Fifty Plus (50+) - Good news / Bad news (bicycle related...kinda)

Good news: My bride had her surgical staples removed today and received her pathology report. No malignancies detected!! Her Oncologist intends to keep a close eye on her for a couple of years to ensure that nothing develops. She's getting stronger every day and it looks like she'll be around for quite a while yet!! :)

Thank you all very much for your prayers and kind words of encouragement. It was comforting to know that we weren't alone in this sometimes very frightening world.

Bad News: My chances of retiring in my 60's have dried up and blown away. Due to the probability of loosing my Health Insurance either through the imminent demise of my current employer or the most likely case of no more retiree benefits, I've decided to start looking for another job.

With my 41 years of service I qualify for full retirement. I was intending on retiring within the next 18 months anyway so the leaving my present employer part of my future is not much of a change. The change is needing to work until I'm 70 in order to provide my younger than me bride and myself with affordable Health Insurance. If I'm lucky I will find a job in time to maintain continuous coverage. Now I need to learn about resume and cover letter writing and job interviewing and such.

Bicycling related: I also need to forget about all the extended bicycling tours I was going to participate in during the next ten years. :cry: With three daughters just starting out in three different parts of the country, my two weeks vacation from my anticipated new employer won't stretch very far.

Summary: My wife is healthy and we have chosen a path foreward. Things could be a lot worse.

Good news: My bride had her surgical staples removed today and received her pathology report. No malignancies detected!! Her Oncologist intends to keep a close eye on her for a couple of years to ensure that nothing develops. She's getting stronger every day and it looks like she'll be around for quite a while yet!! :)

Summary: My wife is healthy and we have chosen a path foreward. Things could be a lot worse.

As you know, that's the important part. Really glad to hear of the positive results. My best wishes to her and you. At the risk of being blamed for being "political" this is why I support universal health care. Hopefully, you will make it through.

Great news indeed on your wife's health issues. So glad that went well.
Many of us have long forgotten about the whole freedom 55 thing. I always joke that I'm on the freedom 85 plan, and while I hope that isn't true, I really don't expect to completely hang up the old spurs and sixguns in 7 years when I turn 65.
The upside is that the majority of us can reasonably expect to live longer and enjoy good health later in life than our predecessors did when 65 was, more or less arbitrarily chosen as the magic number.
That said, I understand your concerns surrounding health insurance issues. We here in the great white north tend to take our health coverage for granted. I truly hope you are able to find good stable employment with good benefits.
Best of luck to you.

Super news about the wife. Fingers crossed considering the bad news.

As you know, that's the important part. Really glad to hear of the positive results. My best wishes to here and you. At the risk of being blamed for being "political" this is why I support universal health care. Hopefully, you will make it through.
No worries, that did NOT set off my "P&R" alarm. I think everyone would like to see universal health care. How we pull it off is another question...

The retirement issue is a bummer. I know there is no way I can think about retiring until 65, mainly due to healthcare coverage. Even then I'm not sure I can swing it. And I have to read all the posts about people and their 1200 km jaunts and stuff :(

Thanks for the update, Cranky. I'd take your first bit of news and hold onto it for all it's worth, as I know you do.

Great news, Crankster!

The job news sucks; but the news about your lovely bride far outweighs everything else.:thumb:

*bruce19* - Well said! :thumb::beer:

Good news:
Summary: My wife is healthy and we have chosen a path foreward. Things could be a lot worse.

Cranky - good to hear the light at the end of the tunnel got brighter!

- Ed

Good to hear your wife is OK. Here's hoping you find a new career riding recumbents on tours for a 6 figure salary. Well, you can dream. Seriously I hope you find a good one.

Glad to hear that your bride is going to be OK. The other part will work out for you as well.

Lenny,
This made my day, and probably my whole week to learn your wife got the clear from the oncologist and pathologist. She has certainly been through the wringer as have you, mentally. Hope the new job works out better than things look right now. I am just glad you won't be unemployed totally. Keep us posted on how things are going.

