November 29, 2012 - Fast Day

November 29, 2012 (Thursday)
(Post 665, Day 335 of 2012, 699 days since starting this blog)

Daily Comment

Yesterday, I talked about the evaluation criteria I'm adopting for evaluating my retirement expatriation options. Here, again is the list:

1. Ease of living/lifestyle (weighting: 100)
2. Climate (weighting:  85)
3. Cost of living (weighting: 75)
4. Access to good health care (weighting: 70)
5. Ease of emigration (weighting: 60)
6. Access to the US (weighting: 50)

Yesterday I also explained the top half items. Before I get to the rest, I thought it would be a good idea to tell you the latest incarnation of the top 5 Retirement destinations list:

1. Thailand
2. Ecuador
3. Uruguay
4. Mexico
5. Costa Rica or Panama

Now, items 4-6:

4. Access to good health care:
Good health care means a number of things to me. Obviously, it means modern, 1st-World facilities, with up-to-date equipment. It also means doctors with current, leading edge skills (and access to the previously mentioned facilities and equipment). And both the doctors and the facilities need to be no more than a quick taxi-ride away. Lastly, there's a cost-of-living aspect: It has to be affordable, with insurance available. Luckily, every place I'm considering bests the US in all of these aspects, including convenience, insurance and costs. Access to high-quality affordable health care is one of the things that moves me to expatriate after retirement.


5. Ease of emigration:
How welcoming is the country? How easy is it to stay there? My top pick (at the moment) is currently dead last in this category. There are several aspects of this, including how easy/difficult/expensive it is to establish residency, whether there are special retiree programs, perks and benefits for the retiree, how much the Visa to stay limits or un-limits me. Some countries have excellent retiree programs that make moving and staying not only easy, but more financially practical: Ecuador, Mexico, Belize, Panama (the best of them all, at least for Americans) all have special retirement programs that have excellent benefits, including discounts on almost everything, from phones to flights.

6. Access to the US:
This is the new item on the list. Lately, I've been thinking more about how easy/difficult going back and forth between my retirement life and the US has assumed more importance, for several reasons. The first is, I want visiting (both ways, me to my family and friends in the US, my F & F visiting me in my little Paradise) to be as easy as possible. And, frankly, as cheap. This item is absolutely, no-question-about-it, owned by Mexico, currently number 4 on my list (currently ranked by my feelings about the place as being the top choice in the top ranking item, Ease of Living/Lifestyle). Also, the ability to bring goods in and out of the country (I'm thinking bass equipment), as opposed to buying those things locally or doing without.

There you have it. What have I missed? What do you think of my ranking and weighting?

  

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Food and Diet Section

Year 2012 daily weight from December 31, 2011

 Today's Weight:        206.8 lbs 

Yesterday's Weight:    207.2 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:     - 0.4 lbs

Diet Comment

Last night's late snack is sprobably responsible for my taking ounces instead of pounds off. Today's fail, marking an early end of my fast (15 hours) does not bode well for tomorrow.

Food Log

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch
Skipped. 

Snack
Pizza and a small salad. Later, baby carrots and home-made mayonnaise.

Dinner
Skipped. In lieu of dinner, I had a bunch of chocolate candy bars while I was waiting to play at Mac's. 

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  20 oz,  Water:  102+ oz. 

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November 28, 2012

November 28, 2012 (Wednesday)
(Post 664, Day 334 of 2012, 698 days since starting this blog)

Daily Comment

I'm feeling a subtle shift in my thinking about retirement.

It has to do with the weighting of my priorities on choosing a place.

Here is my evaluation criteria, in order of importance, most first:

1. Ease of living/lifestyle (weighting: 100)
2. Climate (weighting:  85)
3. Cost of living (weighting: 75)
4. Access to good health care (weighting: 70)
5. Ease of emigration (weighting: 60)
6. Access to the US (weighting: 50)

This represents my current thinking.

Previous thinking had a list that looked like this (no weighting):

1. Ease of living/lifestyle
2. Cost of living
3. Access to good health care
4. Climate/Scenery
5. Ease of emigration

To be considered, any destination needs a credible positive in every category. The list, and attaching values to each item, is not designed to identify destinations, but to serve as a basis for comparison, assuming things are close to equal betwen two or more possibliites ("contenders").

