Hope I Don't Get Sick...Ever!

Well, I soon will be free of the truck, which means no more insurance bills.  Next step is to opt out of  Medicare B.  That will get me back to what I had before for my Social Security check,  another $100 per month.  I just might be able to make it that way.  I'm also going to contact the bank, and see about removing some of those awful overdraft fees. 

And I guess I have to face actuality, and give up some of my dreams.  It looks like I'll be stuck here for the rest of my life,  no moving back to the beach, no trip to Australia.  I don't know which hurts worse.

Medicare Disaster! How Dumb and Naive Can I Be!

Well, I made it to 65, and got my first Medicare check...along with a hard slap in the face by REALITY CHECK!!! Ouch!   Somehow, I had the idea that a Medicare check was in addition to my Social Security check.   NOOOO!!! I found out the hard way, with bouncing checks and bank overdraft fees all over the place.  The fact is Medicare is taken out of my already meager Social Security check.  I'm poor as a church mouse (wherever that adage came from), but, somehow, I will survive.

One thing that will help right away is that my old truck will soon be out of here.  I am selling it to an environmental-conscious re-cycler of scrap metal.  That feels good to my New Age spirit.  It will feel good to be able to pay a bit of the overdrafts, too.

Without truck insurance, I just might make it.  Or, if worse comes to worse, I suppose I could look for a walking-distance job. What a depressing thought! Ugh!!    Oh well, another lesson, and Thank you Very Much ADD!!!

Reinventing Myself

I'm becoming what I always thought I would be in my autumn years: an eccentric old wise woman.  Well, not too sure about wise, considering some of the dumb ADD things I still do, but eccentric, most definitely!

I'm back to my New Age self, and enjoying it!  For Halloween, I dressed up like a Medicine Woman just for fun.  Nobody came to my door for Trick or Treat, so I put on some Native American music and danced.  It was fun and spiritual.

Now I do Zen meditation.  And I changed my Facebook name back to Astranda:  AstrandaLynn AngelStar Winborn.  It fits me well now.  I'm also getting more artistic, and illustrating my blogs. 

In short, I'm reinventing myself, and enjoying it.  :)

Can't Believe It: Medicare!!

Less than a month and I'll be 65!! Medicare kicks in next month, right around my birthday.  So I'll be getting a little extra money now.  But of course it will all go for medical insurance,  no free ride there.  I'm rarely sick, but it's best to be prepared, I guess. 

The Creative Juices Are Flowing Again!

This crazy wonderful, very frustrating relationship is having a positive effect on me.  It has opened up the creative channels that have been sluggish for a while.  I have been writing poetry again!  My Muse is back!  Maybe now I can get back to those three writing projects I started months ago, and haven't done much with.  Maybe one of these days, I'll get back to my music, too.  After all, there has to be more to Retirement than Facebook ADDiction. 

Maybe I Was Too Impulsive

One thing with ADHD that gets me in trouble quite often is impulsivity.  I have a bad habit of jumping into things without thinking things through, and then regretting it later.  I'm beginning to wonder if that is what happened when I was fired back in September 2009, and then retired a week later.  It seemed a good idea, at the time, but I really wasn't properly prepared financially,  and I didn't consider the ramifications of early retirement. Now I am reaping the consequences.

I really didn't have much in my 401-K to begin with, and I went through it too fast, especially when I started using my cell phone for calling and texting.  I need a better plan.  My Go Phone, Pay as you go plan, is really only good for emergencies, not for regular use.  Now, my tiny reserve is gone, and my Social Security check is only half of what I made working.  I may have to get at least a part time job soon, just to keep from drowning.  I have barely enough for rent and utilities.  One good thing, though, is that I qualified for a food card, so I won't be starving.

How About That...Over a Year Since I Retired!

Well, my first year since my retirement has been quite eventful, to say the least. It's been an exciting, exasperating, frustrating, and fun year. I haven't accomplished much, really, but I've been going through some major changes.

That relationship I mentioned in my last post is still going strong.  Sure, we've had our ups and downs, and November and December was really rough on us with constant problems with communications technology. He lost his I-phone and had to use his old phone, which has given him lots of problems with texting. I had problems with the sound system on my computer, which totally wiped out our voice calls and video calls on Skype.  We had such a hard time with Skype withdrawal, we started fussing at each other a bit, and I stormed off and broke up with him for a couple of days.  But, he was patient, and knew I would come back, so we got back to normal quickly.  I was crazy to think I could leave him.  We love each other too much to break up, even when sometimes it seems like the logical thing to do.

Finances have been pretty bad since August or September.  I had some unexpected expenses, and I think I spent too much on mobile minutes.  So, things started bouncing around in my checking account, and the bank slammed me with some hefty over-draft fees.  Not fun at all.

I've been inactive from the Church for several months now, and have found things I'm not sure about anymore. Some of the teachings just don't make sense.  At this point, I've been taking a Bible study class with Diana, and have also done some research on line, and have about decided that  I will be happy just to have the Bible and the Book of Mormon as my guides, and not go back to church, or any organized religion, right now.

I have totally neglected my writing projects for months, while I've been wandering around the net, reading, discussing, and learning, hanging out on the forums a lot, too, and some of those I once thought were my worst enemies have become my friends.  Go figure.

My truck hasn't run since Election Day.  Good thing I live so close to the store, Sonic, etc.  And Diana picks me up for Bible class.  Anyway, it's been cold and rainy, so good to just stay in and not go anywhere.

In a nutshell, that's how the rest of the year has gone.  I wonder what 2011 will bring.  The New Year is on its way in, soon.