New Name - Same Blog

Last week I wrote about the need to rationalize my dual identities. I’m retired (from corporate life) and now also a part-time consultant. Friends gave me some great ideas for new names for this blog, so I could minimize the focus on being retired and still talk about my post-corporate freedom. I ran a bunch through Blogger to check availability. The suggestion that resonated with me the most (and was also available for use) came from my creative husband, Ron. Thus “Runaway Boomer” came to be.

I was born in 1955, smack in the middle of the Baby Boomer period, and bear many of the standard characteristics of my generation. And I finally discarded the life I for so long felt I SHOULD lead – important job, good salary, big house in the suburbs, nice clothes, self-propelled lawnmower, two cars, blah, blah, blah. To be honest, all that was great and served us well. But it also burned us out badly. Fortunately, we had planned and saved, and Ron and I found that our dream was the same – to change our lives to be simpler and less stressful. So we ran away. We still have everything that is really important to us.

It all seemed meant to be. We already owned the condo in Chicago. Blackstone bought Hilton and our stock cashed out. Hilton “eliminated” our jobs (wink, wink) and paid us severance. Our house in Memphis sold in three days. Most of our furniture was purchased out from under us. The moving sale was a smash success. Ron’s brother bought one of our cars for his 16 year-old. Before we knew it, the moving van was on its way to Chicago. We felt lighter than air!

It’s been one year, eight months, and eighteen days since we arrived in our new urban home. So much has changed. We are relaxed, healthier, happier, and so thankful for it all. I wouldn’t have done anything differently.

Part-time consulting is appealing to us. Through Haropulos Bailey Consulting, we will use our combined experience and skill to take on the occasional project assignment. We’ll hook up with people we like and admire, on challenges were we know we can add value. There is no desire for fame and fortune – just the gratification that will come from using our minds and helping someone who needs our expertise. Opportunities may be somewhat sparse, because we don’t plan to hunt them very hard. So far, they are finding us.

So, Runaway Boomer is a better expression of how I feel – emancipated! I hope you continue to enjoy my postings, about how life has changed since we changed the rules.

Rationalizing Dual Identities

I’m retired from the corporate rat race, and yet I have established a consulting practice, Haropulos Bailey Consulting. Occasionally, this dual identity profile I have espoused becomes a little awkward to maintain. The issue is really my online presence.

I have a single Google profile and two Blogs. This blog allows me to ramble about my transition to retired life. The other is a professional blog (http://habaconsulting.blogspot.com), in which I expound upon business and career-related subjects. So, am I retired or am I a consultant? The answer is either “Neither” or “Both”.

Assuming that my plans pan out, I don’t ever again have to be a corporate minion. (No offense – that worked out pretty well for me for almost 30 years.) But it doesn’t mean I will never work again. I truly am excited with the idea of applying my experience and brain to short-term assignments on behalf of others. I want to consult on hospitality, customer service, and marketing/communications challenges. My yet-to-be-incorporated company, Haropulos Bailey Consulting, is intended to provide an identity around the services I have to offer.

I’ve done just a little consulting to date, with a former colleague I've known a long time, who is an exec with a company here in Chicago. I hope to do a little more, with other smart people who I respect and like. It’s time to create a web site and reach out to possible clients with a little marketing. A few hours or days here and there of man-behind-the-curtain action would be perfect. My ego no longer has need of the spotlight.

So I’d better think about how to reconcile my retired identity and my consultant identity online. If you Google Laurel Haropulos Bailey, you see evidence of both. Being “retired” could easily adversely affect people’s perception of the seriousness of my interest in consulting. I think the answer is to tweak my online identity as a retired person, and rationalize it with my consulting identity. But how?

Suggestions, anyone?

Searching for Musical Relevance

Payday in the early to mid-1980’s always meant a trip to Sound Warehouse in Dallas, to buy 2 or 3 new music CD’s. We gobbled up new releases, as well as replacing some of our favorite record albums in the “new” format. It was during this time period that Ron and I really built up our music libraries, merging them when we combined households in 1988. Some of our favorite artists back then, like George Strait, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, are still cranking out great music. We also have old favorites like Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, B.B. King, Ella Fitzgerald, and more. But some artists have disappeared or gone very stale. Remember Sheena Easton? I won’t go on – it’s just too embarrassing.

The point is that we have fallen out of the habit of buying a lot of new music. I’m terrified of slipping into old fart-dom in my musical entertainment choices. I don’t want to be stuck in the 80’s and 90’s. Why does this so often happen to people as they get older?

I have a theory about how we lost our way. Where do you hear new music? On the radio – which we don’t listen to anymore, because we are hardly ever in the car. In clubs – and, yeah, we don’t go clubbing anymore. On MTV or VH1 – which we do not watch. So… What are the alternatives? We watched the Grammy’s on Sunday and picked up a few new leads. We cruise iTunes for what’s new. Amazon provides some recommendations. You see my dilemma.

We are not close-minded about musical choices (OK, except about rap and most hip-hop). Our iTunes Library includes newer artists such as Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat, John Mayer, Feist, Pink, Paulo Nutini, Adele, Pink Martini, India Aire, East Village Opera Company, and a few more. But we need to continue to expand our horizons.

So…please send your recommendations for current artists or CD’s that you enjoy or think we might embrace. Help us in our desperate attempt to stay musically relevant as we age. God bless you.

P.S. BTW, we are at least iPod-enabled.

