Is your life going as planned?

[Maser]

Hey maser, can't sleep again? Sometimes I get up around this time and stay up about an hour.

LOL!!! Yeah another restless night for me.  I figure my tiny laptop screen will tire my eyes out eventually.

[280plus]

It's tough I know. For some reason my body has decided 3 am is the perfect time to take care of certain functions, if you know what I mean. By that time I have 6 or so hours under my belt so it's tough to get back to sleep. But I'm going now. Turn off your puter and go back to bed. Take an asprin if you have any, it might help.

[Maser]

For some reason my body has decided 3 am is the perfect time to take care of certain functions, if you know what I mean.

Well if were like my little brother you could take care of that function without even getting out of bed.  LOL!!!  Sorry Ryan if you are reading this from my bookmarked list I am just bored.

[Sindawe]

The original plans have sadly not come to fruition.  Yet.  That is due to the prerequisite technology not being available at this time.  But I remain hopeful that one day we will have jumping spiders the size of house cats, our homes will be carpeted will be living Kentucky Bluegrass and sparkling flights of dragonets will be our constant companions.  Among other "wonders"....

Later plans are progressing nicely, and while IT is lucrative and interesting, the siren song of the spiders web singing in the morning sun is growing stronger.  The question there is which forest canopy to explore.  The Tropical or Coniferous rainforests?

[280plus]

Well if were like my little brother you could take care of that function without even getting out of bed.

Hmmmm, I'm thinking the wife might not appreciate that idea. It's a thought though...

[lupinus]

Planned in as how I saw it or planned as in how my ex girlfriends father expected?

Cause it sure aint gone how I planned.  By now I planned to have won the lotto and be sitting on a beach somewhere with no gun laws rifle ranges instead of golf courses and lots of drinks with little umbrellas and Anna Kournikova or Jamie-Lynn DiScala (Meadow Soprano) in bikini on the beach with me.....hasn't panned out thus far but there is always misplaced hope.

No...its shaped up more as my Ex's father saw it.....the bastard.

[Lennyjoe]

For the most part it is.

I've always wanted to join the military, have kids and grow old with them.

So far, I've spent 21 years in the Air Force, have been married for 21 years and have 3 children.  My son is 22, daughters are 19 and 18 (on sunday).  

Both daughters are in college and my son is a TSA employee.  I have stuck with a wife that isn't exactly who she was 20 years ago but is a good woman and a great mother.  Guess you need to look at my life as a kid to understand why I've stayed in this marriage so long.  

Anyway, I'm about to retire from the Air Force in 2008.  By then all of the kids will be on their own and I'll have to finally decide on the next step in my life.

[The Rabbi]

If you're married for 21 years, how can your son be 22?

[Trisha]

A plan?  Oh, my stars!  Going as planned?

Um, we seem to be on the "Favorites" short-list for the "Practical Joke Department" (the lowly G6 staffer and the intern got the boot after getting caught deliberately kinking simple miracles with Faustian clauses and fine print the likes of which Machaivelli would envy)

The most I can say is that we've managed to continue "Thataway!"  Sometimes it's been two steps forward and then the slipface of the slope gives way, but there's been continuous progress.  We have a very modest retirement sequence getting gradually funded for Kathryn

Keeping a sense of perspective, and keeping some degree of sequenced goals?  Yes.  We have endured, survived and overcome everything to date.  The specifics of my disability trips up many personal possible scenarios, but I continue to write, learning by the doing of a thing.

We do know of a few who have, with megalomaniacal ego-contrenciscism, strategized and planned their life as a campaign.  They have achieved it, to the degree of being on the Forbes register.

The object of money, is money.  The object of power, is power.  The two are not necessarily inter-dependent.

The object of joy, is joy.  Some hope, others vigorously claim either, or both of the above are absolute necessities to know the latter.

To know the truth of it, I suppose does require some planning.

[trapperready]

Life is just as easy as shooting well.

When shooting, if you make the gun fire when the sights are lined up on the target, you get a good hit. In life, things work out if you make the right choices at the right time. See, its easy. As always, the devil is in the details and hindsight is 20/20.

When I look at my siblings, life hasn't exactly worked out the way they would like. They have had hardships and difficulty which I've not had to face. Often, when I talk with my sisters, they'll comment on how blessed/fortunate/lucky my wife and I are. I just smile and nod... gritting my teeth all the while.

It is true that my wife and I are doing quite well, both personally and financially. We've got a couple of kids who are smart, funny and well-behaved. We're living comfortably and are saving for a decent retirement. My sisters (who are a lot closer to retirement age than I am) have virtually no savings and seem to live in a state of constant chaos. Both are "locked in"* to jobs which they do not enjoy and which do not pay very well.

What's the difference?

