Reasons for Elation + Retirement Plans + Multilingual Skills

mental health monday

Reasons to Be Elated . . . Well, a Little Happy, Maybe?

If you follow my blog, you know I'm a newspaper junkie. Partly because I love--& maybe that's too mild a word--comics. So, I've been following LuAnn for a long time & finally--FINALLY--Brad & Toni Daytona got married.

Also, my 12-year-old grand-daughter Brianna isn't exactly a newspaper junkie, but I think I've turned her into a comics aficionado. When I visit Lincoln, I usually bring along a few newspapers that I haven't had time to read; plus I buy the Lincoln Journal Star every day that I'm there. She always asks me to save the comics. And I take along the comics from the newspapers I read at home. KUDOs to Brianna!

From Omaha World Herald (12/3):  "Elders who use tech tools less lonely, more satisfied. Forget bingo & shuffleboard. Use of computers & cellphones is linked to higher levels of mental & physical well-being among those over 80 . . . " [Wait . . . WHAT? Over 80!!?? Sigh.]

So, how about a hilarious joke . . . well . . . a lame joke?

Shameless joke "borrowing from Norfolk Daily News 'Go Ahead & Smile.' "His psychiatrist helped him a lot. Before, he would never answer the phone because he was scared of it. Now, he answers the phone whether it rings or not." 

Personal Mental Health Update

• Last week I shared that my appeal to have my mood disorder disability status restored had been upheld; also that this status will end as of 2/16/17.
• That's relatively good news, because it allows both Lois & I to move ahead with some plans without the burden of constantly wondering every day if (1) my appeal would be turned down, leading to (2) cancellation of my "temporary" health insurance at the end of the current month.
• It also allows us to move ahead with a little more planning re:  early retirement for me.

Bracing for Retirement:  Scenario #6

An early retirement date of March 2017 could be possible. As I've shared before, I don't know that we can get by on my retirement benefits & Lois' parochial school compensation unless:

1. She is willing to get a job working weekends and/or evenings @ Casey's. [Seems like they are always advertising for PT help at least on weekends & evenings.] *
2. I find a way to supplement my income.

* This seems unlikely. Every time I bring it up, she gives me A LOOK.

Here's another scenario, inspired by "Humans may benefit when rats get tickled for science." From Omaha World Herald (11/12/16). "A tickled rat is an adorable sight to see. The chubby little rodent darts toward a scientist's gloved hand, eager for the delightful agony of its next scratch.
      "It emits rapid-fire ultrasonic 'giggles'--chirps so high-pitched they're inaudible to human ears--& dashes around its enclosure in spontaneous leaps researchers call Freudensprunge, or 'joy jumps.' Joy jumps. Really.
      "'It's the weirdest job ever, tickling rats professionally,' animal physiologist Shimpei Ishiyama told Smithsonian magazine. Ishiyama & Michael Brecht, a fellow researcher at Humboldt U. in Berlin, co-wrote a new study in the journal Science on what happens when a rat gets tickled . . . "

PROS:  

This doesn't sound too taxing . . . The thought of creating elation in rats fills me with freudensprunge . . . which in turn could be very soothing & relaxing--good therapy for my plethora of mood disorders.

CONS:  

Sounds like a person might have to be an animal physiologist to qualify for this job . . . Also sounds like I might have to relocate to Berlin . . . Despite my multilingual capabilities which I have referenced ad nauseum, Japanese is not in my linguistic bag of tricks, & I must confess that my German is a little rusty * . . . Is there really such a thing as an animal physiologist?

CONclusion:  Little to no likelihood that this scenario is on the table. 

* I started learning German under Rev. Reinhardt @ St. Paul's College High, Concordia, MO, circa late 1960s. I was not a stellar scholar . . . As a senior (1970-71), our teacher was Mr. Laubenstein, a newly-graduated teacher from Concordia Seward. My fellow Class of 1971 members & I treated him like a prince. ** One of our favorite learning exercises was taking turns reading aloud from a German novel, such as Germelshausen(sp?). A student would read aloud a paragraph auf Deutsch, *** then translate it into English. Theoretically, we had read the assignment for homework & already translated the entire selection.
      Well, yours truly had become quite an adept German "word caller." However, I was the one furiously translating the passage it looked like I would be reading aloud & writing "notes" in my copy of the book as others read aloud. ****
** That's a lie.
*** Multi-lingual!!
**** It was painfully obvious, especially when I got the one & only D ever on a report card, which thoroughly disillusioned my parents, not to mention, I'm quite certain, Mr. Laubenstein. *****
***** Don't doubt that I'm not multi-lingual! Here's proof. I offer the following from memory:  Ich bin, du bist, er ist; wir sind, ihr seid, sie sist(?); bratwurst, sauerkraut.