Bill

Glad to hear that your bride is on the road to recovery. As far as the job situation, I'm glad that there appears to be a new employer on the horizon. You're not the only one of us who has seen retirement disappear as an option.

Health is everything--wishing the very best to your wife--and you are not alone in these predicaments--get on your bike from time to time it cleans the cobwebs between the ears!

Glad to hear your bride is doing well. :thumb: Hang in there.

Lenny,
This made my day, and probably my whole week to learn your wife got the clear from the oncologist and pathologist. She has certainly been through the wringer as have you, mentally. Hope the new job works out better than things look right now. I am just glad you won't be unemployed totally. Keep us posted on how things are going.

Bill

+1

I'm glad your wife is going to be okay.

There is a thread in Foo about searching for jobs (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/488559-Hints-for-the-newly-or-soon-to-be-laid-off); it gives some good hints for resumes and cover letters.

I'm glad to hear that good news.

I'm delighted with your good news - that's truly uplifting! I can completely relate to everything else you said - I'm in much the same boat. My SEP IRA evaporated years ago, so it looks like I'll be working until they pry my fingers from a keyboard.

I'm adjusting my own work from client consulting to writing books on the same subjects, and have 3-4 titles out there now. Not getting rich on that - but (for me, at least) writing is one "career" that can be extended indefinitely.

And with two daughters in college, I can also relate to those expenses.

And, as for health insurance? Don't get me started. I had the bad timing of applying for a different (less expensive, higher deductible) plan exactly when I went to see my doc for a minor matter. Because he decided to order a test (which I subsequently didn't need and didn't take) the underwriter decided I was a "bad risk" for the less expensive policy. (I'm self-insured, by the way.) This despite the fact that I have barely seen my doctor for the past decade, am in generally good health, etc.

Anyway...

Good news on health is wonderful. As others have said, keep us posted!

Good news: My bride had her surgical staples removed today and received her pathology report. No malignancies detected!! Her Oncologist intends to keep a close eye on her for a couple of years to ensure that nothing develops. She's getting stronger every day and it looks like she'll be around for quite a while yet!! :)



This is FANTASTIC news, Cranky! Hoping your wife has a speedy recovery.

I'm very glad to hear you & you wife got such good news!

Now I need to learn about resume and cover letter writing and job interviewing and such.

Check with your town's library for any resources they offer.

I'm more familiar with what we have in the city. Central Branch downtown has the most stuff available. There's a whole department, the Job Resource Center (http://www3.libraryweb.org/central.aspx?id=129) (in the new B&L building), who can help. They can assist--one-on-one--with resumes, cover letters, and interview preparation.

On the main Job Information page (http://www3.libraryweb.org/adults.aspx?id=661&ekmensel=c57dfa7b_12_44_btnlink), scroll down a bit and download the brochure on Personal Help With the Job Finding Process. Lots of help available there.

Many employers bypass the whole advertising process and list their openings exclusively with RochesterWorks! (http://www.rochesterworks.org/). They also offer help with resumes, cover letters and interview prep.

If I may suggest, remember Wegman's is ranked third in the Forbes Best Workplaces in America and has decent heath insurance. Our largest employer, University of Rochester has excellent health care coverage since they own the darned hospital.

I'm personally biased for government work. The NYS retirement system requires only 10 years of service before you can get a partial pension. Contributions are 3% of your gross. Except for teachers, who have their own pension fund, any employee of any state, county, or local government or government agency is eligible.

The City has pretty good health insurance. One of my co-workers is a Kodak retiree, lives in your town even, and she works part-time just for the health insurance. I work part-time and have no other income so I can't afford the health insurance, but you can bet your sweet bippy I'm enrolled in the state pension fund.

I am very relieved to hear that your wife is going to be OK.

I just can't believe that your country doesn't have a health care program. I am fortunate enough to live in a country that does. Yes, our taxes in Canada are higher, but it is very comforting to know that regardless of what my future health issues might be, treatment will be provided at no cost to me.

