Bali Expat Forum - Bali Travel Forum

[drbruce]

Below is the blog that I wrote at the end of my last month long vacation at home in Singaraja. I start on my last vacation as a teacher in a few days. I’ll be back home in Singaraja again to see my eldest daughter and give her a little relief from the difficulties of being 16 and pretty much on her own, as well as meeting again with my visa agent to give him my documents so that he can get the retirement visa process started.

As I wrote recently on one of my blogs(http://lifeinthetropics.wordpress.com), I’ve just realized that the somewhat disordered intellectual/emotional state that I’ve been in recently can be attributed to a sense of liminality.

So with the Last Last Dance in Bali coming up soon to be followed by the Last Dance in Sumbawa, I thought that I would post this for those who may be entering the “retirement” stage of life, and are having some similar feelings.


The Last Dance in Bali

Well, not all that extreme, but it feels what? Less than desirable. I’m up for an extended period of writing and thinking. I had a job once as a research associate many years ago in Berkeley. My first task was to take three months, read a number of books and articles about research methodology and education.

I asked what was I supposed to do after I finished reading? The project director said, “Think!” Hmm? I said, Think about what? He replied, “Think about what you read and how you can use it in the field. Come back in three months and tell me what you figured out.” That’s it? I replied. I was more than a little perplexed at that point. “You’re going to be a paid intellectual worker now,” Don said with a smile that was as charming as I’ve ever seen. “Enjoy!’

I am that stage again, although this time I won’t be getting paid. I’ve relished the last month of mixing manual labor (learning how to repair plumbing, fixing windows, building wind proofing for my built-in closets), parenting on my own for the first half of the vacation (cooking, cleaning, checking homework, answering questions about school and the world), writing (working on a second draft of the novel I wrote 20 years ago) and writing (blogs and websites) and writing (letters and notes for a book on Islam) and podcasting and just thinking about how all of it is going to fit in to a new adventure, and what can I do in the last part of my life to make the world a better place for my children and grandchildren.

Yes, so as much as I love teaching, it’s time to take a step back (or forward) and see what’s next.

My youngest son, Sam, has shown a new interest in snorkeling. He’s snorkeled before but only on the shore messing around with his sisters, cousins, and friends. This time he asked if he could go out in the deeper water with me. I haven’t done much snorkeling here over the past nine years for a variety of reasons, mostly because the coral was all dead and there were few fish to be seen. So we went out a few days ago, and the coral is regenerating; it’s still nothing like 18 years ago when I first snorkeled off the shore here in front of the house, but it’s slowly coming back and with it the fish. I hope this is a good sign of things to come.

We went out the farthest off shore today where the bottom suddenly falls off and all you can see is deep blue. That was a bit frightening for Sam; I could feel him move closer to me until he was gripping my arm so we moved back in towards shore a bit. But even after all this time of not snorkeling, I could remember the best spots for the fish - just off to the west of the house almost in front of bridge just down the beach road. And there they were – thousands of fish of all sizes and colors and a long yellow eel who was not too pleased to see us, and a tiny blue moray hidden away in a blond piece of new coral.

So what is it that I’ll do in another five months? What won’t I do? The problem is going to be fitting in everything, getting organized and sticking to a schedule (oh, but one of the things that I want to experience is a different sense of time) – alternating the book on Islam with the novel with the blogs with the podcasting with the house repairs with the parenting with the exploration of the sea with the visiting of friends with the letters to family with the classes I want to take on marine biology with the save the planet projects (save the cheerleader, save the world) with the development of the website to make it more useful to teachers with the looking for freelance writing jobs with the exploring of Singaraja. It should be amazing.

[Jimbo]

Bruce

You seem to have it all figured out. I want to retire but I am frightend of being bored. After 40 years of working I do not know how to stop. I also do not know how to refuse work when it is offered. Ideally I would like to get a job in Indonesia and put something back into the country. Not at Western rates I hasten to add but at Indonesian salary.

This would help me to be in the country I love but maintain my interest. I have seen so many in my line of work retire and then die within a year or so as first the brain and then the body goes into a state of atrophy.

Let me know how you get on.

[Markit]

First off - thanks for this:

Liminality

The liminal state is characterized by ambiguity, openness, and indeterminacy. One's sense of identity dissolves to some extent, bringing about disorientation. Liminality is a period of transition where normal limits to thought, self-understanding, and behavior are relaxed - a situation which can lead to new perspectives.

Actually lived quite a long time and never ran into this word - will be using it continuously now to drive everybody else mad... I will, of course, need to plan carefully my opportunities as it can't be used just any ol' how.

Being of pensionable age IMHO seems to be highlighted by the phrase:

"I don't have any time for that!"

Although pensioners have, in fact, all day they seem to insist on going shopping just when all the harassed family/employed people need to buy supper and stand (forever!) at the head of the queue looking for the right change or to right a check out for $1.83.

I'm sure they do it to drive the rest of humanity just crazy - good luck to em, I say! Beats the hell out of day-time TV or bingo.

[Roy]

Dr. Bruce, what I got out of your post is just what goes through my mind every day, but that has little, or nothing, to do about us, but rather, everything to do about our kids.

But don’t worry about them too much...rather just keep reminding yourself where you could be raising them. That always works for me anyway.

As for some free lance writing, check out The Bali Times. Your own “expat diary” or "expat log" there would be rich in experience, fun to read, and a great benefit to the readers.

Selamat!

[drbruce]

Thanks gentlemen for the comments.

Jimbo, the issue about what to do after retiring, and the number of people who die not long after retiring, is something that I've thought a lot about. (But then so is the list of colleagues that I've known who have died on the job.) I have a long list that I made out months ago (I'll post it after I get back to Bali and have a few free moments) of what I'm going to do once the end of my teaching passes.

Markit, liminality is a common term in anthropological discourse. It's an interesting concept, but one that I haven't used for a number of years.

Roy, Yeah, it's all about the kids eventually. Thanks for mention of The Bali Times. I've read it, but I didn't see any mention of submissions.

[Roy]

Right, no mention of submissions in the paper doc, but, the editor is always looking for fresh and interesting material. IMHO, you clearly would be able to offer exactly what he is looking to publish (after reading your blog), as columns, or just time to time submissions.

The editors name is William (no last names here) and his e-mail address is

<email address removed, send by PM plz, there is enough spam in the world...>

Retirement does not mean checking out on life Dr. Bruce. For most retirees I know here in Bali, it is just the beginning of a new and far more rewarding life than what “the job” used to provide. Retiring in Bali has a funny sort of ring to reincarnation...and that is the truth.

[fordprefect]

Something tells me you won't lack for things (and people for that matter) to keep you occupied. It seems you're in the enviable position of choosing your quality of life. As described in baseball (e.g. having too many pitchers), that's a problem I'd like to have.