoy my time off free from crowds and queues. The only thing you have to remember during weekdays is to avoid peak hours of traffic. This is usually 7 am to 9 am and 3 pm to 6 pm.
Live 10 Minutes From The Beach
I live about 10 minutes from the beach so the crowds arrive on hot weekend days during summer. About the only good thing is there are usually a lot of bikini girls.
The only thing about lots of bikini girls is that they attract lots of young ratbag drivers in hotted-up cars. They think the only way to attract the attention of the bikini girls is to screech tyres going around a corner or do burn-outs. I’m sure the bigger the car they have the smaller their brains.
Then there are the Harley bike riders who do laps. I’m sure they don’t have mufflers on Harley motorbikes. Maybe that’s the attraction to them. By the end of some weekends in summer, the locals are glad to see the end of the crowds.