Sounds like your good news outweighs the bad by a good margin. Just too bad it can't all be good.

You made my day! Good luck on the job search - you may find our boomer work ethic, if not our skills set, is in demand.

By the way, if you're only 60-ish, you ain't old at all. Plus, when I look at my retired friends, I wouldn't trade places with them - most of them seem to spend a lot of time as as free babysitters. When I see all those guys about my age sitting around Mcdonalds in the morning, it gives me the creeps - I can't wait to grab my (senior's) coffee and get out of there and get to work! And vacations are sweeter when they're paid.

Re canadian health care - it covers the basics, but for extras like drugs, dental care, vision care, ambulance, etc. you need a job that provides an extended health plan like Blue Cross. Plus, we do pay (reasonable) premiums for our government coverage - mine went up 6% this month.

Very glad to hear your wife is getting better. Great news. That's the most important part. Hold onto that.

you may find our boomer work ethic, if not our skills set, is in demand.

+1.

When listing my attributes in my last cover letter (for my current job) I listed "Traditional work ethic" right at the top. My boss later told me that that's what got me the job.

Check with your town's library for any resources they offer.

I'm more familiar with what we have in the city. Central Branch downtown has the most stuff available. There's a whole department, the Job Resource Center (http://www3.libraryweb.org/central.aspx?id=129) (in the new B&L building), who can help. They can assist--one-on-one--with resumes, cover letters, and interview preparation.

...



Thank You TSL. Next week it's "off to the library" for this old fellow.

I believe you have just steered me towards the portal to my future.

Great news about your wife! Good luck with the job search.

Great news about your wife!
Heck, you're going to find a great new job/career you'll wonder
why the heck you ever wanted to retire in the first place.
Good luck in your endeavors!

I'm delighted about the health news.

Job stuff - maybe the opportunities are there, but not within the normal view.

(What do I mean? Well, I'm an HRD fellow in Middle Eastern oil companies. Have been since I was 23. I was sent an email today saying a UK supermarket chain wanted older people to be trained as in-company bakers. I spend a quarter of my weekends pounding dough and making Chelsea buns, and I'd love to be trained to do it right. Maybe some employer wants to pay you for what you'd do as a hobby?)

Every good wish

Bicycling related: I also need to forget about all the extended bicycling tours I was going to participate in during the next ten years. :cry: With three daughters just starting out in three different parts of the country, my two weeks vacation from my anticipated new employer won't stretch very far.

I was thinking about this today. I get 32 HOURS of vacation/sick time a year. I make it stretch three ways


My schedule. I have a four-day work week with three-day weekends. I can do a lot in three days every week.
Combine with holidays. Monday holiday weeks are pure gold. I get the paid holiday, and only have to use three days vacation to get 10 days off.
Budget ahead and take non-paid time off. We get paid bi-weekly, 26 checks a year. My household budget is based on two paychecks a month, or 24 a year. Twice a year I get an extra one. (This year March and August.) After subtracting grocery and pocket money for those two weeks, I set the rest aside to "pay" myself for unpaid leave.


We're allowed to carry over half our hours. I've been carrying over 16 for several years now, waiting to use them on my next big trip.

An example of getting the most out of a three-day weekend:

I work until 7pm on Thursday. If I'm already packed, I can get home, have dinner, and catch the train to Chicago at 11pm. It arrives Friday mid-morning. I have nearly the whole day Friday, all day Saturday and most of Sunday in Chicago. The train home leaves at 9:30pm. It arrives back in R-Town at 10AM on Monday. I have to be to work at 1:30 Monday afternoon. I could never do that driving, but by sleeping overnight on the train, it's quite an easy trip.

Cranky,
I am so relieved to hear of Mrs. Cranky's results. That is just great! Hopefully, something good will happen on the employment front. I can only imagine how frightening that must be. Hang in there and find some time to revel in your wife's good news.:)