Also, although this seems to me to be logical, what would not be logical is to assume that, math-geeky tendencies aside, I can reduce my decision to numbers. It is bigger than that.

Over the next few days, I think I'll explain my thinking on each of these topics.

Beginning at the top:

1. Ease of living/lifestyle:
This is the biggie, as it would be in a decision to move or stay in any location: local, regional, national or global (as in this particular case). This is the box that is checked when I feel there is a positive answer to the question: Do I want to be in this place now and tomorrow?

Things that come under this topic are (in no order) items like:

• walkability - I will not live anywhere that "forces" you to drive - I have to be able to walk from where I'm staying to markets, restaurants, parks. It doesn't have to be a particulary short walk (although having good stuff within a few minutes walk is a huge positive for this item). Also, it doesn't hurt if there is cheap, easily available transportation when I want to go further afield (taxis, buses, rickshaws, tuk-tuks, carriages, etc.).
• local food (stores, markets and restaurants - including how optional cooking is - I want to be able to cook when I want to - and want to be able to find what I want to eat when I don't want to cook).
• quality of rental housing - I am not interested in buying.
• accessibility to both US and local culture -  I want very much to be able to learn about and enjoy the culture of my new home. At the same time, I also don't want to lose all the parts of America I like.
• the available (or lack of) amenities - things like potable water, language help (none of the countries on my list are English-speaking), how easy/difficult it is to hire assistance (I want a part-time housekeeper, to compensate for my inadequacies in that area, and do laundry and food shopping. I don't feel like I need a cook).
• compatibility with expats - I don't want to live among Americans in a foreign country - if that were a requirement, I wouldn't be looking for a home overseas. While I don't want to exclude people who have experience and are friendly and willing to help, I don't think my background and priorities are typical for expat retirees. That may make things easier or harder, or have no influence, but it cannot cause friction.
• compatibility with locals - this is really important. I'm not trying to move my scene abroad, I'm looking for a new scene. If I can't make friends among the local, native people in a place, it is difficult to imagine being happy there. It becomes only a matter of degree.

2. Climate:
First off: No snow. Snow is only allowed on mountain peaks, where I won't be living. It is something I want the option to visit or read about, or not, at my inclination. I'm not really looking for more than one season. 

Climates that don't exhibit temperature extremes are more favorable to me than climates do, even occasionally. Warm is preferable to cool, both need to be comfortable, and not restricting. Temperature variability is not a plus. One set of clothes. 

Climates that don't require home heating or air conditioning are optimal. Constant rain is a disqualifier (no Northwest US, Irish, British 1-week-of-sunshine-a-year locales need apply). The perfect climate (no AC or heating bills) would contribute greatly to the next item:


3. Cost of living:
I am thinking in terms of value as opposed to absolute cost: Cheaper isn't always better. However, affordability is imperative. Currency can play a big role here (Ecuador and Panama don't print their own currency - the US dollar is the currency of the land. Even when that is not the case, areas where the dollar can be used in at least some transactions would be preferred.

I will be on a fixed income.

  More to come tomorrow.

  

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Food and Diet Section

Year 2012 daily weight from December 31, 2011

 Today's Weight:        207.2 lbs 

Yesterday's Weight:    204.8 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:     + 2.4 lbs

Diet Comment

Last night's late dinner and off-plan eating really put it to me today - although, I've seen worse. Tonight's snack was late, but not off-plan.

Food Log

Breakfast
Chia gel.

Lunch
At Ling-Ling Chinese Buffet:

From the "Mongolian Grill", chicken, pork, bean sprouts, cabbage, onions, peppers, broccoli, mushrooms in garlic and hot pepper sauce. And kim-chee.

Dinner

Spinach and black lentil curry, a salad of Spring Mix and cole slaw mix with balsamic vinaigrette, and chopped beef with guacamole and salsa.

Snack
Hard-boiled eggs and guacamole.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  20 oz,  Water:  96+ oz. 

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November 27, 2012

November 27, 2012 (Tuesday)
(Post 663, Day 333 of 2012, 697 days since starting this blog)

Daily Comment

This is what it takes to get my band to cover a Stones song:

The lead singer has to hear something he likes as a part for a singing friend, she has to also like it, they have to get together and learn and practice it by themselves, then he has to  tell the band he wants to do it (I knew it early on, because the band knows I'm a RS fan, and I've suggested three or four different songs, all of which the band has declined to do).

