Snowbirds Living in the Philippines : Eleven Years After Retirement-Am I still Happy?

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Eleven Years After Retirement-Am I still Happy?

Next Month will be my 11th year after retirement. As of today, I am still very happy and felt accomplished, I will tell you why.

About eleven years ago today, I retired from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Before my retirement I was a Chemistry Team Leader for the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs in Silver Spring, Maryland. I considered this job an important venue to contribute my talents and skills to all US consumers and also to all citizens of the world who had purchased anti-infective drug products approved by FDA.

A couple of months after my retirement, I felt useless and missed my co-workers. I also missed the challenge of using my brain in my daily activities as team leader and managing the work of six other FDA employees. This feeling of boredom was slightly alleviated when my wife and I started babysitting for our youngest grand daughter.

Two months after my retirement, a bright idea came to rescue my feeling of inadequacy and uselessness. Why not convert our retirement beach house in the Philippines into a small business-an exclusive beach resort. But, how will I advertised for clients? I decided to create/design a web site. I have no knowledge of creating a web site, but by trial and error, I was able to construct a website, www.chateaudumer.com. I also created another site and I named it http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com

My second activity was to promote the island of Marinduque, Philippines (where our retirement home is located ) as a world tourist destination not only during Holy week but also whole year round. This was achieved via my other two blogs http://marinduqueonmymind.blogspot.com and http://marinduqueawaitsyou.blogspot,com). As a result of this endeavor, I received a letter of Appreciation and Commendation from the Governor of the Province in 2003.

My third activity was to continue in full time mood my volunteer work as a participant/organizer during Marinduque International, Inc medical and dental mission to the province of Marinduque. Along with my spouse, Macrine Nieva Jambalos, we have dedicated our time, resources and hearts to alleviate the medical needs of the poor and needy in the island since our retirement . We have participated to this humanitarian project four times since 2002. I plan again in participating to the next medical mission in Marinduque scheduled for January, 2014.

Last but not least I started writing and blogging. I found this activity relaxing and enjoyable. I had my first article, Marinduque-Ecotourism Capital of the Philippines published in 2009 by www.huliq.com, making me a citizen journalist. This was followed by my two other articles on US National Parks and Monuments and The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant revival in the Philippines. I had also written numerous articles for ViewsHound, now a defunct writing site that was based in UK.

Today, I am also writing for Publish US ( http://pu.blish.us), a writing site based in the US and I also have a page on www.squidoo.com.

May I reiterate that the joy one gets from retirement is very specific. Some enjoy their free time by learning new activities, getting involved with humanitarian projects or spending more time with their grandchildren. Others hate retirement. They missed their coworkers and interaction at work. Others with no children or grandchildren spend their free time on traveling, turning their hobbies into small business or more community involvement. Those that retire and hate it are believed to die earlier than those who enjoy their retirement years.

I suggest you plan your retirement as early as you can. The happier you are on retirement, the longer you will live.

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Joys of Retirement

I have been retired from USFDA since 2002. At first, I feel I have lost my identity as an individual or have lost my contribution to society. However, within a few weeks all these feelings were gone. It started when my wife and I started baby sitting one of our grandchildren. As some economics professor states: "Your children are your capital investments, but your grandchildren are your profits. That is why you love your grandchildren more than your children". I really agree with the statement. Retirement also gives you lots of time to do things you like to do, such as your hobbies and of course travel. In my case, I turned my hobby of gardening and landscaping into a small business in the Philippines. This endeavor was planned about five years before 2002. That year my wife and I started construction of our retirement home in Boac, Marinduque , Philippines. The next year we built a beach house, followed by a Conference Hall two years later. Needless to say, planning and executing the landscaping was a challenge and very enjoyable. With the help of local labor, I not only enjoy the time gardening and landscaping, but also help improved the economic situation of the province by providing work and jobs to the local residents. With plenty of time, I have engaged into two specific activities as follows: First, I created a website for my small business. By trial and error, I created and design the website, www.chateaudumer.com I have never been a computer nerd or expert. But with plenty of time and patience, the fruits of my labor could be enjoyed if you visit the website above. The second activity, I have not done before was to utilize on-line activities, such as shopping, paying bills ( save you stamps) and playing computer games in the Internet. I really enjoyed playing duplicate bridge on line. You play with players all over the world and can chat in between games. But be careful, you are not spending too much time in the computer. It is very addictive. With a lots of time, my wife and I devoted more time on our favorite humanitarian project. For the last 15 years, we have been involved with medical mission to the province of Marinduque. For details please visit the website: www.marinduqueinternational.org As a summary, the joy one gets on retirement is very specific for an individual. Some enjoy their free time by learning new activities, getting involved with humanitarian projects or spending more time with their grandchildren. Others hate it, since they missed their former jobs and co-workers. Others with no children still enjoy retirement by traveling, turning their hobbies into business or more community involvement. Of course those that retire and hate it, is believe to die earlier than those that enjoy their retirement years. So, plan your retirement as early as you can. The happier you are on retirement, the longer you will live.