Now that I’m retired I’m trying to do all those things we say we’ll do when we have time to do them, and one of those things is blogging, but I wanted to ensure I had a decent platform before I started so now that I’ve gotten all that put together, hopefully I can work this into my daily routine.

You would not believe how easy it is to waste time when you have so much of it. I had to start scheduling my days here at home – I mean from the morning all the way until sleep time – in order to keep myself from engaging in these time-wasting activities that would sap the days away before I even realized they were gone. One moment you’re firing up your favorite game, next thing you know it’s dark outside. So I keep lists, I identify projects, I schedule time, and I try to hold to all of it as best as I can.

As most of you know, my plan was to transition straight from the USMC into a teaching career. Right now I have the provisional license I need and the necessary endorsements to start working, but the pandemic made finding a job difficult so I chose to start school and be as productive as I could here. Part of that involved filing for disability from the VA, and filing for Post 9-11 GI Bill beneifts for school, both of which led me to realize that between pension, benefits, and disability, I don’t actually have to work anymore.

Now, I know a lot of veteran, mostly USMC, and they’ve all said the same thing: “Hey, being at home sounds all great and everything, but you will quickly find yourself wanted to get and and work again.” Suffice it to say I’m still waiting for that impulse to kick in. Actually, each day that goes by makes me wonder why on Earth I would ever go back to working a full time job. The economics of being here make a lot of sense; going to work would mean child care expenses, transportation costs and vehicle wear and tear, risk, and the numerous other costs in terms of time, effort, and money we all expend to commute to work. If I were to assign an actual dollar value to my time – not what it is worth to others, but what it is worth to me – and factor that in to the cost of going to work somewhere, it just doesn’t seem to tip the scale towards higher value.

I am still going to persue my MA in History and get my teaching license, because as we all know, things come up and at some point it might not be up to me. Emergecy expenses, medical surprises, pandemics… things happen and I might need to work at sompe point so I want to make sure I have a qualification that will find me a job. But working when I don’t have to? With each passing day, it feels harder to see myself doing it. I have everything I want in terms of toys and creature comforts. I have no urge to travel or go to sporting events. Everyone I care about most lives in this house with me. There is simply nothing to work towards at this point. And on the flip side, there are literally dozens of projects and hobbies I’ve been putting off “until I have time”, which I now have. In fact, I have so much of those things that I write them into my schedule. Like now, for example.

I even have a running list of topics I have been meaning to write on – things regarding politics, soliology, and politics in general. Ideas and observations I feel are worth capturing.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably receiving my Mischievous Unknown feed. The background on that is that many years ago I was quite intoxicated and I wrote a little ‘poetry’ that started with the line “Delve into the Mischievous Unknown” and the next day I thought I like that phrase so I kept it as a moniker I would use if I wanted a surname for creativity. It does capture my disposition pretty well – the curiosity to peer into and perhaps examine the seedy underbelly of reality where few people dare to venture… to “look under the hood” of our psychology and try to take a clear-eyed look at what motivates us to do what we do.

Thanks for stopping by and keep your eyes open for more content.