There was a recent study finding that a majority of retired people complain that they don't have enough time to do everything. I continue to volunteer at the Synagogue, including attending minyan Sunday through Thursday evenings, working with the Bylaws revision committee and the Ritual committee, and going to Board meetings. I work with a former employee's business two mornings a week, doing consulting in medical computing. I am baking bread more regularly now, and also making cookies occasionally. I do most of the grocery shopping. In fact, when the weather is nice I walk to either the Publix or Kroger, both of which are about a mile away, or I ride my new (estate sale, actually) bicycle to the Dekalb Farmers Market, which is about 3 miles. I try to find an excuse either to walk or to ride every day. I hate exercising, but walking is so natural. Two to three days a week, for a couple of hours a day, depending on the semester, I am taking classes at Georgia State University, in downtown Atlanta. This also requires a walk to the MARTA train station. I may have told you that in GA, when you reach 62, you may take courses at state colleges and universities without having to pay tuition. So far I have taken five courses, and I plan to take two more in spring semester. I am running a 4.12 GPA at the moment. (They give +'s and -'s at the university.) Last semester I took a course on 20th century German history (taught in German). I empathized with my fellow students, most of whom are between 20 and 25. I recognized how unfair it is for them to study history while I was studying current events. I spend a lot of energy dreaming and even planning the wonderful trips that I want to take, and then even more energy trying to convince Yoyi to go with me. I'm looking forward to Yoyi's retirement, so that we can travel together – while Yoyi looks forward to her retirement so that she can stay home more. Speaking of retirement, I am now on Medicare and will start collecting Social Security in March (to the dismay of all you Republican opponents of entitlements).
When Leah started studying for her Master's Degree (in downtown Atlanta), we decided to purchase a condo and rent it to her. It was the beginning of the real estate slump, so we were able to get a pretty good deal – not a foreclosure or a steal, but a good deal. The condo is at the edge of midtown Atlanta, with all the advantages and disadvantages. Huge numbers of people are moving into the city, and midtown is the destination of choice. The condo is about 4 blocks from the North Avenue MARTA station, a mile and a half from Georgia State University, about 6 or 7 blocks from the Georgia Tech stadium at the edge of campus, around the corner from a Publix, but also around the corner from a homeless shelter. If I were single – or married and childless -- it's where I would want to live. We did some minor upgrades, like adding or changing out lighting fixtures to brighten up the space, and now we look forward to the replacement of the A/C, to the repainting job that we promised as a Chanukah present, and other projects. It has turned out to be advantageous for other reasons to have this nice condo. We held the engagement party for Bela and Leandro in the clubhouse by the pool, and the girls had the bridal shower there just before the wedding.
