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Dad retired in his mid 30s. It went really well for him for about 30 years, and then he started to decline into depression. I don't think it was directly relat

by dsr_ 5y ago

Dad retired in his mid 30s. It went really well for him for about 30 years, and then he started to decline into depression. I don't think it was directly related to being retired. He built a barbecue out of cinder blocks, then rebuilt it out of bricks. He learned to knot in order to make hammocks. He took up painting with acrylics -- I wouldn't say he ever became good at it, but he liked it and that's the point. The same for charcoal -- but he didn't like the mess, so he dropped it quickly. He took up teaching advanced math to the local elementary school kids. He taught himself programming in BASIC and wrote math games and text adventures about our neighborhood. He watched a lot of movies, read a lot of books, and kept the house on a schedule. He went from being an adequate cook to a reasonably good one. He built relationships with the neighbors and went for a walk twice a day when the weather was adequate.

appel 5y ago
> text adventures about our neighborhood That sounds fascinating. Are those available online somewhere? I absolutely love text adventures, would love to try it out.
- dsr_ 5y ago
  They were really aimed at us (his kids) and featured events like Johnny-Jump-Up (one of our cats) being discovered in the raspberry patch. I don't think any of them are still around, but Dad probably has an archive of floppy disks, so it's possible.
  - appel 5y ago
    Gotcha. Your dad sounds like an amazing guy, hope he overcomes his depression.
h0p3 5y ago
I'd like to speak with him. We have some things in common, and I'd like to hear his perspective.
- dsr_ 5y ago
  At this point he is quite depressed and anxious over everything. No offense, but I don't think it would be a good idea to introduce him to an Internet stranger. I can relay his three best pieces of advice, though, all of which he related to me around the time I went to college. 1. Don't take a course where the professor wrote the book. If they knew any way to explain the material, they put it in the book, and won't be able to help you more than that. 2. People get excited about all sorts of things, and if you're reasonably friendly and available they will invite you to everything. That's not bad in itself, but you need to be selective about what you go to, or else you'll find that you never did the things that you needed to do, just the ones that you wanted to do. 3. There are lots of reversible mistakes, and others that are disastrous to try to recover from. Try to recognize your mistakes and back out of them before you hit the disaster point. Marriage is easily but painfully reversible until you have kids; then it's a disaster.
  - h0p3 5y ago
    I appreciate that. Thank you. I hope he starts feeling better. If it ever becomes a better idea (or even a hail mary play), you send him my way, please: https://philosopher.life/#Contact%20h0p3 https://philosopher.life/#Contact%20h0p3. He can take a look around to decide if he'd be interested.
agentwiggles 5y ago
Minus the depression, you have basically described my dream life. Retire early, pursue projects and relationships I find rewarding, take care of my family. I turn 30 in 10 days... not sure I'll be retiring any time soon. But still, a man can dream. I hope your dad feels better soon.

by dsr_ 5y ago

appel 5y ago

> text adventures about our neighborhood That sounds fascinating. Are those available online somewhere? I absolutely love text adventures, would love to try it out.

dsr_ 5y ago
They were really aimed at us (his kids) and featured events like Johnny-Jump-Up (one of our cats) being discovered in the raspberry patch. I don't think any of them are still around, but Dad probably has an archive of floppy disks, so it's possible.
- appel 5y ago
  Gotcha. Your dad sounds like an amazing guy, hope he overcomes his depression.

h0p3 5y ago

I'd like to speak with him. We have some things in common, and I'd like to hear his perspective.

dsr_ 5y ago
At this point he is quite depressed and anxious over everything. No offense, but I don't think it would be a good idea to introduce him to an Internet stranger. I can relay his three best pieces of advice, though, all of which he related to me around the time I went to college. 1. Don't take a course where the professor wrote the book. If they knew any way to explain the material, they put it in the book, and won't be able to help you more than that. 2. People get excited about all sorts of things, and if you're reasonably friendly and available they will invite you to everything. That's not bad in itself, but you need to be selective about what you go to, or else you'll find that you never did the things that you needed to do, just the ones that you wanted to do. 3. There are lots of reversible mistakes, and others that are disastrous to try to recover from. Try to recognize your mistakes and back out of them before you hit the disaster point. Marriage is easily but painfully reversible until you have kids; then it's a disaster.
- h0p3 5y ago
  I appreciate that. Thank you. I hope he starts feeling better. If it ever becomes a better idea (or even a hail mary play), you send him my way, please: https://philosopher.life/#Contact%20h0p3 https://philosopher.life/#Contact%20h0p3. He can take a look around to decide if he'd be interested.

agentwiggles 5y ago

Minus the depression, you have basically described my dream life. Retire early, pursue projects and relationships I find rewarding, take care of my family. I turn 30 in 10 days... not sure I'll be retiring any time soon. But still, a man can dream. I hope your dad feels better soon.