Retirement Journey At age 58, I decided to retire after working 32+ years in computer technology, all in the Bay Area, CA. I am sharing my retirement decision journey and some experiences from the last two years of post-retirement life. You have to look for answers yourself. The 3 BIG Questions I Needed to Answer (for Retirement Decision): Why should I retire or not retire? Do I have the financial capability to retire? How will I spend my time? There may be many other questions, but let's start with these key questions. I will share my thoughts. You have to think about yourself. Why Should I Retire? In November 2022, I convinced the company to lay me off with a package instead of someone else. I initially decided to take six months off and then consider the next steps. In January, I came across this article, " Would You Trade Places with Warren Buffett? " I read the article but did not spend much time thinking about it. Thinking about the next step, I d...
The Beginning of a Calling Almost a decade ago, I stumbled into the world of Paulo Coelho, beginning with The Alchemist . His words struck a chord—an elegant blend of spirituality, self-discovery, and emotion that felt both intimate and universal. One book led to another, until I had read nearly all of his works. Even today, when I find myself restless and searching for my next read, I return to Coelho—or sometimes to Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha —as if to steady myself. Among his books, The Pilgrimage left a lasting imprint. In it, Coelho recounts his walk along the Camino Francés to Santiago de Compostela, a journey of endurance, faith, and reflection. I could almost see myself there, step by step, breathing in the silence of old paths. Some time later, I watched The Way , the film where Martin Sheen walks the Camino to complete the journey his son could not. That story deepened the pull. The idea of a pilgrimage was no longer just in books or films—it began to live inside me. Since...
Four years ago, I saw a post on LinkedIn about the amazing experience of hiking Torres Del Paines - the southern Patagonian Range. I was hooked. I saw " Wild Life ", the National Geographic documentary - it was inspiring. Finally, one day, I saw " A Line Across the Sky " - the amazing FritzRoy towers, the morning sunlight glittering between the silence of glaciers - it called me - it is hard to describe but I rarely have felt that kind of call. That night I decided I had to go. I made elaborate plans to spend time in Chile and Argentina besides hiking. The Torres Del Paine (W or O trek) is quite busy and it requires advance booking. I booked it for March 2025. Now came the fantastic news that I would be Grandpa in Feb 2025. It was close to my travel and I was in no way going to miss the birth of my granddaughter. She came two weeks earlier than the due date. After two weeks, I asked her if I could go and she just smiled. She understood her Grandpa's desire....
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