2008-08-28T12:25:38Z http://blog.dlcharles.com/atom.aspx Quick Blog tag:blog.dlcharles.com,2008-04-28:391da4dc-9bc1-4477-98d1-240689bf3ddd DLCharles 2008-05-05T19:06:58Z 2008-04-28T20:08:00Z
    My wife and I are officially Floridians as of last Monday.  Both of us went to the DMV and changed our Arkansas licenses to Florida, registered to vote - and bought a new Mustang Convertible.  Hey, we may be old, but we are in Florida now.
    Back in late August I experienced several strokes and had both carotid arteries operated on.  Shortly after this my wife and I began to talk about retiring again for my health.  Long story short - we decided to semi-retire and submitted our resumes to a company.  We were hired and at the tender ages of 64 (me) and 62 (wife) we packed up some of our things,closed our home, loaded everything into a trailer, notified friends to watch our house, and arrived in Tallahassee on February 10, 2008.
    We both work a minimum of 60 hours per week (not counting 'on call'), are scheduled 48 hours, and are paid for 40 hours.  As part of the compensatory package we have a one bedroom apartment, all utilities included, all meals are also provided.  The company 'valued' amount for the apartment and meals is taken off the top of each of our paychecks, so it most definitely is not a 'freebie'.  However, the monetary amounts we place in the bank each month are quite acceptable.
    What do we do?  Believe it or not, we have what is probably the most rewarding and enjoyable professions of our entire lives - we are now Co-Managers of a retirement center for independent senior citizens - and we love it.  Neither of us was quite ready to undergo a complete retirement again (been there, did that one) and this is a great way to enjoy ourselves.
    As I rebuild my website and blog I (and my wife) decided to write about the experiences of being newcomers to Tallahassee and the surrounding area.  My wife, Linda, is a culinary artist, able to prepare some twenty-seven different nationality foods.  She is also an excellent herbalist with a lifetime of study to draw from.  As we visit the area restaurants and cafes we will report our experiences - both good and bad.  We will do the same with various hotels/motels we stay in and the stores we shop.
    As this progresses we are aware that some feathers will be ruffled as we give an honest report of the above.  As an example:  the only memorable experience so far is when we drove to Angelo's for seafood.  Never have we tasted calamari so tender and fresh.  The meal was fantastic, as was the service.
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