My current thinking about the band is that it is a hobby band, a garage band, and is in no danger of becoming more than that. Which is fine with me, because I play with other people whenever I'm not playing with the band, and my only goal is to play. I just think it is a lot of wasted potential.

And I would like to spend more time playing with the band.

But the band won't progress too much futher because: a) Three-quarters of the band members have priorities which make an active rehearsing/performing schedule always difficult, frequently impossible. b) Half the band has no commitment to doing the work required (90% of which involves nothing more than playing their instrument) because they know they won't put in the time required (see a), preceding). 3) Performance skills are unevenly distributed, and the infrequent playing makes it difficult to upgrade and retain any gains in those areas.

When I first heard the band, I heard a group that was tight, original and focused. I was impressed, especially with the quality of  the original songs. That is something I wanted to be a part of. Over time, I came to see that the group was as much a social as a musical thing, and, since I like everybody in the band (a lot), that's okay.

But I have some misgivings these days (nothing that would make me quit, just things that I wish everybody participating understood). First among these are that I don't think the original songs are getting their best presentation.

Secondly, I see great disunity in approach to making music - differences in background, taste, goals, experience, priority (and motivation) that affect everything from song choice to performance (although I understand the reasons, I don't find them adequate or, when it comes down to it, acceptable).

I am also chafing at the limitations of the other members - this is the most minor of the items, I just wish the limitations didn't interfere with performance as much as they do. These limitations are chiefly skill, motivation and time.

Lastly, I want to spend more time playing than the other band members, collectively, (because it takes all four of us). Playing more, in my opinion, is the answer to all these problems.

None of these things just arrived on the scene, and, as I've stated, none of them are deal-breakers as far as my continuing role in the band. 

The practice was fun. We did some new material that I liked and thought we played well. The new singer's role and relationship with the band was never defined, we played a lot of our old material. 

The best thing about it, to me, was that we spent most of the evening playing, not in discussion.

The worst thing is how I felt, physically - watching my energy fade over the course of the night.

The funniest thing is that there were 3 KIa Souls parked outside the guitarist's house. He has one, the new singer has one, and my new one.
  

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Food and Diet Section

Year 2012 daily weight from December 31, 2011

 Today's Weight:        204.8 lbs 

Yesterday's Weight:    206.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:     - 1.2 lbs

Diet Comment

Yes, I think I thrive on regular eating, at least as far as weight control goes. Ah, what the hell, maybe in all ways. By regular eating, I mean eating on-plan foods (vegetables, proteins and 'good' fats) in satiating quantities.

Unfortunately, logistics conspired against me. Dinner was late - after practice - which led to more eating than I like to do at that hour, then a late-night fail.

Food Log

Breakfast
Cocoa-kale protein shake (almond milk, whey protein (24g protein), kale, chia gel, cocoa, cinnamon, stevia blend).

Lunch

Roasted turkey on Spring Mix, red cabbage and balsamic vinaigrette.

Snack
Pepperoni, baby carrots and home-made mayonnaise.

Dinner
Pepperoni and a salad of hard-boiled eggs, Spring Mix and cole slaw mix with balsamic vinaigrette.

Snack
Ezekiel Golden Flax sprouted grain cereal with blueberries, almond milk and stevia blend.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  20 oz,  Water:  96+ oz. 

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November 26, 2012

November 26, 2012 (Monday)
(Post 662, Day 332 of 2012, 696 days since starting this blog)

Daily Comment

So, it's a back-to-work-day, after four days off, and I'm still not feeling 'right'.

But, what are you going to do?

Besides work, I did get out address the single frustration with my new car, an intermittent problem uncovered by the salesman who delivered the car to me. It is a problem with the car's most important component: the stereo system.

In the (exactly) one week since I've owned the car, I've brought it back to the dealer four times, trying to get the unit to fail in front of a technician. I had already figured out that it was the receiver, but, understandably but infuriatingly, the dealer needed to know the problem wasn't with the wiring or the power distribution system, or because of more than one problem. And, before today, every time I brought it in, leaving it for a whole day last Wednesday (is this what made me sick?), it behaved perfectly.