Winter Escape with a Purpose

It’s always been our plan to stay in Chicago for just a few years – until we’ve “done” the city, and get weary of the expense, the crowds, and the politics. It’s probably not the greatest place for old-age retirement (although you might be surprised how many retirement communities there are here). So when we moved to Chicago, we decided that every year we need to make at least one trip to the southwest to scout our permanent home locale. It turns out that late winter is a good time to go; allowing us to temporarily escape the effects of cabin fever brought on by the brutally long season of cold, gray, snowy misery.

Last year, we took advantage of one of Southwest’s “Gotta Get Away” fares and flew out to Albuquerque for a week. We stayed at a Homewood Suites property on the north side of the city, and made several day trips to Santa Fe. The weather was fantastic, and we had a good time exploring the area. Pulte Homes has a beautiful planned community in Rio Rancho, and we looked at their model homes to get a sense of what was available in the area. It was very encouraging. There were 3 homes we both liked, ranging from $150,000 to $230,000. We liked Albuquerque and haven’t ruled it out, but aren’t totally convinced it’s the right place for us. Santa Fe is really appealing, but much pricier.

This year we plan to drive out to Prescott, Arizona to check it out. Prescott is in the high desert, 99 miles north of Phoenix. The population is just over 40,000, but it boasts several museums, a courthouse square near the restaurants and shops on “Whiskey Row”, summer concerts, a regional hospital, golf courses, and several colleges/universities. We could even scout the Cubs during spring training in Mesa. It’s an easy drive to Flagstaff, Sedona, the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, and even Las Vegas. We’ve booked four nights in a Bed & Breakfast, and plan to spend a few hours with a realtor to scope out the housing. I’m working on convincing Ron that we should bring our golf clubs and get in a round or two. A side trip to the Grand Canyon for some hiking and photo opportunities on the rim trails will wrap up the trip before we start the drive home.

How will we know when we have found the right place to settle? We want the dry air of the desert, but not the harshest heat…four seasons without extremes…outdoor recreation opportunities…cultural activities…a reasonable cost of living…the easy pace of a small town, with easy access to a big city. I think we’ll know what’s right when we see it. We’ll keep you posted.

Poetic License

Face
Same angles and planes
But softer

Hair
Shot with silver highlights
More natural

Frame
Aging civil warrior princess
In training

Heart
Of super womangirl
Seeking essential self

© Laurel Anne Bailey 2010

When I Grow Up

I’m retired from the corporate world of business – not from life. There are so many things to do now that I have my freedom. Still, I can’t really answer, “What now?” At least not completely. Not yet. When I look inside the jumble of my heart and mind, I hear these insistent little voices:

· I love golf and it annoys me that I suck at it. I want to play more and get better, and fully enjoy any time spent on a golf course.
· The creative process of making jewelry – from buying supplies to making a finished product –is really fun. Besides, I love custom jewelry and this is an inexpensive way to have it. Would it be more or less fun if I sold my creations? Would anyone buy them? Will my sister Althea play with me?
· I really should do some singing to make use of my trained voice. (Note that I wrote “should” and not “want to”. Hmmm.) I just haven’t figured out what type of activity would be stimulating and allow me to dust off my vocal chords without embarrassing myself.
· I’ve done some painting (watercolors and acrylics), but have no training and probably little talent. But I want to paint. I should take some classes.
· Why is my ukulele just gathering dust?
· I’ve always wanted to write a book. Instead, I’m writing blogs. Might the latter lead to the former?
· I have business acumen that is going to waste right now. So what? I really like the idea of being “the man behind the curtain” and helping someone else achieve success.
· I am going to learn to design a web site, dammit. How hard can this be, with all the tools and templates available today?
· With all this time I have, I have to get serious about this last 15 pounds. No excuses.

Don’t be surprised if you catch me muttering to myself on occasion. I’m busy deciding what I want to do when I grow up.

Day of (Budget) Reckoning

With the start of 2010, we tackled the task of analyzing our 2009 expenses. I think we were both a little concerned about how well we had stayed within our budget, since we weren’t disciplined enough to track expenses month by month. I’m sure we will address this monthly from now on, because it took Ron several days to work on the whole year at once. Some electronic records are unspecific, and as time goes by, the memory fades. But Ron was tenacious, digging through all the details a month at a time, categorizing expenses into our pre-defined categories.

Before I tell you about the results, I should explain that for the purpose of modeling and analysis, we actually have four budgets with different levels of discretionary spending. Our Extravagant budget allows a generous level of discretionary spending, especially in the Entertainment and Travel categories. On the other extreme of the scale, the Low budget cuts discretionary expenses to the bare minimum. The Low budget is about 40% below Extravagant. In between, are High and Average budgets. These variations allow us to employ the appropriate annual budget based on economic conditions and/or other external factors.

We closed 2009 with our expenses about 3% under the High budget. We are very satisfied with this result, because we admit that we lived large last year while acclimating to retired life. Our expectation was that we would be closer to the Extravagant level. At the expense category level, we had just a few anomalies. Our Food expenses were slightly above budget, because we cooked at home more (better for our diet and keeping our Dining expenses well within budget). Housing ran above budget due to the cost of refinancing our mortgage last year, and monthly parking jumped from $180 to $225. (Ongoing, our mortgage payment drops $200 per month.) Transportation expenses were much lower than budgeted, as we replaced most auto usage with public transportation. Utilities came in about 50% under budget, probably because we had a really mild summer and we hardly had to use air conditioning at all. I am proud that I stayed well within my Clothing budget. The truth is that I am now happy to live in t-shirts or sweaters and jeans 90% of the time.

FYI, the big Mediterranean cruise was covered under our Capital budget – not included in expenses.

This year, we’ll do our analysis monthly, to give us a chance to make budget and/or spending adjustments throughout the year. It really gives us confidence in our retirement plans to have this data and analysis to validate our long term financials.