Unretirement Project

Retirement Redefined

You are here: Home / Archives for Fun

What We’re UP To: June 2017

by 2 Comments

Watching | Twin Peaks

> It’s been 25 years, but the Twin Peaks revival has started. Before we start watching the new episodes, we decided to watch the original. I must say, the show has held up well over the years. You know, there are some shows that are 10, 20 years old and they look 10, 20 years old. Not the case with Twin Peaks.

Twin Peaks, Agent Cooper, bobblehead, unretirement, unretirement project, retirement

Reading | Toxic Octopus

> I’m a big fan of comedy mystery books. Love Carl Hiaasen and Jana DeLeon. Now I can add Lisa Haneberg to my must-read list. Lisa and I worked on a management development book years ago and she’s branched out to fiction. “Toxic Octopus” is the second book in the series. You can download the first book, “Ghost Rat” for free.

Working On | BlogHer17

> We envision this blog to be different from HR Bartender. While we’ll talk a bit about careers and consulting, we want to also talk about travel, food, and life. Since this year’s BlogHer conference is in Orlando, we decided to go get some ideas and inspiration.

Feeling | Frustrated

> …with my computer equipment. It always seems like whenever I have a bunch of deadlines, my computer decides that the blue screen of death (BSOD) needs to show up. We’re wondering if it’s time to make the transition from PCs to Macs. If you have an opinion, please drop us your thoughts in the comments!

Planning | Menus!

> You guys know that I’m a planner. Spring human resources conference season is ending soon and I’m looking forward to some home cooking over the summer. One of our favorite things to make is pizza on the grill. We’ve been perfecting homemade pizza dough and fresh sauce. Delish!

Loving | Yeti

> I always carry a Yeti in my suitcase. It was wonderful to have it during our cruise to Cuba. When you’re used to having a nice big mug of tea in the morning, the small cups on the ship just won’t do. And we weren’t the only people walking around the ship with Yeti travel mugs.

Geeking | Apple Pay

> I know, I know…Apple Pay has been around for years. I’ve been reluctant to give it a try. But I recently set it up and it is so convenient! Especially at Starbucks. I initially purchased my Apple Watch for the health and exercise features, and I really like that the watch is more than that.

What’s UP with you? Leave us a note in the comments about how you’re spending the summer.

Image of Agent Cooper captured by Keith Lauby

Bookmark This! Art and Culture Edition

by Leave a Comment

unretirement, retirement, art, culture, apps, coloring, Starry Night

There are lots of old sayings about not being able to make a living as an artist. While I didn’t do it for a long time, I feel proud that one of my first jobs out of college was self-employed artist. Yes, I actually made a living producing limited edition serigraphs and etchings. It’s not the most glamorous job – I always smelled like paint thinner – but I did enjoy the creativity and being a part of the art community.

Now, I support the art community by trying to sneak off to museums when I travel. And I get creative fulfillment by writing and my hobbies (beading and counted cross stitch). But I’m finding it very cool that technology allows me to be a part of the art community in a new way. I have access to thousands of works of art via the internet and my mobile devices.

ICYMI – The Metropolitan Museum of Art released more than 375,000 public domain artworks online.

If you prefer more of a live experience, check out Google Field Trip. It’s available on iTunes and Android. Next time you’re out and about, open up the app and see the culture of wherever you are. A reminder that we live culture. It’s not just in museums on display.

Google has an arts and culture site that allows you to tour the Sydney Opera House and Taj Mahal. It also talks about art movements like street art and surrealism. You can view the site via your browser or their app (FREE on Android and iTunes).

Speaking of art, I like an app called DailyArt, available on iTunes and Android. Its premise is very simple. One art masterpiece a day, with a little bit of background about it. It takes less than a minute and you learn so much.

Another fave app of mine is called Today in History. If you’re into daily trivia, this is a site that tells you what happened on this day in history including battles, documents, and deaths. I also just noticed that it interfaces with the Apple Watch. I might have to check that out. It’s available on Android and iTunes for free. There’s a small purchase to eliminate ads.

This list doesn’t even include the art you can create on your own with adult coloring books. I so enjoy coloring apps like Recolor and Colorfy. In fact, I colored my favorite work of art for this post, Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night.

So, even if you don’t live near a museum, you can still be surrounded by art and culture.

Life – #WordlessWednesday

by Leave a Comment

There are three primary methods to learning – auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. These methods also apply to the way we express ourselves. In life, I’ve learned that images can speak as loudly as words. Specifically, when it comes to blogging, I’ve come to realize that the images I choose to share in a post are an additional way to communicate because people can interpret the images in various ways.

One of the features I’d like to include on this blog is a wordless Wednesday post. I’m not exactly sure how it got started but it’s the idea that on Wednesdays, bloggers post a photograph with no explanation except for the photo credit. Hopefully the image will inspire or just make someone think about life.

Hope you enjoy this first image! I’m looking forward to sharing more with you.

Life, unretirement project, unretirement, gig, gig economy, blogging

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby in the lobby of her financial planner’s office