Finally, today, the intermittent input/output problem with the stereo (no sound comes out, no station can be tuned, no other input source works) occurred for the service tech team. This allowed the dealership to be certain that the problem was entirely in the head unit, and they've ordered a factory replacement.

Other than that, the car is really fun to drive, and, while I'm adjusting to the differences between it and the Odyssey (which I drove for the last twelve years), it is very comfortable.

Just thought I'd give you a report. Thanks for asking. 
  

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Food and Diet Section

Year 2012 daily weight from December 31, 2011

 Today's Weight:        206.0 lbs 

Yesterday's Weight:    205.8 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:     + 0.2 lbs

Diet Comment

I strongly suspected that my behavior and late eating yesterday would nullify the weight control aspects (if there are any) of my fast, and that is exactly what happened. I do better on normal eating days, which this was.

Food Log

Breakfast
Cocoa-kale protein shake (almond milk, whey protein (36g protein), kale, chia seeds, cocoa, cinnamon, stevia-erithrytol blend).

Lunch

Tuna salad on Spring Mix, red cabbage and balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinner

Cauliflower faux-mashed potatoes and wild-caught salmon burgers with guacamole. Not shown: baby carrots with home-made mayonnaise (which was an appetizer).

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  28 oz,  Water:  68+ oz. 

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November 25, 2012 - Fast Day

November 25, 2012 (Sunday)
(Post 661, Day 331 of 2012, 695 days since starting this blog)

Daily Comment

I may have had a slight relapse today. Mostly I'm better, there's certainly less coughing (but not no coughing, and still productive). But I felt totally depleted. Drained of energy. Wiped.

So I spent the day watching the last season of United States of Tara. I thought it was very, very good. You know, I laughed, I cried, I left the theater humming the tunes. 
  

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Food and Diet Section

Year 2012 daily weight from December 31, 2011

 Today's Weight:        205.8 lbs 

Yesterday's Weight:    202.4 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:     + 3.4 lbs

Diet Comment

Yesterday, I ate a large amount of off-plan, though mostly healthy food (due to throwing away, and not eating, most of the sub-par pumpkin pie*).
  *I enjoyed writing those last three parenthetical alliterative words quite a bit. Look at me, so proud of myself.

Having spent the day inert, and having fasted for only nineteen hours, I'm uncertain what to expect on the scale tomorrow. Then again, I've written before about the low value of expectations.

Food Log

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner

Dal Bukhara (black lentil curry) with broccoli and eggs. Not shown: Baby carrots and home-made mayonnaise.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  0 oz,  Water:  48+ oz. 

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November 24, 2012 - Cheat Day

November 24, 2012 (Saturday)
(Post 660, Day 330 of 2012, 694 days since starting this blog)

Daily Comment

I think I'm mostly over my illness - there's still some productive coughing, though. I can tell it doesn't sound good.

I see from Facebook that I have not suffered alone, with a few friends reporting identical health problems. In fact, from a health side of things, I appear to have recovered pretty quickly. But nobody's reporting the Thanksgiving impact my illness had.

It snowed here while I was, more or less, flat on my back. I'm not the kind of guy who looks at bad weather events as sports or other recreational opportunities, although when I was a kid, I was exactly that guy. 

I couldn't wait to get out and play in the snow when I was young. Now, it is nothing but inconvenience. Something to be endured, tolerated at best. Alex didn't see much snow in his youth in North Carolina. Now he is in LA, and if he stays there, he'll never see snow again.

I'm not certain that's a loss. None of the places I'm looking at for retirement have a possibility of snow. The closest to that is Uruguay, with four mild seasons, but no snow. This is a plus point, not totally offset by the cooler season's heating costs.

I'm rambling now. Maybe not as recovered as I thought.
 

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Food and Diet Section

Year 2012 daily weight from December 31, 2011

 Today's Weight:        202.4 lbs 

Yesterday's Weight:    203.6 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:     - 1.2 lbs

Diet Comment

I probably shouldn't cheat at all today, but I have this pumpkin pie I bought to bring to my sister's, and it is crying out, "Eat me, eat me!" But I didn't eat that much because, as it turned out, the pie was not that good, just desperate.

Typically for a weekend day, I slept in, long past breakfast or even brunch time.

