It's easier than saying retirement, semi retirement, whatever, I don't need to explain too much when I say unemployed. But sometimes, people offer me ideas for jobs and such which is a bit annoying...
But anyway, today's post isn't about definitions.
Today, I'll be talking about cause and effect. 因果
I think... I've come a long way. From the me who first started this blog.
If you go back to my posts in 2013 vs now, it's a big difference.
I was working, jaded thinking to retire early. My expenses were relatively low, but now I consider those expenses super high, compared to what I spend now.
I left my job and pondered about the nothingness of life.
I "retired" early.
I learnt about freeganism.
My food expense dropped to super low levels.
I'm in Paris now.
I'm going to Houston soon.
This journey has been pretty interesting since I left my job in Nov 2014. It's been 5 years since I left my job.
I stayed at my parents place til Aug 2015, then moved to my HDB. So by next year some of my neighbours will be moving house. Since I wasn't working, I could slowly buy stuff and furnish up my home. Didn't need to pay some interior designer to handle it for me.
Then I had around another 2 years more of hanging around. Nothing much, went to the supermarket weekly to look for cheap deals to buy meat and other groceries.
Things took more of an interesting turn in 2017.
If I didn't leave my job, I would not have learnt about freeganism in Nov 2017.
(OMG, when I went to check out old post on my encounter with freeganism, the previous post is about living overseas!!! What a coincidence, considering my life currently.)
I would never have made a whole bunch of new friends.
I would never have realized how so much things could be obtained for free. There's so much excess in the world. So much wastage, and it's all free for the taking.
I spent the bulk of 2018 doing freegan stuff, doing food rescue, hanging out with friends. That was a fun year.
Early 2019, we got notice that we needed to move to Paris. So I really stepped up my playing. I was going out very often in the early months of 2019, cos I knew I was going to miss a lot of the activities in SG.
Then mid 2019, we left for Paris.
As much as I grumble about my life in Paris, it still is a good experience.
I learnt that life is the same wherever you go. Most people just go to work, go home, and hang out with friends on weekends. Same as in SG and probably many parts of the world.
Free stuff is also available in Paris.
I learnt that I do poorly in cold weather. Friends are important for mental health.
Eating out is expensive in many developed countries.
Things move slower in Paris, but it's ok, cos everyone moves at this speed. It's like Malaysia.
The French aren't as rude or racist as what many people believe them to be. Actually, there are a lot of mixed race couples here. I see more mixed couples than in SG.
I also got to ponder a lot about life and what we(people) really need to retire.
The experience of living a retired life vs thinking about a retired life when one is working, is very different.
The idea of beach holidays and golf sessions just isn't real.
There will be a lot of idle time for yourself, you'll need to find someway to spend free time, hang with friends, etc.
The amount of money required is vastly over estimated.
I learnt some things which I thought was important when I was younger is actually not important, and some things that I thought weren't important are more important.
And all these experiences won't be possible if I was working.
I probably wouldn't have learnt about freeganism.
I likely wouldn't have wanted to follow my wife overseas cos I would be working and the loss of my income would be more than any additional allowances she would get.
I wouldn't have had the opportunity to live in a different country.
I might be living a very normal life. Work, home, weekend splurge on food and other luxuries. Can you imagine... I spent S$400 for 2 pax for Sunday brunch at Raffles Hotel last time when I was younger.
And soon, I'll be going to Houston.
I'll probably have to live through one hurricane, one or two floods, cos Houston gets hit by hurricanes and floods every year. That's going to be a new experience.
Then I'll likely have some activities involving guns... Maybe go to a range and shoot.
I'll probably see people carrying guns around, cos in Texas, open carry of guns are allowed.
And Texas BBQ...
A whole load of other experiences.
The thing is... not working allows for other opportunities to arise. And the lack of a daily job allows one to pick up these opportunities and run with them. And, it's going to be a different life experience.
And depending on the attitude of the individual, one can take it in a good way or a bad way.
One could lose their sense of identity after quitting their job, lose friends, have nothing to do, etc...
Or one could go out and make a whole new life for themselves, try new things, pursue other activies.
It's really up to you.
And... well... I wouldn't have had many of my current experiences if I was still working.
And this made me think of this quote...
So next time when you're retired, or when you quit your job, remember, that there's a whole new life out there waiting for you. It's up to you to find it for yourself.
It's going to be fun and exciting. You just need to have the right attitude and make things work for yourself.
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