The Big Question

How much money do I need to have saved up before I can retire?  That's the big question on my mind right now.  I have peers on both sides of the Atlantic who are not working, albeit for varying reasons - and I am extremely jealous.  I don't want to work.  I want to enjoy spending my time however I want.  Ideally I want to take a sabbatical, but I'm not sure how feasible that is.  Mainly because I don't know if I'll ever be able to return to my existing job or a new job after taking a sabbatical.  Which is why I want to know how much money I need to never work again.  It's going to be quite a lot for me.  I never got onto the property ladder, so housing is always going to be a significant outlay.  And, at least in the US, health insurance might be even more expensive than rent.  Don't get me started on how ridiculous that is.  So, sadly, I fear I have to keep on working for as long as I can so I can keep on saving.  Even if I don't want to.  That doesn't sound fair.  I know some other biotech companies actually encourage their employees to take a sabbatical after they've been at the company for a certain length of time.  I really wish they did the same at my place.  

Boycott

I keep on seeing adverts on TV for Starlink - Elon Musk's satellite internet company.  The same company that Musk disgracefully used to hamper Ukraine's war effort.  Probably because Trump asked him to.  Because Trump is, as has been made abundantly clear in some of his recent actions, in Russia's pocket.  Well rest assured, wherever I am in the world, I will never resort to using Starlink.  In the same way that I will never buy a Tesla (and I will never give any driving courtesies to Tesla drivers).  And should I ever want to take a trip into space, I will never use SpaceX.  I don't care for Elon Musk, and I think the world would be a better place without him, his money, and his political influence.     

TV Update

Let's have a quick look at some network/cable TV shows that I'm currently watching.  Now that I subscribe to most of the main streaming services, there's definitely not as many as there used to be.  At some point I'll do a separate post on what I'm watching on streaming.

The Terror: Devil in Silver.  This is the third season of The Terror.  Not as good as the previous couple of seasons, but still not bad.  And good to be watching a horror show during the spooky season.

The Lowdown.  I wasn't sure whether Tommy Lee Jones had retired from acting, but the fact that he has popped up in the second season of this very underrated show gives some idea of its caliber (calibre).

Cupertino.  Probably the best new network show of the season.  This is basically The Good Wife but set in Silicon Valley.

The Rainmaker.  This show reminds me of when Suits first aired.  

Best Medicine.  This is comfort TV - the US version of Doc Martin.

 

Color (without a u)

Winter is coming.  A telling sign is when the trees adjacent to my patio start turning colo(u)r.  I took a couple of photos, mainly because I wanted my phone to tell me what type of trees they are.  Apparently, the bigger tree is a maple and the smaller bush-like tree (which has turned a very distinctive red shade) is a Japanese maple.  So there we go.

Vaccinated

Finally got my COVID shot and flu shot today.  I could have and should have got them a lot sooner, because there was absolutely no need to make an appointment.  I was in and out of there in less than 5 minutes - I was the only person there.  I had to check with the nurse that she gave me both shots, because I didn't even notice the second shot.  And despite what the current administration might want you to think, I am totally confident that the shots are safe and that someone who is "high risk" (like me) should get them.   

Mood

Trying to find some tunes that reflect my mood right now.  It's not easy.  Right now, these might be the closest.   

Music

It's been years since I bought an album.  And I'm increasingly bored by the local radio station I listen to and their extremely small playlist.  And there are very few audio-only podcasts I listen to now - most I watch on YouTube.  So I've been thinking it would be nice to get into music again. Not necessarily new music, but there are a lot of old albums that I would like to add to my collection.  In much the same way that I went through a phase of reading classic novels, I think I would like to start a phase of listening to classic albums.  Maybe by purchasing one new album every month?  Should I ever go on a decent length road trip (hopefully sometime next year), then it would be great to go on the road with some decent tunes on hand.  I am kind of old-fashioned - so rather than just play stuff on Spotify or some similar streaming service, I'd actually like to own the music.  It's the same mindset I have when it comes to films and books - I much prefer physical media.