When I look at my wife and I in comparison to my sisters, at each major fork in the road, we've chosen the correct path... my sisters (for the most part) have not. One of the biggest issues has been that we've had the foresight to recognize potential problems and make adjustments along the way. For example, my BA is in Economics... which is almost as useful as a History degree. When I got out of college, I got a low-paying job at a local bank and worked my butt off. In the process, I rapidly gained a promotion and some decent resume-filler. During nearly ALL of my non-work hours, I took some additional classes at a local community college and learned a ton about programming languages and system administration. I spent nearly two years doing this, but finally landed a job with a software company. It was an entry-level position for not much pay, but it was a beginning. Again, I worked my butt off and learned as much as I could.

Eventually, that job turned into similar one in another state (for better pay), and that one turned into another one for very good pay. All the while, my wife was working even harder towards her career goals. When I would talk to my sisters, they would complain about not liking their jobs or not having enough money. I'd mention taking some classes and changing careers, or even working another job. *GASP* they couldn't do that, as they were working full time already... where would they find the time? One was hourly and working EXACTLY 40 hours a week, and the other worked no more than 50. I was working steadily at 65-75 hours a week and my wife thought that 90 hours a week was an easy stretch.

We are now reaping the benefits of the hard work and good decisions we made many years ago& yet my sisters seem to think we are lucky. Yeah, right.

Monkeyleg  Please dont construe any of this as a criticism of you, your work ethic or your decision-making over the years. This is more of a general rant about planning. Im particularly sensitive to it right now, because Im currently watching my nephew (who just graduated from college a few months ago), make some pretty fundamental mistakes. Hes has no clue about what to do, and worse, is unable/unwilling to accept any advice from people whove got relevant experience.

* I put parentheses around locked in, because they could both leave the jobs they have and either make more money, enjoy their work more, or both; however, neither is able to overcome their own inertia. They seem immobilized by a wretched combination of laziness and a lack of confidence.

[Ex-MA Hole]

I had plans, but then met my wife.

Somehow my life changed, for the better.

Then I stopped drinking, and, depending on the day, it's better, but much harder.

Since meeting my wife I have tried not to make plans.  Every time I do, I get kicked in the nuts, and plans get broken.  Usually in a BAD way.

These days, I'm just trying to stay afloat!!!

Fortunately, my Wife and I have been through so much bad *expletive deleted*it, we can sit back and laugh.  Life has been kind in certain aspects, but downright nasty in most ways.

At least I have a loving Wife, a goofy 22 month old Daughter, and (for now) two of the best dogs in the world.

Everything else is subject to change (ie go in the shitter) at any given moment.

And it usually does.

Boy, that is a depressing answer.  Sorry.

M

[The Rabbi]

Since meeting my wife I have tried not to make plans.  Every time I do, I get kicked in the nuts, and plans get broken.  Usually in a BAD way.

Is there a GOOD way to get kicked in the nuts?  Just asking.

[Monkeyleg]

"Monkeyleg  Please dont construe any of this as a criticism of you, your work ethic or your decision-making over the years. This is more of a general rant about planning. Im particularly sensitive to it right now, because Im currently watching my nephew (who just graduated from college a few months ago), make some pretty fundamental mistakes. Hes has no clue about what to do, and worse, is unable/unwilling to accept any advice from people whove got relevant experience."

Trapperready, no need to qualify your comments.

Some folks apparently perceived my initial post as some sort of complaint. It wasn't at all.

Through hard work, and lots of hours of that work, my wife and I have done pretty well for ourselves. For the past couple of years I've been struggling a bit, but career changes usually involve some struggle, just as starting out in a career when you're young.

I was simply trying to draw a distinction between me--the type of person who just rolls with whatever happens--and someone like my ex-assistant, who has every aspect of his life laid out (probably even on paper).

Let me illustrate the difference between my ex-assistant Deen and me.

He went to Brooks Academy in California to learn photography, as he planned to become a photographer. Brooks is one of the most expensive photo schools in the country. He was paying off his student loans for years after graduation.

In 1975, I decided that I might be interested in photography, and took a couple of night courses at the county vocational school. When I realized that I had some ability, I went to that same school full-time, while also working 32 hours a week to support myself.

I didn't plan to become a professional photographer as Deen did; I just thought I'd see what happened.

And which one of us became the better photographer, got the best reputation, and made the most money? The guy who just kind of rolled with things and went to the cheap school.

[Ex-MA Hole]

Since meeting my wife I have tried not to make plans.  Every time I do, I get kicked in the nuts, and plans get broken.  Usually in a BAD way.

Is there a GOOD way to get kicked in the nuts?  Just asking.

Good point.

