Month: February 2026

Seven and a half years ago, I wrote, “Approaching the 13th hole,” using 18 holes to demarcate one’s life. Today’s calculation has me realizing I misinterpreted the math back then, and today find myself already off the tee on the 15th, probably looking for my ball in the woods after a slice. Yeah, it can be a frustrating game just thinking about it. “They” say golf is a mental game. Actually, A quote attributed to Jack Nicklaus is, “The game of golf is 90% mental and 10% physical,” but if you think about it, every aspect of life is a mental game. Human physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and spiritual attributes are orchestrated by the brain. Of course, not everyone agrees, but let’s just go with “life is a mental game” for now.

A little over three months ago, I was retired by my former employer. I’d intended to retire at the end of 2025, so getting a six-week paid vacation as part of a severance package gave me time to think about and plan for post-retirement old-guy stuff like Social Security, Medicare, and the supplemental coverages that add up quickly. That’s a convoluted and overly complex process, but it was easy compared to the one I’m still going through. As Pete Townshend asked:

Who are you? Who, who, who, who?

Yeah, one quarter in since “the event,” I’m still in transition, peering across a blank landscape from who I was then, in search of who I am now. I think I may have been more attached to my work/professional identity than I realized. Recently, as I find myself seeking affirmation from social media, I’m curbing those impulses, especially on LinkedIn, where there’s still a psychological pull to be “relevant” and part of the conversation.

So now that my professional identity of “Director in a tech company” has been stripped like Chuck Conners’ stripes in “Branded,” well, “who the fuck are you?” Well, Pete, I guess I’ll start with father, grandfather, husband, and all-around swell guy. OK, I’ll cut that last one. My ego is damaged, so be gentle. As I write, I’m getting some ideas, particularly about teaching my children and grandchildren. Toddler Eliza enjoys hanging with her grandfather, and the feeling is mutual. With her parents both business owners, that “Manny” identity may be increasing. Wait, there’s more. Chef. Cyclist. Writer and aspiring comedian.

Retirement is a mental game and a work in progress.

I love to cook and do most of the meal planning and prep for my family. Now that I’m officially retired, “going out to dinner whenever the hell we want to” has faced budgetary scrutiny. We could do it, but subconsciously, I’m holding back a bit while I get my arms around living on a fixed income. That phrase always makes me smile. Back when my dad was alive and busting balls on the golf course, he’d always go there when the post-18 bar bill arrived, “I’m on a fixed income!” As genetics would have it, that phrase is now a regular in my post-retirement lexicon. 

In the past couple of weeks, the cooking-at-home thing has run into a couple of obstacles. First, the right-front double burner of my electric range now produces heat only from the small inner burner. Second, the microwave above it suffered a sudden death over the weekend. I use it only to thaw frozen stuff, reheat leftovers, and most importantly, froth ⅓ of a cup of oat milk for each cup of coffee in the morning. Still, it is missed. Just today, I had to heat the oat milk in a saucepan and a leftover Super Bowl half a steak and cheese in a sautee pan. I appreciate the analog deceleration of life this provides, but I suspect slow cooking will get old fast.

As is my wont, I spent much of Super Sunday conducting thorough research and hands-on inspections of replacement appliances. Back in 2014, a kitchen reno brought a Whirlpool suite of appliances into my kitchen. My research found that the lifespan of major appliances is roughly 13-15 years, so we’re a tad early on the cooking units, but it doesn’t make financial sense to repair them. The fridge and dishwasher are still fully functional, so my initial research focused on Whirlpool to keep the family together, but the reviews these days aren’t great. In fact, customer opinions aren’t very good on any of the major brands. It’s a capitalism thing. Manufacturers have to improve profit margins every year, so that means cutting costs for humans and the raw materials used to build these things. So, Whirlpool… Didn’t make the cut. 