Food Summary

• Pumpkin pie
• Ezekiel Golden Flax sprouted grain cereal with blueberries, almond milk, and stevia blend.
• Second Nature Wholesome Medley (dark chocolate chunks, roasted and salted peanuts, almonds and cashews, tart red cherries and dried cranberries)

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  18 oz,  Water: 64+ oz. 

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November 23, 2012

November 23, 2012 (Friday)
(Post 659, Day 329 of 2012, 693 days since starting this blog)

Daily Comment

Felt better today - better, but still not well.

I guess this is some sort of virus. The lemonade I made yesterday helped. I did drag myself out to make a quick grocery run, and got some more organic lemons to make more lemonade (for what its worth, I count the lemonade in my water consumption).

I've been watching a bit of TV on my computer. Not the waste of time it usually is. If you haven't seen the BBC series Sherlock (two seasons of three hour-and-a-half episodes each), it gets my very highest recommendation. Brilliant. Alex put me on to this on my vacation. Here's how good it is: I am appalled that I will have to wait more than a year for season three.
 

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Food and Diet Section

Year 2012 daily weight from December 31, 2011

 Today's Weight:        203.6 lbs 

Yesterday's Weight:    205.2 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:     - 1.6 lbs

Diet Comment

Yesterday's fasting - unscheduled, unwanted as it was, didn't do as much for my weight as a couple of days of regular eating. I meant to have a regular eating day today, but feeling a little better, with a real appetite for the first time in a couple of days, I had a late-night cheat.

Food Log

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch
Cocoa-kale protein shake (almond milk, whey protein (36g protein), kale, chia seeds, cocoa, cinnamon, stevia-erithrytol blend).

Dinner

Dal Tadka (lentil currry) with spinach and eggs. Not shown: Salad of Spring Mix and red cabbage with balsamic vinaigrette.

Snack

Second Nature Wholesome Medley (dark chocolate chunks, roasted and salted peanuts, almonds and cashews, tart red cherries and dried cranberries).

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  28 oz,  Water: 80+ oz. 

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November 22, 2012 - Thanksgiving

November 22, 2012 (Thursday)
(Post 658, Day 328 of 2012, 692 days since 1st post)

Daily Comment

Not writing about it didn't help - as last night dragged on, I got sicker. I got almost no sleep at all, and that never helps. 

Thanksgiving Day ruined. My plan to drive to my sister and brother-in-law's house - foiled. I am upset about that. 

My lungs actually hurt from the coughing. Damn, I hate being sick - not that anyone likes it.

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Food and Diet Section

Year 2012 daily weight from December 31, 2011

 Today's Weight:        205.2 lbs 

Yesterday's Weight:    209.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:     - 3.8 lbs

Diet Comment

I ate almost identically the last two days, and got almost identical results. Now I'm below the weight I was at when I left for LA.

I had no appetite. Before a late, snack-like dinner, all I had for sustenance today was lemonade (made with 2 lemons and stevia-erythritol blend) and water.

Food Log

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner

Hard-boiled eggs, baby carrots and home-made mayonnaise.

Liquid Intake   
   Coffee:  0 oz,  Water: 78+ oz.

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November 21, 2012

November 21, 2012 (Wednesday)
(Post 657, Day 327 of 2012, 691 days since 1st post)

Daily Comment

Today I was preoccupied by a problem I'm having with my new car, and a feeling like I'm coming down with something.

That means I'm done writing, because both things are boring and negative.

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Food and Diet Section

Year 2012 daily weight from December 31, 2011

 Today's Weight:        209.0 lbs 

Yesterday's Weight:    213.4 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:     - 4.4 lbs

Diet Comment

Lots of food yesterday. Big loss today. Go figure. Thinking on that, today I am going to eat very, very similarly.

Food Log

Breakfast
Cocoa-kale protein shake (almond milk, whey protein (36g protein), kale, chia seeds, cocoa, cinnamon, stevia-erithrytol blend)..

Lunch

Roasted turkey breast, Spring Mix greens, red cabbage and balsamic vinaigrette.

Snack
Pepperoni.

Dinner

Hamburger with salsa on spaghetti squash with butter, salt and pepper.

Snack
Baby carrots with home-made mayonnaise.

Liquid Intake
   Coffee:  0 oz,  Water: 64+ oz.

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