Kicked in nuts = bad

[280plus]

Kicked in nuts = bad

Here's proof...  http://www.glumbert.com/media/tonguetwister.html

[Jamisjockey]

I've never had alot of plans.
As a Teenager, I had no plans.  The obvious answer became the Military.  
In the Marine Corps, I thought retirement made sense.  Then I got married.  After living in the military my entire life, I knew that it's not compatible with married life.  I got out.
Then, the obvious choice was to follow my profession, ATC, in the civilian world.  
Now I'm a gubmn't drone.  I'm working my way up the food chain, but still as a drone, just to busier and busier facilities.  I'll be eligible to retire at 50, and would probably take another less stressful job to fill the pay gaps.
But then, my wife, a stay at home mom, gets bored.  She takes on a Direct Sales job, Lia Sophia.  Next thing we know, she's making as much or more money than me.  She's running a team of almost 200.  And now....we are having to come up with a plan.  It's changing from a side business and extra income for us, into a full blown small business, with pretty much unlimited income potential.   The best way to make the business grow will likely be leaving my 6 figure job to work for my wife from home.  The benefits are high....better money, more indepence, less stress, decent hours.....but I'm pretty much scared out of my mind.  I've always succled off the government teat.  Now, I'm going to have to be self-sufficient.  
PS,
Right now the plan is Christmas, next year.  Possibly sooner, but we're being conservative....

[grampster]

I never had much in the way of plans.  Got out of H.S. went to JR. college doing the courses that were a sort of prep for a degree and maybe be a teacher or get into TV or a reporter for a newspaper.  No clue, really.  Majored in fun.

A year later I received a notice that I had been selected to work for the post office and the police department on the same day.  I had applied to the PO 'cause dad worked there and the PD as dad's best friend worked there.  Opted for the PD cadet program as it was the first of its kind in the nation, free college, and get paid for 20hrs of work per week in the PD.  Moved up the ladder and stuck with that for 7 good years that I wouldn't trade for the world.  

Then had an opportunity to go with the largest insurance company in the state, in sales.  Good money, great hours.  Swmbo and I (got married in 5th year of  the PD) cruised along without a thought in the world except reaping all the benefits of great money and unstructured time till I was 40.  I guess the 1st plan I ever had was to start saving for retirement at age 40.   Locked into a 401k at the yearly  max at age 40 and began to daydream about retirement at 62.  

The robber barons of the 90's drove up the value of the various stocks in the 401k during that time, and about a year before the big crash, my upbringing reminded me that tanstaafl and I shifted my $ to a guaranteed insured account at a lower return and avoided the crash and made money while most lost.   I rolled the dice with my account when the millenium panic was at its height and rolled the $ back into stocks.  Sold them when the market bounced and cleaned up.  Back to the guaranteed account.  Did the same thing during Bush/Gore presidential election controversy opportunity and cleaned up again.  Back to the guaranteed stuff.  I guesss that was a plan, too.  It worked, though.  The Market operates more on emotion than common sense.

Putzed along until this past March when I pulled the trigger on work and retired.
This was as a result of my 3rd plan that I began to formulate a year before.  I noticed that our company went on a hiring binge of insurance agents and made them a lot of false promises.  They discovered they couldn't keep the promises (ain't management bright? (grin) ).   So I planted some subliminal suggestions over the year in the minds of some top management people that it would be wise to buy out senior agents and free up a customer base to be able to fulfill promises.  Showed them how the numbers would be positive and save them from getting their arses sued off as well.   (37 years experience makes one a wolf in a flock of magagement lambs)

So they got the bright idea to suggest agents with over 25 years and age 55, could early out with full accrued  benefits and a sum = to a years pay on March 1st this year.  Gosh, was that a surprise.  (evil grin)  I was gonna retire on March 1st anyway as I had hit age 62 the August before and could now feed at the public trough, my company pension was fully accrued at age 62,  had my  401k money, and got a years pay to boot.  (another evil grin)  So I guess my plans, such as they were, worked just fine and I had the benefit of mindless maundering for a number of years as well.

In exchange for all that, I've had some health issues to struggle with over the last year.  Prostate cancer, gall bladder meltdown and a gut/colon problem that seems to defy medicine so far.  That is a work in progress.  Those issues tend to remind one how much the mundane things of life are truly simple pleasures that are mostly free.  I have been blessed.

So, I guess at the end of the day, one needs to use the brains one has been given to plot for good times and for a rainy day.  It is good to go along with the flow at times.  Sometimes it's good to take a risk or two.  On the other hand, recognize blind ass luck for what it is and don't try and take credit for it.  If your health gives you some trouble, it's better to grin and bear it than to feel sorry for yourself and cloak yourself in woe.  If you opt for woe, you'll come to not like yourself and neither will most everyone around you.  (No woe for me.  I saw my dad do this before he died at age 92.)

It is good to commune with God.  He will provide answers to some questions that need His council.  The rest you can figure out for yourself.  Mostly those answers are fairly obvious, but we don't necessarily like to admit that.  Don't forget to pick yourself up and dust yourself off when you tumble.  Set your cap, put a smile on your face and move ahead.  Live for today using the yesterday as an aid. there might not be a tomorrow, but it's nice to dream and plan about it though.   Look forward and, in the words of Walter Hagen; "Don't hurry, don't worry, and don't forget to smell the flowers along the way."

[Antibubba]

I used to have plans, but I accidently left them in a pocket when I washed my jeans, and I haven't been able to make sense of anything since then.