My strategy now is to settle on a new brand to replace the range and microwave, then deal with the other two when the time comes. Back to research. I’ll tell you, these AI tools rely quite a bit on Reddit threads, and what they show is overall dissatisfaction with appliance brands. Now, Bosch has always been a brand I associate with quality, so I explored it. They have a 100, 300, 500, and 800 series hierarchy, and the 800 had the best reviews and, naturally, the highest price point. The rest of the brands were largely bunched together – GE, LG, Maytag, Frigidaire, Samsung. One brand that piqued my interest and held up in reviews was GE Profile, one of several GE sub-brands. Now to get physical.

Locally, we have Best Buy, Lowe’s, and Home Depot, although I will never give the latter a dime if I can help it, mostly for political reasons, although a large corporation like Lowe’s probably splits their political contributions around to both major parties. We do have a local appliance chain, and I don’t know the owner’s political leanings, and I don’t want to. In any case, I prefer to support a local small business. On Sunday afternoon, I waded through a sea of appliances and got hands-on with some brands to see if I could “feel” a difference in quality. How do the doors open? How do they close? How do the knobs turn? Are there knobs at all? What is the build quality of fit and finish? How are the aesthetics? I want back and forth, literally walking from one unit to the next, opening, closing, feeling, looking. 

After pacing and thinking, I chose units from the Bosch 800 line and opted for the electric, smooth-top range over an induction model. I was introduced to induction cooking during a 2018 trip to Europe, when a non-iron pan just wouldn’t heat up. Yep, magnetize me. From what I now understand, a strong induction burner will boil water about 2x faster than a standard electric stovetop and is slightly more energy-efficient, but not worth the $1,300.00 premium in my opinion.

Delivery and installation will be in a week. Until then, I’ll be heating oat milk and leftovers the old-fashioned way.

Nearly five years ago, I wrote, “Will I cry when I retire?” On November 14, 2025, I was part of yet another “Reduction in Force” (RIF) by UKG, which kicked off the decision process. For the record, I did not cry on that day. I felt a tremendous sorrow, but it was for those who remained, and I fear it’s not going to improve, but that’s for another day. In the aftermath of the layoff, I was unsure whether I would simply retire or carry on in some capacity. I was uncertain about living without a steady paycheck, and concerned about how the loss of identity would impact my psyche and fragile male ego. For the balance of the year, I researched and made decisions on things like Social Security, healthcare, 401K’s, IRA’s, HSA’s, and other EIEIO’s. That effort was completed with facts, figures, and lots of forms. All good there. Well, I did discover that one cannot pay a “Medigap” premium with HSA funds. Oiy. I did pay for a consultant to help me with all of the financial stuff, and actually found “they” could help me with Estate Planning, migrating this blog from one hosting provider to a much cheaper one, moving from Microsoft Office to Google Workspace, stock analysis, recipes, a book outline, TV show binge recommendations, and even a “Brutal Self-Analysis & Healing Roadmap.” Yeah, Gemini Pro (AI) is worth the twenty bucks a month. 

With all of that “work” behind me, and doubt whether I’m capable of writing a book, I’m in a “now what?” period. I won’t be riding my bicycle anytime soon due to the frozen tundra, but I’m working out regularly indoors, and my daughter has me doing yoga on a weekly+ cadence, and I’ve been doing the “manny” thing a bit for my 15-month-old granddaughter. Groceries are still a big weekly highlight, plus extra time affords me space to experiment more with recipes. Last night was a new one, Pasta alla Zozzona, the “Cousin of Carbonara who Likes Red Sauce.” It was delicious, even without the guanciale. I think a pound of sausage in a recipe that called for half that was quite porky enough. Speaking of dining, my wife, son, and I have cut back (see budget, above) on restaurants to about once a week. It’s introduced a bit of novelty back into going out to eat, and we’re enjoying it. I’ve yet to receive a Social Security check, so I’m closely monitoring our budget for a few months. 

So, back to the “Will I cry when I retire” thing. No, I will not. I have decided I have no need, either financially or egotistically, to continue working for the man in any capacity. I’m done with that. Retired. There, I said it, and I’m not crying, though, as an aside, the recent passing of Catherine O’Hara has this whole household verklempt. We love our “Moira.” Actually, now I need to work out, then make dinner, then go to my daughter’s yoga class. I am going to get back here on the “Brutal Self-Analysis & Healing Roadmap.” That was enlightening.