Thursday ramblings

  Thanks for your comments, Stasea Rae!  We appreciate comments on this blog.  In the past, I've put a "site meter" on some of my blogs to see how much traffic they are getting.  This time, I decided to forego the meter because I'm writing purely for the fun of it and couldn't care less how many people are reading.  That said, it IS very nice to receive comments and I appreciate them very much--they really brighten my day.  Maggie, Deano, Stasea, Mr. Freely and a few anonymous people are the most frequent commentators.  THANK YOU!

Yesterday turned out to be OK--Option A ruled the day--the bounced checks affected only two people and, get this, the Fiscal Dept. had to call them and apologize, not us!  Cool.  We had a nice long meeting with the new Director of the Downtown Development crowd.  We've known him for awhile--he's the one who taught us how to make videos back in the summer of 2008.  He's a good guy and we wish him well.

We took the Big Plunge yesterday during lunch hour and applied for our Social Security.  The online process was a breeze and took about 30 minutes. Some people say "Wait until you are 66 to get the benefits--you will get more."  Well, maybe that's technically true.  But maybe not.  It actually would take an additional 12 years to recoup the money lost by not taking it at 62.  Here's the math.  Take what you get at 62 and multiply by 48 (or the months between your application and the age of 66).  Then, take what they say you would get at 66 and subtract what you would get at 62.  Divide that figure into the sum of the x48 amount.  Generally speaking you will get a figure very close to 12 years.  This assumes that your benefit at 66 wouldn't be higher than today's estimate because you worked an extra four years.  So, that's a little fuzzy math but you get the idea.  In my case, if I got at 66 what they say today that I would get, I would have to live until the age of 78 just to break even on what I will be getting today.  Go figure.

Hopefully, today I will get Susun all lined up, too.  Once you press that final button it's totally set in stone--no changes, no turning back.  It's a huge, major step in life and there's no way to say, "Gee, can I change my mind now?"  With all such decisions such as that one, there's a sense of relief involved once you've pressed the final button.  Since the decision can't be changed, it's no longer something to worry about.  It's a done deal.

Today, we have our first staff meeting under the new guy.  The new guy has been on his best behavior so far.  If he keeps this trend up, he will easily qualify for the "Most Changed Personality" award.  No matter how his personality shakes out, we've already cast our lot and we're outta there on March 5.  That's a done deal, too.

I have a meeting with Carrie S. at 10 am so we can go walk the Greenbelt to attempt to reach some consensus on the placement of the art benches down there.  It ought to be REAL interesting.  It is my hope that she will agree to adopt a "landscape architecture" perspective about them and attempt to place this year's crop into a smaller sector of the overall Greenbelt, perhaps giving artists a more thematic opportunity in the process.  Doesn't that last sentence sound so very nicely bureaucratic?

Lots of hustle-bustle later today, too--it promises to be a very fast moving day.  Meanwhile--we wish you a  Great Day and Many Cheers, J&S

(Note added @ 6:55 am)  I see from the time stamp on this post that it was posted @ 6:33 am.  Gee, now it's 6:55 am and I have completed Susun's online application for Social Security.  Wow, that's fast, only a little more than 20 minutes.  Wouldn't it be great if ALL gubmint processes took so little time?